Software | Evolving Consumer

Just Dance Arrives for the Next Generation

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Ubisoft’s hit Just Dance franchise has arrived for next generation systems. Just Dance 2014 is the newest installment on the number one selling dance series, and it is now available for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 video game consoles.

Players on the next-gen consoles will be treated to a unique gameplay experience. Players on PlayStation 4 system will be able to play hands free using the new PlayStation Camera, while those getting the grove on with the Xbox One can use Xbox SmartGlass technology to navigate through the game’s menu and select songs all from their smartphone or tablet. In addition, Just Dance 2014 is playable with up to six people at the same time with the power of Xbox One.

Just Dance 2014 features more than 45 tracks, including “Applause” by Lady Gaga, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke ft. T.I. and Pharrell, “Kiss You” by One Direction, “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams and “Starships” by Nicki Minaj. “Roar” by Katy Perry is also available as a free DLC at launch.

Just Dance Official Website

Recon Rolls out 4th Gen Heads Up Display

Recon Instruments has introduced its fourth generation of heads up display for skiers and snowboarders, the Recon Snow2, which is designed to work with goggles from leading manufacturers including Oakley, Smith, Scottt, Uvex, Alpina, Briko and Zeal. The Snow2 is also available for sale as a stand-alone unit that can replace an older Recon HUD, and it offers improved connectivity options with Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11a/b/g/n). It even features “Made for iPhone” certification.

Recon Snow2 is power for those hitting the powder. It features an efficient dual-core processor, which results in three times the processing power and has a 35 percent increase in battery life from the previous generation of HUD. Snow2 also now offers a dedicated graphics processing unit providing enhanced brightness and contrast, and greatly increased screen readability. Continue reading Recon Rolls out 4th Gen Heads Up Display

Pear One

Pear Sports has announced that its new cloud based portal has been updated for iOS7 and is now available on Android on the Samsung Galaxy S4. It allows users to access their entire workout library and schedule from their handset, as well as track and analyze results. This app utilizes typical heart rate monitor data including heart rate, calories, distance, time and more, and turns it into real-time coaching.

Pear Sports Official Website

Time to Cliiiimb

Strava certainly lets users push themselves, but often times you can’t tell how you’re doing until the ride is over. But now the personal mapping and tracking system for runners and cyclists is working with 4iiii’s, which produces special glasses that can stream data directly to the lenses.

The new Cliiiimb app can now pull live segment data from Strava and relay it to the Sportiiiis heads up display. Just be sure to keep your eyes on the road! Video after the jump

The World is Ready to Party With Zumba

Can nearly 10 million people be wrong? When it comes to fitness video games we don’t think so. The Zumba Fitness franchise is still going strong, and that is something to celebrate. This month saw the arrival of Zumba Fitness World Party for Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360, the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Wii U. The game will also debut later this month as a launch day title for the Xbox One. Continue reading The World is Ready to Party With Zumba

Wii U Sports – It’s in the Game

Nintendo is offering gamers a chance to download Wii Sports Club and get a free trial pass that will let them play any available sports for a 24-hour period. Once the trial period ends, players can purchase two types of passes exclusively available in the Nintendo eShop: a Day Pass for $1.99 to play all available sports for a 24-hour period, or a Club Pass to gain permanent access to individual sports for $9.99 each.

This includes the five beloved sports from the original Wii Sports game including bowling, tennis, baseball, boxing and golf. These make the jump from the original Wii to the Wii U.

The sports are being released individually as downloads in the Nintendo eShop, and feature HD graphics, enhanced controls via Wii MotionPlus technology, as well as a much-requested online multiplayer versus mode, so users with broadband Internet access can face off against friends and family members online. Players can choose to associate themselves with various state or regional clubs and can send messages to one another via Miiverse. People can play casually against members of their own club, or take on members of rival clubs to increase their club rankings.

