Heading into a season of water sports and fun doesn’t have to mean the action happens without music. The G-GO from G-Project is a portable, water resistant Bluetooth speaker that’s easy to take waterside and connects to any Bluetooth device to play music. Continue reading G-GO Water Resistant Speaker is on Target
Tag: Bluetooth
Phiaton PS 20 Headset Gives You Great Sound Wirelessly
While everything around us seems to be going wireless, when it comes to headphones most are us are still tethered. Anyone who uses headphones during a workout or activity knows how cumbersome they can be when they’re flailing around. New wireless technologies like Bluetooth, however, have allowed headphone manufacturers to cut the cord. One such product is the Phiaton PS 20 BT Stereo Headset ($149), a pair on in-ear headphones that are Bluetooth 3.0 compatible, which provides amazing sound quality, according to Phiaton.
When paired with your phone you can answer calls without removing them; you can pair up to eight devices at once, while using two of them simultaneously. Other features include the “Echo-Off” noise reduction; 14.3mm drivers that Phiaton says produces pure and accurate sound; a “half in-ear” design that’s ergonomic, and offers “excellent bass response of in-ear style buds with the crystal clear high frequency response of open-ear style earphones”; “MaxBass” technology with a dual-chamber structure to reduce or eliminate vibration and echo; and calling time of 6 hours, music-playing time of 6 hours, and 250 hours of standby time.
MotionFit Ready For Developers
Motion tracking devices have made some major strides in the last couple of years, and now InvenSense, a provider of motion tracking technology, announced this week the availability of its MotionFit System Developers Kit (SDK). This promises to help accelerate design and commercialization of wearable sensor devices for the growing fitness and remote health monitoring markets.
And while this is big news it comes ina small package, as the SKD consists of a small 40mm x 37mm development board incorporating the InvenSense MPU-9150 single chip 9-axis MotionTracking device, a pressure sensor for altitude tracking, a TI MSP430 microcontroller with external serial flash for data logging, a 110mA/hr rechargeable battery, and communication via USB or Bluetooth interfaces enabling real-time streaming of data to smartphones. Continue reading MotionFit Ready For Developers
Bluetooth SIG Forms Sports and Fitness Working Group
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group formed the Sports and Fitness Working Group with the goal of participating companies to “work together to enhance interoperability between Bluetooth enabled sports and fitness sensor products and training computers (Bluetooth Smart devices) and hub devices such as smartphones, PCs, TVs (Bluetooth Smart Ready devices), gym equipment, watches and more to allow a new generation of functionality.”
The working group will work to advance the use and abilities of Bluetooth in sports and fitness devices. In particular, the group will work with the new generation, Bluetooth v4.0, a low energy technology that gives devices connectivity without using too much battery life.
Mosoro, one of the working group’s first members, is working on a Bluetooth Smart sensor that connects to a golf club to record and send data on a player’s golf swing, which is sent to a smartphone for real-time feedback. Devices that serve as an example for the group are the Motorola MOTOACTV fitness watch and Nike+ FielBand, a wristband that uses Bluetooth to sync with a user’s smartphone to track and analyze physical activity.
Bluetooth SIG is accepting new members to the Sports and Fitness Working Group. Registration for the Sports and Fitness Working Group and Sports and Fitness Bluetooth Ecosystem Team (BET) is open to Bluetooth SIG Associate and Promoter members.
No Bones About the SpeakGoggles
The sound of your voice is different than how you likely hear it, in part because part of the sound is transmitted through the bone to the inner ear. This is why people typically sound different when their voice is recorded, and now this same bone-conductivity can be used to allow you to talk on the phone – with a little help from the SpeakGoggle G33 from Buhel. These goggles connect to a smartphone or other handset via Bluetooth and feature a bone conduction microphone that is built into the frame.
So instead of the mic picking up normal sound through the air, it actually picks up what you’re saying as the sound waves travel through your own jaw bones and skull! The result of course is little to any background noise – so you could basically talk while skiing as wind won’t be an issue. Video after the jump
Hands On: Jabra Sport Bluetooth Headset
The Jabra Sport is the first Bluetooth headset to unshackle runners from the constraints of their wired headphones. But can Jabra – a company who’s known for making Bluetooth headsets for the home and office – make a smooth transition into the sports world? In a word; yes. The Jabra Sport is comfortable, reliable, and as rugged as any other pair of sports headphones we’ve seen. It’s not perfect, but it’s a solid first attempt at a wireless headset for runners.
