Jawbone may soon launch a couple more fitness trackers to compete with Fitbit and fend off a wave of cheaper alternatives.
One of the new devices, called Up MOVE, will clip onto clothing and cost $US50, The Information reports. A higher-end fitness band called the UP3 will cost $US180 and include more sensors than the existing Jawbone UP. Another report from VentureBeat claims that the UP3 will have "a slick new design" and a heart rate sensor, but it's unclear whether the device will have a display like Fitbit's new Charge fitness band, or GPS like the upcoming Fitbit Surge.
Jawbone currently sells two fitness bands. The $US80 Jawbone UP is a slim band with no display that measures steps taken and hours slept. It syncs to smartphones through a headphone plug that's built into the band. The $US130 Jawbone UP24 is nearly identical, but syncs over Bluetooth instead. Both bands work with iOS and Android devices.
There's no word on exactly when the new devices will launch, but VentureBeat suggests that an announcement could happen this week.
Why this matters: If the reports are accurate, this is just Jawbone looking to cover more bases as it faces pressure from cheap trackers like the Misfit Flash, and from pricier smartwatches like the upcoming Apple Watch. It's the same issue that rival Fitbit is having, except Fitbit already offers a cheap clip-on tracker, and is now focusing more on high-end products. Still, Jawbone's more expensive band could be a tougher sell if it lacks a display for showing the time and exercise data, and if its data collection isn't markedly more sophisticated than other high-end trackers.
