tech

Erik Tyler | October 8, 2015 | 4 Comments

Jailbreak (FROM) Your Phone

Today’s COMMUNICATION post – by Erik Tyler

You’re in a meeting and, once again, you feel the all-too-familiar :: buzz-buzz :: of your phone in your pocket. You’re not really paying attention to whomever is speaking, and it’s not entirely due to the fact that the presenter is as dry as last month’s bread.

You leave said meeting and look down at your phone: 8 new calls and voicemails, 11 text messages. That’s all not to mention new incoming e-mails.

You take a deep breath. It just never seems to end. And to make it worse, as you look down your list of new voicemails, you see that three of them are from people who are notorious for saying things during conversations like “So, anyway, to make a long story short…” after what should only have taken one minute to say has already taken twenty. One actually left a message that went too long, then called back to continue the message, starting in with, “Sorry, I got cut off there, but as I was saying …,” apparently oblivious to the fact that your phone’s recording limit per message is a full five minutes.

:: buzz-buzz ::

Make that 12 new text messages. It’s the guy who just left the two long voice messages, texting to make sure you got the messages and reminding you to call him back, because “it’s urgent.” It always is with him.

You check your e-mail. One is from a new client: “Give me a ring. I want to talk about possibly getting [insert some miniscule number] of your products and I’m just too busy to check your website: (555) 123-4567.” There goes another hour of your time, which may or may not end in a sale that, at best, will turn a profit of a few bucks.

Adam Smith | November 13, 2011 | 22 Comments

Jawbone UP Review

The Jawbone UP bracelet is a rechargeable (via USB), water-proof bracelet that helps you track major health aspects in your life and makes it a social event. It has two modes, sleep and active, which you can change by pushing a button on the bracelet. It lets you know which mode that you’re in on the bracelet. Active= green light and Sleep= blue moon. You just have to remember to switch the modes before you go to sleep and again when you wake up.

I have had the Jawbone UP bracelet for a week now and wanted to give a review on what I thought of the product after using it.

First of all, I guess I should tell you why I bought the bracelet.

I got it because of the reminder to make healthy choices. Of course, people can be healthy with or without the bracelet. But, having it on my wrist all the time has deterred me from making some unhealthy choices.

Next, it gives some pretty awesome data.

It tells me how I slept. It breaks it down into how long I actually slept, how much of it was heavy sleep, how much of it was light sleep and how much of it that I was awake.

It shows how each meal counts towards my daily food totals just by taking a picture of it, which I have no idea how it can be accurate from only a picture. But, it seems to know what it’s talking about. After inputting the meal, it asks how I feel after eating it about ten minutes later.

It also shows how many steps that I have taken throughout the day. It definitely shouldn’t be a substitute for daily cardio, but it does help you see that your daily routine can provide some activities that end up burning calories.

Even with all the data that it gives me, right now my favorite feature has to be the silent alarm. With Jasmine waking up with Colbie during the night, the UP bracelet vibrates until I turn it off which wakes me up, but doesn’t wake up anyone else. Pretty cool, huh?

With all that it does, it lasts ten days on a full charge. Seems like great battery life to me.

Oh, and after watching this video it looked awesome.

There have only been two downsides to the bracelet that I have found so far.

The first downside has to do with syncing. It’s not hard to plug the bracelet into your iPhone, but I just wish it synced wirelessly. I would have figured with Jawbone making bluetooth devices for the most part, they would have figured out a way to do this. Maybe they’ll have this available with the next UP bracelet that they come out with. When you do have to sync UP, you have to do so with a separate USB cable. It’s just weird to have a piece that’s not connected to the bracelet that you have to keep up with. Also, when you have to sync the bracelet there is a cap that you have to remove. The cap seems like it would be easy to lose, but they sell a 3-pack set of replacement caps in the online store.

The only other downside that I’ve found has to do with the app. They’ve come out with an update to the software already that has to do with better accuracy, but the way the info is delivered seems a little behind other equipment like fitbit and it’s app. But again, I like the UP bracelet idea over the out-of-sight, out-of-mind fitbit.

Some things that I do like about the app is that it allows you to create teams with others that have UP bracelets already. This is a great thing because it offers accountability especially with the pictures of your meals. You don’t want to post pics of tubs of gravy on it. The app also allows you to accept challenges that will help you reach your goals.

If you want to find out more about the Jawbone UP check out the FAQ, the website and check the forums.

Purchase the Jawbone UP here.