The $99 headphones are light and sit comfortably over the top of each ear. The buds themselves rest by your ear canal opening (not inside it), meaning they don’t provide any noise isolation. As a runner, that’s a good thing, since you should always be aware of your surroundings when running outdoors. But for use at the gym, that means you’ll have to crank the volume up high to cancel out any noise from the treadmill or your fellow gym goers. Continue reading Hands On: Jabra Sport Bluetooth Headset
CES 2012: Hit the Showers
After a workout it is time to hit the showers, and now you can enjoy some music while you get clean. At CES this week iDevices introduced its iShow, a water resistant, Bluetooth-enabled speaker that can stream music from portable devices. And while it is the “i” in the name, an Apple device isn’t required. It will stream directly from any device that offers Bluetooth, including a PC or Android device, making it ideal for use in the shower, or just at the beach or by the pool. It features a 200-foote range, and runs for 15 hours on three AA batteries. Press Release after the jump
CES 2012: Train to the Rhythm of Iqua Beat
Music can make fitness routines a little more enjoyable and a lot less routine, while encouragement can help get someone through a workout. At the Consumer Electronics Show Iqua Ltd. got into the rhythm with its new Iqua Beat training solution for iPhone. The company, which is a designer of hands free headsets has launched the new Bluetooth stereo headset and iPhone app for the North American market.
Iqua Beat can be used to tracks heart rate, pace, calorie consumption, and distance traveled, while providing audio feedback, encouragement, and guidance during the workout work out. The headset monitors the user’s heart rate from their earlobe, and the patented earpieces provide a secure in-ear fit ideal for a wide range of sports. Continue reading CES 2012: Train to the Rhythm of Iqua Beat
Does Hockey Need a Better Brain Bucket?
Much has been written about football helmets and whether enough is being done to stop the increasing number of concussions among players? Well, now that football season is winding down, attention is being turned to hockey, which has also seen an increase in the number of professional players suffering from hits to the heads.
It was noted recently that Bauer had released the 9900 Helmet for hockey this season, which is the first to utilize PORON XRD technology. This feature is designed to absorb maximum impact without adding stiff or constricting bulk to the helmet. Moreover this is helmet is actually 10 percent lighter than the 9500 model. But the question remains is it enough?
Some don’t think so, and this includes Danny Crossman, an Ottawa entrepreneur and British Army veteran, who served in Iraq, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Crossman is now chief executive of Impackt Protective, and he’s working to develop a sensor that could be used on hockey helmets. Continue reading Does Hockey Need a Better Brain Bucket?
Apple Wants to See More Bluetooth Low Energy Accessories, Report Finds
The Verge reports “Apple wants to see a new wave of app-based accessories using the new Bluetooth Low Energy profile in Bluetooth 4.0, with a particular focus on next-generation health and fitness gadgets like the FitBit Ultra and Jawbone Up.”
BLE is a feature in Bluetooth 4.0—the latest version of the wireless radio-based technology that connects two devices over a short distance, such as between cell phones and headsets—designed for low-power and -latency applications. It allows devices that utilize the protocol to realize long, continuous operation before a recharge.
Along with the ANT+ protocol, the medical community and health care-related industries have taken an interest in BLE and designing products around (more about BLE in health care explained here). But, if Apple, a major, influential player in the electronics industry, is throwing its support behind it, BLE could become standard across the board.
There are no further details or timeline, according to The Verge, but the site notes that while the iPhone 4S already supports Bluetooth 4.0, it could be some time before an abundance of products show up on shelves.
[Via The Verge: Apple preps iOS accessory makers for Bluetooth 4.0; not using Bluetooth for AirPlay]
Heads-Up Add-On For Your Ski Goggles
While we’ve seen various ski goggles that have featured a built-in heads up display, Recon Instruments is providing a new add-on that will allow users to add its MOD Live Package to a range of goggles. The Vancouver-based company is offering “real-time information direct to eye” for skiers and snow boarders. The MOD Live will work with “Recon Ready” goggles from Uvex, Briko, Alpina and Zeal Optics. Continue reading Heads-Up Add-On For Your Ski Goggles
Sports Tracker in the Blue(Tooth)
Sports Tracker has announced that it has released its Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor. The chest strap device pairs with a smartphone app, allowing users to view heart rate and other stats in real time, while also sending the data to the cloud via the company website or through social media. Users can monitor speed, distance, time, number of steps, elevation and of course calories burned. The device can even geo-tag photos you take while working out, and can be linked with a map once synced with Sports Tracker website.
As the name implies it features Bluetooth wireless connectivity to a smartphone, and has a range up to 20 meters or 65.6 feet. The Sports Tracker can be charged via USB and can run for up to 40 hours on a single charge. It is available worldwide, while the free app is available for Android and Symbian handsets, as well as the iPhone. We’ll be watching to see when this arrives stateside. Video after the jump
Motorola New Music Plus Fitness Trainer For the MotoACTV Life
Last August we heard about the MotoACTV and now it has arrived. This is the new fitness device from Motorola that promises to help users burn calories while listening to some tunes. In truth this concept has been around pretty much since Sony developed the Walkman – listen to music and be active.
But Motorola is taking this a whole new level with the MotoACTV (hence the name), where the device not only plays the tunes but keeps track of the user’s performance in the process. The device relies on AccuSense technology and GPS to track vital stats by gauging time, distance, speed and heart rate; while providing this data, along with calories burned to the user. This data can further be uploaded to the MotoACTV website for post-workout performance analysis. In other words this device is pretty much like most other heart rate monitors and wearable fitness computers. Continue reading Motorola New Music Plus Fitness Trainer For the MotoACTV Life