Sports, Health & Fitness, Outdoors

Fitbit – track your sleep and daily activity

Fitbit is the latest in a growing number of sleep and health tracking devices. Fitbit sets itself apart in tracking both your sleep habits and phyiscal activity.

fitbit sleep and activity trackerFitbit is a small device that clips to a wristband or piece of clothing while you sleep or go about your daily activities. Its motion sensor gathers data constantly and every time you come into range of the included wireless basestation, it downloads the data and sticks it into your personalized page on the Fitbit website. You can share your data with friends from there if you’d like.

Fitbit tracks how long you sleep vs lay in bed, and how many times you woke up. On the activity front, Fitbit tracks your steps, the intensity and duration of your activity, calories burned and reports on all of it.

Fitbit is aggressively priced at $99 and there is no subscription fee for using their website. It may not be as sophisticated as devices made specifically for sleep OR activity, like the Zeo is for sleep or the Ripxx is for exercise, but it’s only 1 device and much cheaper.

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $99.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Zeo Personal Sleep Coach tracks, analyzes your sleeping habits

zeo personal sleep coachSleep tracking devices are really starting to become more popular. The Zeo Personal Sleep Coach is a relatively new sleep aid that builds on the research and attempts to take sleep optimization to the next level.

Zeo consists of 2 basic parts – a headband that you wear to bed, and a bedside display/data gatherer. The Zeo Bedside Display shows you a visualization of how your last night’s sleep went as well as how it compared to previous nights.

One particularly nice feature is that all of the data is stored on an SD memory card that you can then pop into your computer for upload to the myZeo website for further analysis, and storage in your own sleep journal. Research has shown that a sleep journal (like other journaling methods) is an effective way to detect and correct issues with your sleep.

Like other sleep aids that we’ve featured in the past (SleepTracker, aXbo and ZZZ Checker), the Zeo looks for that optimal point in your sleep cycle to attempt waking you.

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $249.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Wake up naturally and refreshed with Philips Wake-Up Light

philips wake-up lightScientific research has demonstrated how waking naturally to dawning sunlight has many benefits included feeling more rested, waking at an optimal point in your sleep cycles, and the follow-on benefits that flow from these.

Philips has a couple of consumer gadgets that meld sunrise simulation with an FM radio and/or natural sounds – the Wake-up Light. It works by gradually increasing the light starting 30 minutes before your pre-set alarm time.

There are 2 models of the Wake-up Light – one with and without an iPod dock, apart from which they are basically identical.

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $179.99, $114 without iPod dock
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Withings Scale – Measure Body Fat %, BMI, Sends Data via WiFi

wifi body scaleAh, here’s a good example of everyday gadgets getting IP addresses and connected to your home network in some fashion – the Withings WiFi Body Scale connects to your WiFi home network (802.11g), uploads the data which you can then view the data on a secure Web-interface. Pretty slick.

Apart from weight, include lean and fat masses, it also measures body fat % and BMI. You even share the data via e-mail, Twitter, and post to websites. There is even a free iPhone app that you can use to see your results.

Buy now!

More info from the manufacturer
Price: $159.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Ripxx Sports PMD – Track Every Move and Replay and Analyze Later

ripxx pmdOutdoor (extreme) sports person? And trying to push your limits all the time? Then you need to take a look at Ripxx. This is a pocket-sized gadget that keeps track of all of your motions, times, locations and more when you’re out there doing whatever – skiing, snowboarding, rock-climbing, biking, you name it.

Ripxx includes:

  • A hyperactive GPS (10 signals per sec)
  • 3 accelerometers for measuring speed and acceleration in any direction
  • 3 gyroscopes for covering flips, spins in whatever direction.
  • Software for your PC for viewing and analyzing your performance data as well as replaying what you did.

The Ripxx PMD is water-resistant and shockproof and is being used by a number of US Olympic athletes.

Buy now!

More info from the manufacturer
Price: $329.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

CES 2010: TabSafe Monitors & Dispenses Medications, and is Web-Connected

tabsafeTabSafe is a new ‘medication assurance device’ made by its namesake company, TabSafe. In everyday terms, it’s a consumer gadget that helps people monitor multiple medications, monitor vital signs and inform caregivers if pills have not been taken or needs refills.

The TabSafe hooks up to the Internet to keep it and the patient’s doctors up to date.

AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill Lets You Run, Walk, Jog With a Reduced Body Mass

AlterG Anti-Gravity TreadmillHere is one of those gadgets that you either need to use in a specialized facility or be pretty wealthy to own yourself. The Anti-Gravity treadmill by AlterG allows you to walk, jog or run with an effectively lowered body mass.

Get into the specialized harness, seal it up, and set your target body mass at less than 100%, and get running. The obvious application is rehabilitation for people with lower body injuries, but there are others such as: weight training for older folks, weight loss for heavier individuals so that their weight does not have as much impact on their joints, and of course, aerobic conditioning for athletes and others.

Gadget Gifts – Ideas, Recommendations, Suggestions

We’ve put together a list of gadget gifts for the gizmo-lover in your life. These aren’t just great for the Christmas holiday season but any time of year. For the most part, we’ve tried to stay away from the usual and obvious electronic gadgets like MP3 players, phones and cameras, but instead bring you a variety of neat electronic gift ideas and in most cases useful items that are still worth their salt as far as gadgets go.

Perplexus

Let’s start with some toys/puzzles/games. Perplexus is a spherical 3-D maze with a ball bearing that you to need to navigate around a maze. Simply to learn, hard to solve and master!
Buy now!

Our Picks for Black Friday Sales

There are literally thousands of items going on sale starting at various times this week, but we just wanted to point out some of the better ones in the gadgets and electronics arena.

Best Buy

palm-prePalm Pre $79.99 (with 2-yr contract).

Regularly $149.99.

You save $70.

Wagan Heated Magnetic Massage Seat Cushion for your Car or Home

The mercury has already started to drop across most of the North American continent and you may be dreading another winter of getting into your cold car every morning to go to work.

If you opted to save $10,000 or more for a cheaper car that doesn’t have heated seats, then you might consider just $50 for this gem – a heated seat cushion that by itself might be worth the price alone. But this product from Wagan is also a massaging cushion with 5 motors and a remote control too.

It works via either AC or DC adapters and can of course be used in the home as well. This magnetic seat cushion may be the answers to your prayers if you drive a fair amount.

Buy now!
Price: $49.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

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