Jawbone, a company that develops human-centered wearable technology and audio devices, announced on Tuesday its new UP Platform for iOS. The new platform adds integration between the UP wristband and app system, which keeps track of your walking and sleep activity as well as your meal and drink intake, and 10 existing iOS apps you might already be using.
The company has teamed up with other workout and fitness iOS app developers to integrate UP with these third-party apps, so UP users can now pull and sync data from apps such as LoseIt!, Maxwell Health, MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal, Notch, RunKeeper, Sleepio, Wello, Withings, and IFTTT.
The hardware part of UP consists of a physical armband ($129.99) that keeps track of the steps you take throughout the day and the amount and type of sleep you get, and can also use the software component to log in your meals and track calories. The UP wristband plugs into your iPhone earphone jack to upload collected data to the app.
The new platform makes the UP system much more flexible. For example, you can enable anIFTTT recipe that will automatically log coffee as a beverage you drink every morning. You can also use iOS apps RunKeeper and MapMyFitness to log your running and bike-riding to your UP workout data.
Similarly, you can use the Smart Body Analyzer Withings to automatically import your weight into UP to track it in the context of how you sleep, eat and excercise. All the information from partner apps will become a part of your UP activity report.
Travis Bogard, Vice President of Product Management and Strategy in Jawbone, reports that the company will also be releasing an open API to expand the UP platform to additional partners and services.
Do you use UP or a similar device? Will this new platform encourage you to try it?