Tech Gadgets Reviews

If you are already using your media player/phone to listen to music or watch TV while you work out, you might as well use it to improve the workout itself. Of course, you’d have to stop wasting time watching Speed Racer movie trailers while waiting for the treadmill in the first place.

PumpOne sells individual workouts tailored to different mobile devices, including one for the iPhone that was released just recently. Their new line of workouts, called PumpedForSummer 2008, seek to entangle potential customers into the snake-oily deceit that they can change your body significantly in only 30 days.

Maybe it’s our own hard-won wisdom speaking here, but it takes a long time and years of soul-crushing exercise to get any traction with a healthy lifestyle. (Yes, it isn’t hard to sense our bitterness). But there’s no denying the potential benefits of having a simple program to show you how to properly exercise.

Plus, there’s the simple joy of filling up the tiny crevices in your iPhone with even more sweat.

Click on after the jump for more pictures of the, um, iphone screenshots.

Currently, you can buy a video program where trainers show you repetitions of the exercise, with proper stop signs to actually do the exercise yourself. There are also image-only programs with start and end positions (as well as markers telling you which muscle/body part you’re working on), and a text messaging option that is sent directly to your phone in case you feel the need for a quick set in the middle of your munch break. 

There’s also the youPump FitnessBuilder option, where a user can create exercise programs with titles and instructions on their computer and then push it to your media player.

We haven’t tried this out yet, and maybe we’re wrong, but it seems that the instructions are not that much different from what you would receive from asking a trainer a few questions at your local gym. Plus you can get a lot of the same information for free on the net, and you don’t have to spend extra on exercise clips. Gym membership is already not that cheap.

Then again, proper exercising is all about correct positioning and perseverance, and if you have a trainer in your ear the whole time, it might make a difference for some.

You can find some of the price details for the available exercises right here.

Japanese retailer Aeon Co. has just announced that they will be using a 1.4 meter robot to keep the children entertained as parents peruse the store to make their weekly purchases. These robots will be able to identify the children by name and interact with them, as long as the little ones wear special badges that contain code which the robot can read and decipher, reacting accordingly after that. Good thing it is meant to work with little children only as the robot’s vocabulary is rather limited at this point in time. The robot image shown here is but for illustrative purposes only. Could this be the start of the Robotic Nanny age as depicted in the Age of Apocalypse story arc in X-Men many years ago?

Projector Clock
It's super-bright, slick and sound-activated, so you can call up the time day or night at the click of your fingers.

You can have this for ?69.95

A-Data has a couple of new accessories that were specially marketed for the Asus Eee PC crowd - the A-Data S70i USB flash drive and SDHC memory card. After all, the Eee PC could definitely make do with way more memory than it currently has (8GB tops), freeing up its hard drive from videos and music for more important stuff like actual work data. Both offerings will come with a lifetime warranty, making this a rather tempting deal.

Earlier this year, we mentioned that Acer would roll out it’s own version of an ultra-portable notebook computer. It was expected to feature an 8.9-inch screen just like the 2nd generation Asus Eee PC. Although no announcements have been made yet with regards to its official release date, DigiTimes is reporting that Acer’s version of an ultra-portable notebook should be expectedly cheaper than the new version of the Asus Eee PC.

According to DigiTimes’s sources, Acer wanted to steer clear of a price competition against Asus, and so humbly placed the free on board (FOB) price of their own 8.9-inch low-cost PC at around US$300-350, even though the market ASP (average selling price) should fall between US$400-500. That makes Acer’s 8.9-incher a tad cheaper than the Asus Eee PC.

But still, a large percentage of a buyer’s purchase decision will still rely heavily on the computer’s features and performance. And that’s to say that even though Acer has the upper hand in pricing and can afford to sell at a lower price point, they should know that this is not enough. Well, I’m sure they’ve got something special in store for us. Or at least they should. Unless they want to flop.

Via [DigiTimes]

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I like the idea of electronic ink, as it will definitely help us reduce the use of paper indiscriminately. The technology is still in its infancy though, so it might be a while before it really takes off but at least we can see it in action in the E-Ink Display Watch now.

The E Ink technology used in this watch depicts digital time with the look of electronic paper and can be read accurately and instantly from any angle – vastly improving on dull liquid crystal displays (LCDs) that typify previous digital watches. The customizable dial allows you to select different styles, from the precise detail of full numerals and indices to the simplicity of no markings all. Metal case features a bold geometry, generously oversized buttons and knobs, and a luxuriously thick strap. However what makes this watch truly unique is that the entire watch dial is an E-Ink electronic paper display.

ThinkGeek is carrying the E-Ink Display Watch for $249.99.

Posted Mar 25th 2008 9:59AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: GPS

There’s nothing wrong at all with Blaupunkt’s new TravelPilot 100, 200 and 300, and given the company’s missteps in the past, these new devices are actually quite the relief. That said, there’s nothing too fancy going on either. The TravelPilot 100 and 200 sport 3.5-inch QVGA screens, while the 300 does 4.3-inches at 480 x 272. All three are running Windows CE 5.0, the 200 and 300 include traffic receivers, and the 300 includes Bluetooth and is the only one with maps for all of Western Europe. Prices range from €129 ($200 US) to €299 ($462 US), and they’ll all be hitting Europe in March and April.

[Via NaviGadget]

Rumors abound that Windows Mobile 6.1 will be made available for all and sundry to upgrade their creaking operating system when April 1st rolls around, although I am highly suspicious of that date and companies making announcements then. Well, the 6.1 version is tipped to function as a stop-gap measure before Microsoft perfects and polishes Windows Mobile 7.1 in order to gain a larger market share among cell phones and smartphones. It seems as though Windows Mobile 6.1 is Vista-inspired in many of its screenshots, but I’ll wait until the official version rolls out before making any more comments.

You’re wondering why has the temperature in the office dropped to freezing levels - was it because of the crummy economic outlook for the coming quarter? Well, to find out exactly where the mercury lies at the moment, there is always the USB Hygro-Thermometer. This USB-powered device is able to measure both indoor temperature and humidity levels, capturing the necessary data for further review on your computer. Features of this $24 gadget include :-

• Temperature Range: -40° ~ 120°
• Humidity Range: 0 ~ 100%
• Temperature can be captured from every second to 12 hours
• Logged data can be pasted to Word/Excel easily
• Size: 59mm x 17mm x 7mm
• Weight: 8g

It’s not enough for something to look good, it has to be functional as well, and in the case of these Altec Lansing MHP 206 earphones, they deliver the goods. Sure, they feature sparkling, Swarovski “elements”: jeweled flowers on the earbuds and a butterfly on the choker, but most importantly, the sound is great. Thank the powerful 9mm neodymium drivers and gold-plated plug for superior sound transfer.

Designed for women, the snug fit (for our delicate, tiny ears?) provides passive noise reduction and great sound at lower listening levels, though crank them up to 11 if you’re rocking out to some metal music.

$59.95 at Altec Lansing and on sale now for $27.62 at Amazon.