This week Jawbone officially announced plans to launch a connected fitness device -- UP -- which the company has been working on for the past two years. As we reported earlier, the company's as-yet unreleased UP device will have plenty of competition from other dedicated or peripheral connected fitness devices.
By our count there are 10 other devices like UP either in the market today or coming to the market shortly. This list does not include the hundreds of smartphone apps that also help users track fitness metrics. Jawbone and the 10 companies highlighted here are betting that most people would rather not have to lug their smartphones around with them while they run -- or they're betting they are willing to carry both their phone and a companion fitness device.
Nike+ is one of the few offerings listed below that has a separate smartphone app as well as an option to use a peripheral device embedded in or clipped onto the user's running sneakers. One of the more innovative competitors, Valencell, offers technology that embeds the fitness tracking technology right into the user's headphones.
Read on for our list of 10 competitors to Jawbone's UP device and let us know if we missed any in the comments below.
Basis
Basis, which was previously known as PulseTracer, offers a wrist worn device called Basis Band that measures the wearer’s heart rate and other vital signs. Basis plans to allow third party developers to build apps that work with the device.
The startup secured $9 million in funding this past March and its team includes a former Google Health alum and a new CEO, Jef Holove, who was formerly CEO of Eye-Fi. While Basis Band is available for pre-order from the company’s website at $199, the company has yet to announce when the device will first ship.
Fitbit
Fitbit is a wireless-enabled, fitness and calorie tracking device small enough to clip on to the user’s clothing. Fitbit utitilizes an internal motion detector to track the wearer’s movement, sleep and calorie burn during both the day and night. Fitbit provides users with metrics like: Amount of steps you took today, miles traveled, calories burned, calories consumed, time you went to bed, time it took to actually fall asleep, number of times you woke up during the night, total time in bed, actual time sleeping.
DirectLife
DirectLife's Activity Monitor is a small device that tracks body motion every time the user moves up, down, forwards, backwards and sideways, and calculates how much energy was used to make them. The device can fit into the users pocket or can be worn around the neck or on a belt pouch, and is waterproof up to 3 meter below the water’s surface.
The Activity Monitor uses a web component to measure what you’ve done against your personal daily target. A series of indicator lights on the Activity Monitor show how you’re progressing throughout each day, making it easy for you to keep on track towards your goals.
BodyMedia
BodyMedia's FIT armband tracks users calorie burn, activity levels, sleep health in an attempt to lose weight. The device connects to phones via Bluetooth or sends data directly to the cloud thanks to a recent deal with Sprint.That health data can then be analyzed via a web component or through free iPhone or Android apps. A food log and you have the information you need to improve your weight loss. BodyMedia lists 24 Hour Fitness, Panasonic, Jenny Craig and others as partners.
Affectiva Q Sensor
The Affectiva Q Sensor is a wearable, wireless biosensor that measures emotional arousal via skin conductance, a form of electrodermal activity that grows higher during states such as excitement, attention or anxiety and lower during states such as boredom or relaxation. The sensor also measures temperature and activity.
According to the company: "The curve-shaped Q Sensor is designed to wear on the wrist, so it is comfortable and unobtrusive to wear all day at work, play, or sleep. This makes it ideal for long-term measurement in clinical and therapeutic research."
DigiFit
The Digifit Ecosystem is a suite of apps and related hardware used to track fitness and health data including heart rate, pace, speed, cadence, power, weight and sleep score. The Digifit transceiver communicates with more than 80 ANT+ fitness sensors, like heart rate monitors and foot pod stride sensors, by using a device (Digifit Connect)that connects to iOS devices via a dock connector.
Digifit, Withings and Zeo announced a “health triad” partnership that brings users an online dashboard that includes data from personal wellness devices like Withings’ connected scale, Zeo’s sleep monitoring device and Digifit Connect accessory wireless transceiver.
Life Microscope
Hitachi’s Life Microscope is a watch-like device the user wears around the wrist. It makes use of accelerometers to detect the user’s activity levels. Hitachi unveiled the new device at an exhibit in Tokyo this week, according to a report in Akihabara News.
At the time of its unveiling, Medgadget wondered if the wristworn device would be as accurate as others on the market since it’s attached to a limb: It “raises the question whether arm movements can fool the device into thinking that the whole body is moving.” That applies to a number of the devices on this list.
Adidas MiCoach Pacer
The miCoach Pacer is a small, lightweight device that delivers real-time audible coaching as a user exercises via headphones or combined with their own MP3 player. The device is part of Adidas's miCoach fitness platform. During a run, the miCoach Pacer verbally coaches the runner (i.e. speed up to green zone, slow down to blue zone, etc.) to ensure that they are staying within their targeted heart rate zone and keeps them running at the right personal level.
Adidas also offers a wrist-word device: The miCoach Zone, which features a color-code LED display.
Nike+
Nike+ has long been referred to as the quintessential example of a personal area network (PAN) product. A sensor in the user’s Nike shoe wirelessly interacts with the user’s iPod, iPhone or Nike SportsBand. The Nike+ system tracks elapsed time of the workout, the distance traveled, pace and calories burned, and heart rate thanks to a collaboration with Polar.
Nike+ also offers a smartphones app that does not require the companion sensor: Nike+ GPS. The app uses the smartphones GPS and accelerometer to track distance and movements.
Valencell
Valencell is the creator of Healthset, a technology that gives audio headsets the ability to monitor the health and fitness of the user. Healthset sensor technology tracks real-time physiological metrics including heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled, speed and more, while the consumer listens to music, talks over the phone, or goes about daily life activities. Data is streamed to smartphones and/or mp3-players through wired or wireless links, enabling live body metrics, training, and coaching via fitness applications on mobile devices and online.
Best Buy's venture arm recently invested in the startup, which hopes to ink deals with headphone makers to embed its technology.
