Peter Suciu | Evolving Consumer

Move Your Racquet

Game, set and match… and all in your living room. This is what Ubisoft’s Racquet Sports allows users to do, with a multisport game that includes tennis, ping-pong, badminton, squash and beach tennis. While originally released with the Nintendo Wii, this get-off-the-couch game will be heading to the PlayStation 3 this fall. It will of course be compatible with the PlayStation Move so you’ll get the chance to hit the court in your living room. The game promises pinpoint gameplay mechanics that bring every serve, swing and backhand to life.

Racquet Sports features 30 rich graphical environments, and many probably look better than your local tennis court too, and are certainly places where you’d expect to get in the swing of things. These include real-world landmarks such as the beach of Copacabana, the foot of Mount Fuji and even the skyline of Dubai. These include animated backgrounds, dynamic sounds and even day and night modes. Players will further have the ability to customize their onscreen persona, and can perform with 11 different athletes, each who has a distinct personality and flair. There are 30 outfits, 30 hairstyles and even 15 different racquets available as well to keep things fresh.

Players will also have the chance to play together cooperatively or against each other, with up to four players taking the court. About the only thing missing is the chance to jump over the net, but at least you won’t have any balls to chase when this one arrives this fall!

Racquet Sports Official Site

Hawk-Eye on the Prize and the Goal

One thing was proven at this year’s World Cup tournament: you need to have eyes like a hawk to keep track of the ball. That’s why Dr. Paul Hawkin, inventor of Hawk-Eye, is pushing for adopting of his tracking system by the International Football Association Board. If adopted this could see the use of goal-line watching technology put in place this year.

Hawkins isn’t new to the world of sports either, and he previously developed the ball-tracking device used in cricket, snooker and tennis, and is pushing for similar technology to be used in football/soccer. The system includes six cameras facing the goal from different angles to track the ball, where a signal is transmitted via a bank of computers to a referee with half a second of the ball crossing the line. Given some of the disputed calls during the World Cup, this could make a huge difference.

However, not all are in embracing the idea. It has been noted that many English Premier League matches are carried by Sky TV, which has eight cameras on the field, so a simple replay should often be enough to determine a call. But the real question is whether you can ever really have enough eyes – Hawk – or otherwise watching the action?

Hawk-Eye Sensors Official Site

The Wii Games: Summer 2010 Takes it Off the Couch

The East Coast heat wave has likely kept families indoors but as things cool down just a bit outside the video game competition will be heating up. Nintendo will be hosting the kickoff event for its Wii Games: Summer 2010 Competition at Liberty State Park in New Jersey on July 16. This will be the start of the first-ever nationwide Wii video game tournament, which encourages participants to get off the couch.

Olympic gold medalist and Dancing with the Stars champion Shawn Johnson will be the first official Wii Games ambassador and he’ll be on had to greet participants. While the first event will be in New Jersey, follow-up competitions will be held all summer at Six Flags theme parks and select shopping malls throughout the United States. The events are open for gamers of all ages, and qualifying winners at these competitions could qualify for a chance to compete in the Wii Games: Summer 2010 national championships, which will be held in Los Angeles in September.

Wii Games: Summer 2010 Official Site

Information on the kickoff event:

Friday, July 16, 2010
11am to 6pm

Liberty State Park
South Lawn
Jersey City, NJ
201-915-3440

Does Wearing a Cycling Helmet Really Help?

Today putting on a cycling helmet is something most serious riders do whether going for a long training ride, or just when they’re taking the bike out for a short spin. But Harvey Echin of The Vancouver Sun brings up an interesting question, and that is whether wearing a bike helmet actually makes you any safer? One point that is brought up by Colin Clarke, a mechanical engineer is that helmets can actually be subjected to more impacts than a non-helmeted helmet – in part because the helmet is larger and thus an otherwise near miss becomes a hit.

The other point that Echin notes is that some sources have noted an increase in cyclist accidents as more riders wore helmets. The argument here could be made that riders have a greater sense of security and thus take greater risks. In this case, we can kind of agree. In those times when we’ve rented bikes – such as biking in Paris or Rome (where helmets were not available) – we were trying to be a little more careful, in part because we weren’t familiar with the bikes, but also because we didn’t have a helmet.

Finally, there is the debate about freedoms and whether laws should be passed that make it mandatory to wear a helmet – as is the case in Canada. To weigh in on the issue, we’ll only say that we suggest everyone wear a helmet but to generally try and ride as safely as possible.

Wearing a bike helmet might not make you any safer [Via The Vancouver Sun]

Tour de France: Tech of the Tour

Cervelo Team P4 — The Cervelo P4 Time Trial bike might just give you the time of your life on a long ride

While we’re setting our alarms so we can get up bright and early to watch the Tour de France live and of course in high definition, we have to admit that we haven’t been able to follow all the trends on the latest technological advances. Our friends at Gnews have compiled a look at some of the biggest innovations that you’re likely to see on the roads throughout France in the next two and a half weeks.

