E3 2011: adidas Teams With THQ

Trade shows such as the Electronic Entertainment Expo are known to get gamers up and running – that is running to see games and to get to appointments. The rest of the time gamers need some urging to get that much activity, but now adidas is set to team up with THQ to bring the popular miCoach interactive athletic training system to video game consoles.

The new collaboration is set for release next year, and will allow gamers to train using the miCoach hardware, including heart rate monitor (or any ANT+ compatible monitor), which will connect to the THQ’s new video game title for the Kinetic for Xbox 360 or PlayStation Move via miCoach Pacer and miCoarch mobile app.

“We’re taking our successful miCoach line and broadening its reach to an even larger audience, who we hope will find motivation and inspiration from adidas and our roster of star athletes,” said Simon Drabble, Director of miCoach BU for adidas. “In simple words, this combination of console technology and training for sports supports everybody to become better athletes, regardless of their fitness level.”

Players will get an onscreen trainer to guide them through hours of on-screen training and motivating game experience. The system will get gamers toned up beginning next year.

miCoach Official Website
THQ Official Website

Mini Drome Heads to Glasgow Scotland

The Red Bull Mini Drome, which is currently the world’s smallest velodrome, will make its way to Glasgow, Scotland for an indoor racing competition.

This is the first time the Red Bull Mini Drome has visited Scotland, and on June 25, the Barrowland Ballroom will play host to a race, where 100 randomly selected riders will compete in a single timed race of 10 laps. The fastest 32 will venture to the finals. Fixed gear bikes and helmets are required.

The purpose built track was designed and engineered in Germany by Velotrack, the team who built the tracks at the Atlanta Olympics and Delhi Commonwealth Games. It actually maintains racing dimensions in the smallest possible size to enable a single pursuit. This is the second time the track has visited the UK, and was used in a London competition earlier this year.

[Via BikeRadar.com: “World’s smallest velodrome” coming to Glasgow on 25 June”]
Red Bull Mini Drome Official Website

EMG Live Fitness Brings the Gym to You Via the Web

The problem with classes at the gym is that it often means being at the gym at set times to take a class. While that’s not always possible, sometimes distance plays a factor too. EMG Live saw this twin dilemma and created a web-based platform that links the most sought after fitness instructors directly to fitness enthusiasts. So you don’t need to be in the same town as the instructor, you just need a web connection.

“As a fitness and exercise class groupie working in the technology field,” says Joyce Wells, President and CEO of EMG Live. “I decided to combine my field of expertise with my many years of taking fitness classes and the friendships I have forged with instructors worldwide to create a platform that would benefit both students and instructors.”

(Video Preview after the Jump) Continue reading EMG Live Fitness Brings the Gym to You Via the Web

Nekdoodle No Wet Noodle

Last week’s 2011 International Aquatic Fitness Conference saw the arrival of the Nekdoodle, a head and neck support for use in water fitness, recreation and relaxation. While some water floatation aids are about as effective as a wet noodle, the Aquatic Exercise Association and the Aquatic Therapy & Rehab Institute (ATRI) tested the Nekdoodle and gave it a solid “thumbs up.”

The Nekdoodle was demonstrated during the Open Pool time during Conference, which was hosted by the Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA), and which drew some of the best presenters in the world from Spain, USA, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, Russia, Germany, Trinidad and Portugal and over 800 participants from 37 countries and 48 states. Continue reading Nekdoodle No Wet Noodle

E3 2011: Nintendo Says Wii U

Nintendo announced its Wii U at this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. While the game console won’t actually arrive until 2012, Nintendo did provide a look at the innovative console system, which could be as much of a gamer changer as the Nintendo Wii was when it arrived in 2006.

The Wii U is built around a new tablet-esque controller that allows for users to switch gameplay from the TV screen to the tablet’s 6.2-inch touchscreen.

“It is infinitely complex, but simple at the same time,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo America. “You want what you always wanted, but you wanted something new. You want comfortable and you want surprise. Contradictions, no problem? They come with the territory.”

The Wii U can be used as a controller or as a gaming device, offering both motion control while also having the promise to work with the current Wii-mote. We’ll be very interested in seeing how this could be utilized with Nintendo’s fitness related titles.

E3 Preview: 2011 Kinect Games (Announced and Expected)

This could be the year of the Kinect for the Xbox 360. 123KINECT has compiled a list of the games we hope to check out at this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

E3 2011 Kinect Games Announced:

Champion Jockey
Forza 4
Hulk Hogan’s Main Event (Over the Top Wrestling?)
Michael Phelps: Push the Limit
Mind ‘n Motion (Left Brain Right Brain?)
Rise of Nightmares
Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
Star Wars Kinect
Take Shape (Harley Pasternaks Hollywood Trainer?)
The Gunstringer (XBLA)
The Sims 3 Pets
UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System
DaVinci Kinect (Microsoft Surface application ported to Kinect) NEW

 

Continue reading E3 Preview: 2011 Kinect Games (Announced and Expected)

GPS Device Adds Camera

Over the years we’ve seen GPS added to smartphones and many digital cameras now offer GPS tags. But now Garmin, the maker of satellite navigation technology, sees that turnabout is fair play. The company has announced the addition to the GPSMAP 62 series of rugged outdoor handheld devices – a built-in 5 megapixel camera with automatic geotagging to capture the highlights of any adventure and allow you to share the locations or navigate back to that site. GPSMAP 62stc and GPSMAP 62sc were unveiled at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO, capping a week of exciting new Garmin outdoor handheld announcements by Garmin that included innovations in the popular eTrex, Rino and Astro families.