Wii Sports Club Official Website

Pain and Suffering

No pain, no gain. So if you want a serious workout on the training bike you need to do more than watch cartoons and the evening news. The Sufferfest provides downloadable cycling training videos that feature high-intensity workouts along with a soundtrack to get you and keep you in high gear. These are training videos for beginnings to the pros. And now Sufferfest is even compatible with Strava. Video after the jump

Super (LOCK)8

There are plenty of bike trackers on the market and a lot of bicycle locks. The LOCK8 is designed as the first “smart bike lock” and acts as both a lock and tracker should the lock part be compromised. Now being developed via a Kickstarter project, the LOCK8 is a keyless system that relies on the smartphone to do the unlocking, while integrated GPS can transmit the location of the bike.

The system features a number of systems, so that if a bike is stolen the geolocator kicks in, while the smart cable will set off an alarm and send a push notification should it be cut. A gyro accelerometer will also send the push notification and do the alarm thing should someone try to cut the LOCK8 or otherwise remove it.

The idea here is that you can’t stand around and watch your bike all day, so the LOCK8 will do it for you. Video after the jump

Surf the App

Now you can surf the web and then use the Surf Report 2.0 app from Oakley before heading to the beach. This app provides information on conditions for thousands of breaks worldwide. Details including weather, tides, sweels, water temperature and much more are now at your finger tips.

Oakley Surf Report 2.0 Official Website

Air(o) on the Wrist

Airo Health has released its AIRO, a next-generation health-monitoring device that can be worn as a sleek wristband to automatically monitor nutrition, stress, exercise and sleep. It can also analyze caloric consumption, stress patterns, daily exertion and sleep quality to help wearers obtain better overall health.

It can monitor nutrition by looking at different wavelengths of light to look into the blood stream and detect metabolites as they are released while and after a user eats; while it also measure calorie intake and determines the quality of meals consumed. From here it can provide recommendations on how to improve one’s diet.

On the stress end AIRO utilizes heart rate variability (HRV) to monitor micro-fluctuations in stress throughout the day, and can notifies users when their stress level is on the rise. It can work like other sleep monitors as well, as it looks at the autonomic nervous system to notice distinct sleep cycles; and from here can recognize when the body is in deep sleep, light sleep or REM sleep and can calculate how much of a user’s night was restorative.

As an exercise tracker the AIRO monitors daily exertion through heart rate and caloric burn, and from here it uses these metrics to detect how intense the activity has been, and even checks to see how the body has recovered from activity over the course of the following days. Video after the jump

There is an App For That – But Beware

The Canadian Avalanche Centre has warned backcountry users not to rely on smartphone apps. These, were are marketed as “transceivers” can give users a “false sense of protection” warned the agency.

The CAC found a number of issues with the technology, including compatibility and frequency range. According to the CAC all avalanche transceivers should conform to the international standard of 457 kHz, so that regardless of brand these can be used to search and find one another.

“Not only are these new apps incapable of connecting with other avalanche transceivers, they are also incompatible between themselves, so one type of app can’t find another,” explained CAC Executive Director Gilles Valade.

The 457 kHz standard was chosen because it transmits very well through dense snow, is not deflected by objects such as trees and rocks, and is accurate. However, according to the CAC the apps don’t come close to this standard, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both significantly weakened when trying to pass through snow.

“We are warning all backcountry users to not use any of these apps in place of an avalanche transceiver,” added Valade.

Canadian Avalanche Centre Official Website

Nintendo Gives Wii Fit U to You

Owners of the Nintendo Wii U who own a Wii Balance Board accessory and have access to a broadband connection can now download a trail version of Wii Fit U from the Nintendo eShop. This promotion will run from now until the end of January, and will work for 31 days from when it is first played. That should be enough for users to decide if the Wii Fit U is right for you.

Wii Fit U Official Website

Like a Guardian Angel

Guardian angels supposedly watch over us, but while these heaven sent angels might help guide the way they don’t actually monitor our fitness so much. That is where the open source sensor from Israel comes in. The Angel is designed to help monitor fitness and much more. It can track pulse, temperature, activity and even blood oxygen levels.

It can send this data to a smartphone or laptop and even fitness equipment. It features an open API so it can be a workout tracker, fertility calendar, sleep monitor and even a tele-nanny. This wearable fitness device could also be used as a golf trainer to monitor strokes while watching for irregular heart rate that could lead to a stroke!

The developers have already reached their Indiegogo funding goals and now look to deliver the Angel in April of next year. Video after the jump