Let’s just hope we don’t see more blood on the road. After the numerous spills in Rotterdam, on the roads in Belgium and on the cobblestones the technology most in demand might be anything to help the riders heal up. And while jokes have been made about electronic motors, we think any suggestions that any rider is getting a mechanical aid should be put to rest, especially after the efforts we seen so far.

Top Tech of the Tour de France [Via Gnews.com]

Columbia Ravenous Eat Up the Dirt on the Trail

If running on the pavement just isn’t your speed, and you prefer to get down and dirty than Columbia Sportswear has you covered – and your feet too. For 2010 the company has released a shoe that will let you eat up the trails. The 2010 Ravenous is just 600 grams a pair, and these feature a cushioned underfoot to make the hard trails seem not so hard.

To ease additional pounding the Ravenous are using what Columbia is calling a 3D Techlite heel system to offer a conforming fit while helping runners maintain stability in really rough terrain. This further provides a cushion that will make you feel like you’re running on a cloud while working up some dust. The shoes further offer a mesh upper, which is ideal for those summer heatwaves. But to protect your feet from the trails there is also a front toe bumper for good measure. All this combined result is a lightweight shoe that take a beating, and still looks stylish on or off the trails.

Columbia Ravenous Trail Shoe

Tour de France: Oakley on the Eyes

All eyes are on Oakley, or is that Oakley is on the eyes at this month’s Tour de France? The performance eyewear maker has announced updates to the glasses that will be worn by the competitors, and which will now be available to fans as well.

Oakley-Tour-de-France — Lance Armstrong sporting a pair of Oakley Radar glass

Among the racers wearing the new Oakley glasses will be Lance Armstong, and he’ll be sporting LIVESTRONG versions of the Oakley Radar and Jawbone models. Each is available with quick change-out lenses, including the G30 lens that is being used by Armstrong. There will also be new Clear-Black Iridium Photochromic lenses with new technology that automatically adjusts to changing conditions – like those in parts of France where it can go from rain to sunny skies.

Fabian Cancellara will also be riding in the Tour with Oakleys and while his chances to get back the Yellow jersey maybe off the radar, it will be the Oakley Radar glasses that will let him see the saw. He won’t be alone, as Carlos Sastre will also have his Radar on. Finally, look for Mark Cavendish to sprint to the finish with a pair of BMX Chrome Jawbone. Let’s just see if he actually can earn the green ones!

Oakley Official Site

BehindTheTour.com to check for information on Oakley riders and daily updates on the race.

Tour de France 2010: High Road Sports Teams Up With Google and Skype

: Follow Mark Cavendish and the rest of Team HTC-Columbia throughout the Tour de France

This year fans of the Tour de France will be able to follow the HTC-Columbia riders in real time, thanks to a new technology and marketing collaboration with Google Inc. High Road Sports announced that will work with the Internet search engine giant, along with team sponsors HTC and SRM to provide data from the HTC-Columbia riders during this year’s tour.

This partnership won’t just let you see where the riders are on the course, but will give you details on track speed, heart rate of specific riders, power output and other data that is provided by the SRM power meter! So if you want to know how much power Mark Cavendish cranks out in a sprint, or the heart rate of Marco Pinotti in a time trial, you’ll be able to track it.

Taiwan based HTC, which was the maker of the first Google Android powered mobile handset, worked closely with SRM, Google and High Road to develop the HTC Legend smartphone. These will collect real time racing and location information, which in turn can be transmitted wirelessly to Google’s own servers. The phones will run Google’s mobile application “My Tracks,” which can read the racing data directly from the SRM sensors on the HTC-Columbia rider’s bikes.

And when Cavendish makes his famous “phone gesture” while crossing the finish line we’ll have to wonder if he’s thinking make a call with Skype. HTC-Columbia has also signed a deal with the global telecommunications service, and the Skype logo will make a debut on the jerseys as they ride through France.

High Road Sports: Team HTC-Columbia

Check back throughout the Tour de France for the news and updates on latest technological advances in the world of cycling.

10 Minute Solutions Says No to Excuses

Not enough time in the day? That’s not an excuse any longer, especially if you have a Nintendo Wii sitting there. If you have enough time to play some games, you’ll have 10 extra minutes to get your heart pumping. This week Activision Publishing and Anchor Bay Entertainment announced that the companies have brought the popular 10 Minute Solution workout DVDs to the Nintendo Wii.

And price isn’t an excuse either, as the workout pack is available now for just $19.99. As with the video workout version, the Wii edition offers users the choice of cardio boxing, mixed games and step aerobics at varying levels. There are nine workouts that are also compatible with the Wii Balance Board too – but this accessory isn’t required however. The game even provides health and wellness tips from fitness spokeswoman Jessica Smith.

