Jawbone UP

The sleep-, step-, and diet-tracking UP fitness band by Jawbone ($130) is now compatible with Android devices. The new Android app, which arrives nearly two years after the band's official launch, is a welcome addition to the previously iOS-only Jawbone UP, which is just one competitor in this year's fitness gadget extravaganza.

Jawbone's iOS app also got an update today, adding a pep talk feature that lets UP teammates share encouraging emoticons with each other and international support for 10 different languages, including Chinese, French, and Spanish.

Last year, Jawbone went back to the drawing board for its fitness-tracking gadget, after technical failures resulted in massive user complaints. The company offered a no questions asked refund for the UP band and revamped the wearable tech into a more flexible and responsive device. We're teaming up with the POPSUGAR Fitness crew to try out the new and improved hardware — so stay tuned for a full review.

In addition to Android expansion, Jawbone is taking its wristband overseas. The UP band is now available at Apple Stores in 25 additional European countries, and will be sold at Apple Stores in Asia and Australia starting next month, along with other retail partners in the Middle East.

As 2012 approaches, you'll no doubt have some sort of resolution to get healthy. Rather than go it alone, why not employ some kind of smart technology to keep you at the top of your game? The UP might be just what you need. The Jawbone UP (yes, that Jawbone) is your wearable fitness monitor — it tracks your fitness levels, monitors your sleep and eating habits, and keeps you challenged with community activities.

Built with something called MotionX technology, the UP is said to be wicked accurate for monitoring your daily activities like walking, your pace, distance, calories burned, but also gets really detailed with your sleep habits since you wear the thing 24/7 (even in the shower — it's water-resistant!). No kidding — the UP doesn't just monitor the numbers of hours you've slept, but can also pinpoint how long it took you to fall asleep, the various different phases of sleep, and your overall sleep quality. The band even vibrates to "nudge" you awake at the optimal time during your natural sleep cycle. So thoughtful.

And as you may have guessed, the UP integrates with your iPhone to provide you with on-the-go stats and totals, but you can also use your camera to snap pics of the food and snacks you eat to compile your own virtual food journal. Fact is, when you know you have to take a picture of what you're eating, you're more likely to skip that piece of pie at the office potluck. Speaking of office, you can set the UP to remind you to get up and away from that computer screen during specific intervals throughout the day to get the blood flowing.

Coming in seven colors — blue, white, silver, brown, black, and two tones of red — the Jawbone UP seems to be the front-runner in the wave of new fitness gadgets, and by far the most wearable for the ladies. Get yours (or add it to your wish list) on Nov. 6 for $99.