back to article Jaw-boned: Wearables biz Jawbone shuts down

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 …

  1. cd

    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.

    1. anthonyhegedus Silver badge

      Re: Good Riddance

      Don't you mean your browser/OS was too NEW?

  2. Your alien overlord - fear me

    Is Apple the king of the hill solely because they'll flog a dead horse for longer than others that don't wear rose-tinted i-glasses (!!!)?

    1. vir

      If you know the right people, there are plenty of opportunities to make money on a dead horse.

      1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

        If you know the right people, there are plenty of opportunities to make money on a dead horse.

        Concur - your local supermarket is always in need of cheap hamburgers and/or branded frozen lasagna.

      2. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

        "If you know the right people, there are plenty of opportunities to make money on a dead horse."

        One word: Sauerbraten.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Damn straight

        In some markets, if you can be the last man standing, you can make a nice living. SNA springs to mind, even MSFT still sell software for it, "HIS".

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Given the margins selling a couple of million Apple Watches every quarter is a nice little earner. But I want to know who's buying? Thus far I know only one person who has an Apple Watch and I have lots of fanboi friends.

  3. a_yank_lurker

    Who?

    I never heard of them. To many ventures fail because they do not understand marketing and advertising. If potential customers do not know you exist you could be in serious trouble.

    1. o0o0o

      Re: Who?

      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.

  4. fidodogbreath

    Overpromised, underdelivered, saturated

    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.

  5. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Coat

    I think I caught one of their ads once

    It was on Channel 9.

    Oh no, it was for their competitor "Gizmo."

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    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.)

  7. GrapeBunch
    Coat

    Jolderbone

    Can't hear me? Here, let's touch tin-foil helmets first, then I'll sing:

    "The Rahman's connected to the Health Club

    Now heeeeeear the word of Ja Bone."

    Too loud? Sorry. Mine's the one with the battery charger in the pocket.

  8. Calum Morrison

    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.

    1. Korev Silver badge

      I thought the Apple stores generally have and sell the Mu-so from Naim?

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