
Jawbone Lays Off 60, 15% of Staff Globally, Closes NY Office - cgoodmac
http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/20/jawbone-lays-of-60-15-of-staff-globally-closes-ny-office-downsizes-2-others/#.jgiw2z:ikKk
======
braythwayt
My uninformed opinion is that Apple Watch will suck the middle out of the
fitness tracking market, leaving room only for specialized players (Fitbit,
Garmin) and the very low end (Xiomi).

Of course, Apple may not end up dominating watches. But their entry
“mainstreamizes” the idea of a general-purpose device also being your fitness
tracker, and once that idea takes hold, people will stop buying fitness
trackers unless they have a very specific prosumer need.

Fitness trackers are going the way of music players, cameras, and mapping
devices.

~~~
cmarschner
Apple sells at a totally different pricepoint which is way off mainstream. So
at least atm. they are catering a different market. Also, smart watches on the
market may just be too ugly (including Apple's). I think there's still a lot
of opportunity to partner with a major watchmaker like Swatch which owns half
of the world's watch brands but doesn't have a clue about the tech.

~~~
Zombieball
I think removing the term "watch" and braythwayt's sentiment holds. Doesn't
the iPhone offer much of the pedometer features activity trackers offer? I am
also uninformed and haven't read any sort of comparison. But I wonder if Apple
users realize the features available in the health app?

~~~
braythwayt
The phone does not currently have the heart rate function, so it’s hard to
turn it into a complete health product. You need a chest strap, or a hat with
heart rate function, and now you’re back to a wearable accessory for the
phone.

I’d guess the other way: What if Apple ends up putting a GPS and a phone in
the watch? Then you buy an iPod Touch-like device as an accessory screen for
the watch, instead of a watch as an accessory for the phone.

~~~
Swizec
> What if Apple ends up putting a GPS and a phone in the watch?

Then I still won't be able to text, which is 90% of what most people do on a
modern smartphone.

That and watch videos.

I wonder how many people would even notice if Apple removed the Phone app from
the iPhone ...

Oh and I assume taking selfies with your wrist would be hard too. I tried to
position my wrist like that right now and my elbow wasn't happy.

~~~
braythwayt
It’s technically possible to text on the Watch, but mostly you text back
variations of “yes,” “no,” or “ttyl.”

Which is terrible. Unless you don’t want to text with someone, in which case
you have an out: “I’d have replied to your question detail, but my hands were
full and I could only reply on the watch."

~~~
Swizec
If you don't want to text with someone you can always wait 3 weeks then text
"Sorry, I fell asleep".

~~~
braythwayt
I should have replied earlier, but I feel asleep.

------
vosper
I hate to be that guy, but they've taken $820m in funding to make Bluetooth
speakers (now a commoditised market) and fitness trackers. I know hardware is
expensive, and they've been pioneers, too, but that is SO MUCH money to only
have some a handful of gizmos to show for it.

~~~
dmix
Apple paid $3.2B for Beats, so I'm guessing the VCs thought Jawbone might be
3-4x the value of Beats?

That's a very risky bet indeed.

~~~
n0us
I honestly find Jawbone products to be much higher quality products than
Beats. Their design aesthetic seems to fit in with Apple more than Beats as
well imo. I have a Big Jambox and while it isn't an audiophile's dream, the
sound is pretty good and the battery life lasts _forever_. Its not bad as a
speaker phone as well. Worth every dollar I paid for it. I'm surprised I don't
see more advertisements for their products, that seems to be the way that
beats got popular because it certainly isn't price or audio quality.

Edit: forgot to add the point of this comment, I wonder if there were ever
talks of a buyout by Apple or if not why they weren't considered/didn't go
through.

------
srunni
From _What Went Wrong at Jawbone_ ([https://www.theinformation.com/what-went-
wrong-at-jawbone](https://www.theinformation.com/what-went-wrong-at-jawbone) ;
subscription only):

* Employee doubts (lack of direction, CEO frequently absent during fundraising, ex-CFO alleged that CEO misappropriated funds for personal use)

* Manufacturing troubles (low manufacturing yield due to unique design, high product return rates)

* PE firm Rizvi Traverse backed out of expected $175M funding round after first $25M payment

~~~
106121
Anecdotally, the jawbone wristbands have been very unreliable among my
friends, multiple devices failed within a year. Customer service has been
great, they just ship you out a new one, no hassle. But you can't make that up
in volume.

~~~
srunni
More details on issues with the UP:

> Instead of using a strap attached to a small pod containing the electronics,
> the hardware was placed throughout the length of the bendable wristband.
> Spreading the electronics out made the device look like a bracelet, which
> fit with Jawbone’s goal of making electronics that doubled as jewelry.

> That created problems in manufacturing. In initial manufacturing efforts,
> the device’s electronics were destroyed when hot rubber was injected into
> the mold. Over time, the process improved, but not enough to convince
> everyone that the device was ready to be shipped to consumers. When devices
> broke, it was difficult to decipher the reason because the electronics were
> encased in rubber.

------
ryandamm
I've heard from a friend at fitbit that jawbone, Nike, and others all licensed
their tech from some professor's company, whereas fitbit developed their own
in house... And evidently the licensor didn't keep pace with tech, but also
didn't allow innovation on top of the stack.

This is second hand hearsay, take it for what it's worth.

~~~
robbiet480
It sounds like you are talking about MotionX [1]

[1]: [https://www.motionx.com/](https://www.motionx.com/)

------
lisianne
I have a Garmin vivoactive smartwatch. It has a built-in gps, water proof and
it can track my biking, swimming, running and others. The battery comes for a
week in one charge.

Compared to other players, Fitbit and garmin can hold their territories
against Apple Watch. Garmin is also a debt free company with lot of cash in
hand. Their dividend yield is 5.2%.

------
ninguem2
What is this thing #.jgiw2z:ikKk in the URL?

~~~
meddlepal
Referrer code maybe?

~~~
srunni
Yeah, it's a fragment identifier
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragment_identifier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragment_identifier))
used to track shares/referrals.

------
sumitgt
Its a shame. Wish there were alternatives that worked for me.

Nothing else in the market has a comparable "Smart Alarm" like the Jawbone UP
devices.

~~~
nirvdrum
The new Microsoft Band has a smart alarm function that on paper sounds an
awful lot like the Jawbone UP's. Having never seen the latter in person, I
can't say if they're identical. But it could be worth looking into if that's a
killer feature for you.

~~~
sumitgt
Yeah, I did consider that. However the price makes me wanna handle it with
extra care. Would be worried about getting the screen scratched when I sleep
wearing it.

------
jpatel3
so distorted headline..doesn't say how many employees they have, 15% staff
Globally is part of 60?

~~~
funkyy
15% = 60

100% ~ 400

So global workforce was 400. 15% equals to 60 employees.

