Jawbone Up 24

Revamped and now boasting much-needed wireless Bluetooth-syncing skills, the new $149 Jawbone Up 24 pushes the old Jawbone Up aside as the company's flagship fitness tracker. It's a big step up (pardon the pun), as Jawbone also enhanced the Up 24's companion mobile app, which offers even more personal and insightful advice, not to mention a very well-crafted interface. And just as good, Jawbone did not mess with the Up's light and comfortable design.

Yet, one of my gripes from the original model remains. The Up 24's lack of a real display for stats at a glance dampens its overall appeal (I'm sure that you could add a screen without making the device too bulky). Also, while the original Up works with a handful of Android devices, the Up 24 presently has no Android support at all (though, that is supposed to change). That's why as satisfying as the Up 24 is, I'd still pick the Fitbit Force as the most well-rounded high-tech health and wellness choice. It's less expensive ($129.95), and doesn't suffer the Up's shortcomings.

Design
Looking at the Up 24 for the first time, my immediate thought was whether this was indeed a new product. That's because, similar to Fitbit’s refresh of the Flex to the Force, the Up 24 is almost identical to its predecessor. Just like the original Up, the Up 24 is a thin bracelet-style gadget meant to be slipped around the wrist and worn all day long. It's also encased in a rubbery skin, which hides its sensitive motion-tracking and activity data-crunching components.

The Up 24 comes in black and a bright orange color.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The Up 24's ridged and textured surface also protects its high-tech interior from splashes and exposure to moisture. As a result, you'll be able to shower, wash piles of dishes, and stroll through torrential downpours care-free with the Up 24 on your arm. The gadget borrows the Up's unique, and extremely comfortable I might add, buckle-less design.

Rather than a fastener or pegs that snap together, the Up 24's band isn't connected at all. Instead, the device's two open ends sit parallel to each other with the band's inherent spring firmly and softly gripping your wrist. Outside of a traditional watch strap, it's the most ergonomic wrist band design I've used and a cinch to slip on. Also, it isn't at risk of becoming unhinged and perhaps lost like the Force.

The ends of the Up 24 do not clasp, but wrap around your wrist parallel to each other.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Jawbone, however, decided not to bestow its flagship tracker with a true alphanumeric display, something competing products such as the Fitbit Flex and Nike FuelBand SE feature. While those devices can showcase important informational tidbits, including steps taken, calories burned, and the time, the Up 24 is visually challenged by comparison.

As the Up before it, the Up 24's indication light communicates only its status in colors of green, yellow, and red, and in starburst or half-moon symbols. Honestly, the Up 24's lack of a display is a huge letdown for me since I like being able to check in a flash how active (or lazy) I've been. Often, rooting around for my phone in pockets or bags, then waiting to fire up an app takes too darn long, especially when I'm dodging slow sidewalk walkers -- you know who you are.

Unfortunately, the Up 24 doesn’t even gain much of a size or weight advantage by going without a screen. The gadget is a little less bulky than the FuelBand SE (1.28 ounces) and Force (1.28 ounces), but at just under an ounce (0.96 ounce), it's only slightly lighter.

The Up 24 would be better served with a display.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

One end of the Up 24 there's a big, flat, squarish button. Tapping or holding will kick the gadget into its various modes for tracking sleep or simply confirm the gizmo is alert and powered. The other tip of the Up 24 houses what looks like a small 2.5mm headphone jack. The main purpose for the connector is to charge the device’s battery using a bundled USB cord. It’s a departure from the first Jawbone Up, whose larger 3.5mm plug served as both a power resupply and tool for data transfer (via smartphone headphone ports).

Key wellness skills
You can think of the Up 24 as more of an evolution of its predecessor than a truly revolutionary fitness product. Both fitness trackers offer pedometer staples such as logging steps you take and resulting calories burned.

Additionally, you can log meals and snacks you eat through the Up mobile app in an effort to keep tabs on how many calories you consume, and whether they’re canceled out by exercise. The Up platform, however, takes food logging a step further.

Not only can you pick dishes, drinks, and snacks from an extensive database, but you have the option of scanning bar codes of packaged foods to quantify nutrition in a flash. Alternately, the application lets you snap photos of edible items plus select foodstuff from a glossy Jawbone-curated image gallery.

Still, if you're looking for a serious scientific dietary and exercise tracking system here, the Up 24 isn't what you seek. For instance, there's no way to parse your personal performance in terms of all Up users, those in your age, sex, weight class, etc. The Up 24 also does not link to fancy Wi-Fi scales to provide real-time weight, BMI, and percentage of body fat data. For that, you'll have to either jump on the Fitbit or Withings systems, which lean on the Aria and Body Scale, respectively.

Counting sheep is right in the Up 24’s wheelhouse, though. Like its predecessor, the wristband can log the length and quality of your sleep and report back with plenty of detailed stats. For example, you'll see how many times you woke during the night, light versus deep slumber, and how quickly you nodded off into dreamland.