In other words this is a GPS device with a build camera. Continue reading GPS Device Adds Camera

Polar A Best Company – No Surprise

We’ve covered a few Polar products recently, and we have long known and respected the company’s dedicated to quality. So it comes as no surprise to KineticShift that Polar was named as a “Best Company to Work for in New York for 2011” by the New York State Society for Human Resource Management, Inc., the Business Council of New York and Best Companies Group.

Polar ranked 22 in the under 250 employees group, and the award honors companies who excel in workplace policies, practices, philosophies, systems and demographics and perform well in an employee survey that measures their experiences. Continue reading Polar A Best Company – No Surprise

Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Ready to Get All Wet

Heart monitors are ideal for training, and more and more runners and cyclists swear by them, but swimmers have sort of been left high and dry when it comes to a training aid. Not any longer, Polar has announced a new heart rate monitor that promises to get all wet. The Polar FT7 is ideal for the gym or out in the wild, and it can work well in the water as Polar is the only company that produces transmitters that broadcast a signal at a 5 kHz frequency, which means heart rate data is received while swimming.

The FT7 features a soft, flexible fabric strap that made with a patented heart-sensing fabric developed by Numetrex, while the monitor offers zone alarms, daily alarms, time and date. The FT7 will download all exercise information to the free Polar personal trainer software with an optional Polar Flowlink device.

In addition to telling you the number of calories burned, the EnergyPointer will tell if the main effect of your training is fitness improvement or fat burning. It offers button-free operation of the wrist unit and provides graphical target zone indicator. The Polar FT7 is available now (MSRP $119.95), and as we noted, this one works in the water!

Polar FT7 Official Product Website

E3 Preview: Majesco Entertainment Looks to Add Fitness to Line-Up

While we know that Majesco will have new action games at this week’s E3 including BloodRayne Betrayal (PSN, XBLA) and The Hidden (3DS), the company will also have a few titles to get you off the couch and get your heart pumping. This week the company will be unveiled Zumba Fitness 2 for the Nintendo Wii.

We’re also hearing that Majesco’s E3 lineup will include:

Hulk Hogan’s Main Event (Kinect for Xbox 360): It’s all about the show in the first motion-based wrestling game on Kinect for Xbox 360 that lets players train with mentor Hulk Hogan as they build their own wrestling personalities and learn the art of showmanship to win over the crowd.

Take Shape (Kinect for Xbox 360): Turn game night into a hilarious interactive party with the fast-paced Take Shape for Kinect! Twist, stretch and shrink your body into hundreds of different shapes, animals and symbols. “Shape yourself” solo to beat the fastest time or team up in multiplayer mode to unite your on-screen silhouettes in fun new ways. Fit through forms, bend into shapes and animals, match a mirrored image… even clear stacked shapes lightning fast in this fun-for-all-ages experience. Be flexible; be quick; be the life of the house party in Take Shape!

Mind ‘n Motion (Kinect for Xbox 360): Think fast and stay coordinated in Mind ‘n Motion! This fun, family-friendly experience puts your motor skills to the test with activities that keep your entire body moving as fast as your mind can trigger your next move. From juggling to dodging shapes to jumping hopscotch, Mind ‘n Motion packs in ten levels per activity and mixes it up throughout with additional gameplay elements like inverse controls, faster pace and new tricks to make you think quick on your feet!

Check back all week for the latest in active video game titles from the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

KineticShift Heads to E3

This week KineticShift will be reporting from the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (June 7-9) in sunny Los Angeles. We expect big news on the video game front from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony – and we hear this will include more fitness games and activities that will help encourage gamers to get off the couch.

Check back all week for the latest from E3. This is one show we’d hate to miss.

E3 Official Website

Made in America: Melanzana Outdoor Clothing

For over 150 years, Leadville, Colorado has seen both the boom and bust times that often occurs with mining towns. With the last of the big mines closing in the 1980s, it seemed as if Leadville might just fade away into the history books. A few citizens were not about to let that happen and numerous high altitude sporting events and festivals were born to bring in outside tourist dollars. Along with tourist dollars that started to flow into the economy, other businesses started to appear. One unique business is the outdoor clothing company, Melanzana. Continue reading Made in America: Melanzana Outdoor Clothing

runtastic Says 60Beat It

Sometimes you want to leave the phone behind when you decide to go for a run, but with runtastic 2.0 for the iPhone you’ll be sure to bring along the handset from now on. This running app is powered by 60Beat Rx, a small, inexpensive device that plugs into the headphone jack that delivers more robust heart rate information. The app features five programmable training zone that combine pulse and GPS information to provide accurate heart rate data in a convenient and easy-to-use platform is beneficial for a broad range of fitness goals. Continue reading runtastic Says 60Beat It