Hardware flaw downs Jawbone’s UP

Jawbone’s wearable fitness monitors, dubbed “UP” have been going down on users. Problems with capacitors in the charging system deep inside the fitness device have been malfunctioning in some units, causing UP to be rendered impotent.

Released in November, UP now has to face its first major technology hurdle. Can it bounce back from this RROD-like flaw? Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman says it can in the grovelling apology: “This is unacceptable and you have our deepest apologies. We’ve been working around the clock to identify the root causes.”

UP wristbands are priced at US$100 and Jawbone has wisely decided to refund its customers, even if they decide to keep the defective product. For now, Jawbone has put on hold further UP production. Once the manufacturing issue has been pinpointed and corrected, Jawbone says that it will begin producing them once more.

Fitness freaks can use the UP to sync their gym progress with other lifestyle patterns, allowing the device to guide them towards positive habits such as improved sleeping patterns and eating correctly. Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch became the lucky recipients of the UP device, with a quick sync supposedly enabling the user to better track their physical and mental well-being.

The free software which comes with UP delivers measurable progress reports to the user on a daily basis. Timelines and bar graphs are integrated into social media systems if so desired, allowing the user to automatically brag about their process. Jawbone is having to move quickly to not fall into the same category as Power Balance bracelets: an expensive wristband that does nothing (as an aside, Power Balance is filing for bankruptcy).