Good Riddance
At a certain point I could no longer change settings on a headset because my browser/OS was too old (and I didn't have Flash, IIRC), local app wouldn't work on its own. Last thing I bought from the idiots.
Gizmo maker Jawbone is shutting down operations and will liquidate its assets. Although the San Francisco-based upstart has yet to issue a formal statement, a well-placed source said the peripherals slinger will shut up shop and flog off any remaining gear. We're told CEO Hosain Rahman will move on to a new medical startup …
Well, they had probably the best noise-cancelling bluetooth earpiece at the market from 2007+. So good (aside battery life) that I purchased over the years 7-8 of these. Surely they could die, especially when they fell into alcohol, or when you drove your car over them :) but they saved my life at least once when my sadistic ex-boss had arranged for a 07:30 teleconference with a client's board. When he called me at and asked where I was, I said "at 1st floor meeting room, gimme 5 minutes to get ready". He believed it. So quiet it was. Despite me rushing at the highway with 140kmph with the rooftop open...
But you are right too many ventures fail of bad management following the latest market fade. Shame.
The closure may also be seen as a sign that the once-hot wearables market – as recently as 2015, fitness trackers and bands dominated the CES show floor – is now dying on its arse.
My guess is that it's market saturation: everyone who wants an inaccurate Bluetooth-enabled step counter already has one.
From TFA
"At the peak of its popularity, the biz was reportedly valued at around $3bn by venture capital investors."
That's probably your pension fund they are splashing out on irrational exuberance.
(Incidentally while the Apple Watch must be easily the most successful wearable by income, isn't the Xiaomi Mi Band possibly the most successful by volume? Being dirt cheap probably helps.)
One of the few things I can ever be happy about with Apple was the time I went to one of their stores to buy a Jawbone bluetooth speaker (I think after a positive review here...) and the fanboi let me hear it. The sound quality was woeful; muffled to hell, like it was wrapped in a towel.
He suggested I try the Logitech UE Boombox (I know...) they all used (£80 instead of the £160 Jawbone wanted) and what a revelation. OK, we're not talking hifi quality but the sound was leagues ahead. Thank you Apple and goodbye Jawbone. There's probably a moral in here somewhere.