DEFINITION of Jawbone
Jawbone is when someone uses their authority or position to influence something by speaking publicly.
Also, it is the company Jawbone, best known for its hands-free Bluetooth devices. The Jawbone UP is a fitness accessory and iPhone app.
WHAT IT IS IN ESSENCE
Founded in 1999, it was one of the early pioneers of Bluetooth wearables, even before the term “wearables” became widespread. The tech company that produced Bluetooth earpieces and wireless speakers before betting everything on fitness tracking has entered into liquidation proceedings.
Jawbone was an American privately held consumer technology and wearable products company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Since June 19, 2017, it has been undergoing liquidation via an assignment for the benefit of creditors. It developed and sold wearable technology such as wristbands and portable audio devices, wireless speakers, Bluetooth headsets, and related technology.
Jawbone marketed its wearable products as part of the Internet of things. Co-founder, at the same time the chief executive Hosain Rahman has moved onto a new company, Jawbone Health Hub, that is primarily focused on health-related products and services. Many company’s employees have joined Rahman, at the new business, which The Information claims will service existing Jawbone products once the original company folds.
The news comes after more than a year of financial turmoil at the company, which led to deteriorating customer service, dwindling inventory, and key executive departures, all as the company entered into a legal battle with rival Fitbit.
HOW TO USE
We cannot use it. But the story behind is interesting. Alexander Asseily and Hosain Rahman, who met as Stanford University undergraduates, founded Aliph (which would later become Jawbone) in March 1998 in San Francisco.
According to later legal documents, the company was originally called AliphCom and formed in March 1998 during the dot-com bubble. The dot-com bubble (also known as the dot-com boom, the tech bubble, and the Internet bubble) was a historic economic bubble and period of excessive speculation mainly in the United States that occurred roughly from 1995 to 2000, a period of extreme growth in the usage and adoption of the Internet.
In 2006, Aliph released a YouTube demonstration of a wireless version of its Jawbone headset and announced that Yves Béhar would be hired as vice president and creative director.
The company’s earliest venture capital investor was the Mayfield Fund, which invested $0.8 million in December 2006. In January 2007, Aliph revealed its wireless Jawbone headset at the Consumer Electronics Show. In July 2007, Khosla Ventures made a $5 million investment in the company.
In April 2009, Aliph announced the third edition of its Bluetooth headset, Jawbone Prime. In January 2010, Aliph announced the Jawbone Icon, and software for users to customize their Jawbone device with free applications and updates. Users may plug a Jawbone device into a computer and add apps that adjust the tone or language of the voice announcements made by the headset, or reprogram the “talk” button.
In February 2014, a round of investment estimated at $250 million led by the firm of Suhail Rizvi was reported.
According to a report by Business Insider, as of September 2016, Jawbone has almost no inventory left and has struggled to pay one of its customer service agencies. By July 2017, The Information reported that “Jawbone is shuttering operation after years of financial pressure. The Bluetooth headset-turned-speaker-turned-wearables maker faced stiff competition from the likes of Apple and Fitbit, the latter of which supposedly attempted to buy its rival last year.”
In July 2017 Jawbone announced it would liquidate its assets. Since the app is still available for at least some phones (Android) and the servers seem to be running, it is unclear who has access to collected personal data.