David Pogue On Why The Up Bracelet Is A Downer

Where there’s a will, there’s a gadget. So says David Pogue, correctly, in his New York Times review of the Up wristband, a $100 gadget that monitors your activity or, more to the point, your lack of activity. The Up wristband, which sends activity reports to your iPhone, where they are displayed in often disappointing graphs, joins the fitbit and other gadgets that let you literally wear your guilt, in this case on your wrist. For those who are good at guilt but bad at inspiration, the device offers challenges, such as “Get an extra hour of sleep” and “Walk 100,000 steps this week.” How about “Return the Up wristband and ask for you money back”? Pogue reports a major Up downer: its connection to your phone is not wireless (why not?). Consequently, he says, “several times a day, you’re supposed to take the band off your arm, remove its cap, insert the plug into your phone’s headphone jack, open the app, tap a Sync button to open the Sync screen, tap another Sync button to start the sync, and wait while the latest activity data gets sent from the bracelet to your phone. Then, after the sync, put everything back together and back on your arm.” Wait, there’s more not to like: the Up only records bouncing motions like running and walking. You can ride your bike for three hours and see zero activity, unless you enter that activity manually, along with yoga, swimming, and any other non-bouncing exercise you might care to engage in. Read more in the New York Times.