10 Minutes Solution for Wii is rated E for Everyone, and is recommend (by us anyway) for those gamers who can’t find the time to squeeze in a workout. Now that there is this solution, you have no excuses.

Activision official site

Anchor Bay Entertainment official site

Skechers Says Resistance is Not Futile

The promise to train harder in a shorter period of time is one that many of us seek today. There is only so much time in the day, and the ability to run a shorter distance but still get a full workout is a dream. This is part of the concept behind the Skechers Resistance Runner line of shoes, which also has the promise to provide the corrective benefits of running barefoot.

To this end the Skechers shoes utilize the “shape-ups” technology. The idea here is that the shoes can make it so your heart rate is faster, and you actually activate your muscles quicker. The company believes the shoes will increase back muscle activation by up to 85 percent, hip muscle activation by 71 percent, calf muscle activation by 68 percent and that users can actually burn more than 10 percent more calories when compare to traditional running shoes.

So how is this done? Part of it is the “rocker bottom,” where the shoe has a rounded appearance, which the company suggests should make for a more natural running position. This is what is believed to be the key to barefoot running. The shoe’s Kinetic Wedge thus simulates running on sand.

The Skechers Resistance Runners are now arriving in stores, and should be available to go the distance later this summer.

Skechers Official Site

Skechers Resistance Runner

Tour de France 2010: Pro Cycling Manager Gets You in the Game

While we like to report on software that actually gets you moving, one game stands out year after year as a sports related title that is worth taking a break from activity. No, we’re not talking about Madden; we’re talking about Pro Cycling Manger from La Vuelta. This year’s 2010 title is available now, with a new patch in time for the start of this week’s Tour de France in Rotterdam.

The game is available for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable (the latter meaning you could even take the game with you on those long training rides). This year’s game lets you take part in 180 races and international classics, where you can get a better understand of the daily aspects of general management including training, finances and even contracts. After all there is much to professional cycling than just riding expensive bikes.

And be sure to check back over the next three weeks, as we’ll be reporting on any technology updates happening at the tour, including news on the latest bikes and hardware.

Pro Cycling Manager 2010 Official Website

Sandals: Not Just for Romans and Hippies Anymore

: Sandals fit for a Roman Emperor

Sandals always brings three things to mind to me. First, the Romans – OK, in fairness the Greeks and others probably wore sandals first, but it was the Romans who brought the flat shoes with them everywhere they went. This did prove that the sandal wasn’t just for being laid back, because after all, any army or general that can conquer the world while wearing them must be pretty tough. But the next thought that comes to mind are hippies. Maybe hippies go barefoot, but I get a whole summer of love vibe when I see sandals, and the problem there is that it doesn’t evoke sport and competition. Finally, Peppermint Patty comes to mind when I think of sandals – and while Patty might have been a cool Tomboy she was kind of annoying.

So the question is what to wear following a long run or bike race when you just have to get out of the shoes? Barefoot is clearly too much like the aforementioned hippie thing, and there aren’t many places a germphobe like me will want to walk sans shoes. So when I go sans shoes I can go for sandals. The Montrail Molokai Flip feature a textured thermo-moldable PRFRM footbed that should be like walking on a cloud, but because it is made of 100 percent hydrophobic synthetic upper material it will still keep your feet cool and dry.

As the Molokai is made up of up to 30 percent recycled rubber hippies should like it too. We like these because at $55.00 they’re affordable and fairly stylish, but mostly they’ll just feel good after a long race. Imagine what Caesar could have done if he had these sandals?

Montrail Molokai Flip

Wet Suits To Change for 2013

Thin is in, especially for many tri-athletes. After all that swimming, cycling and running you’re sure to burn some calories. But come 2013 another type of thin will be in, as in the rules. Beginning in 2013 the thickness of wet suits will be the name of the game. The USA Triathlon announced that beginning on “January 1, 2013 swimmers wearing a wetsuit with a thickness measured in any part greater than five millimeters shall be disqualified.”

Thus those greater than the thickness will not be permitted at USAT-sanctioned events. According to the press release:

“Our board has been considering this issue and the impact it might have with our athletes for some time,” said USA Triathlon CEO Skip Gilbert. “The overall feeling is that it makes perfect sense to align with the guidelines set by our international federation and multisport enthusiasts around the world. This is a standard that is good for the athlete community and our sport overall.”

So what does this mean? Well, nothing more than the USAT will be in line with the international standard of five millimeters, which is already recognized by the International Triathlon Union (ITU) and other National Governing Bodies. Fortunately as many suits are currently greater in thickness, there will be a grace period as these suits are phased out.

[Via Competitor.com: USA Triathlon Adopts New Wetsuit Regulation Starting In 2013]