Touch Screen Heart Rate Watch » Reviews

Touch Screen Heart Rate Watch

Marking your workout’s progress can be quite a chore, but then again, I supposed if you have the discipline to work out each day without having to drag yourself out of bed, keeping track of your health record should not be too hard to do. The $99.99 Touch Screen Heart Rate Watch might help you out here, where it enables easy monitoring of your heart rate in order to maintain and improve on your cardio intensity target.

Basically, the Touch Screen Heart Rate Watch delivers an accurate reading to you without the need to wear an uncomfortable chest strap, and neither do you need to fiddle around with a wide range of function buttons while ensuring your activity level remains at the same, high intensity pace. All you need to do is touch The Touch Screen Heart Rate Watch’s bezel, and within seconds, you will be able to see what your current heart rate is. The LCD display is a snap to read, and it also doubles up as a watch, calendar and stopwatch. Love exercising at dusk? Fret not, there is a light-up display to help you there. Since the New Year is tonight, why not make a resolution and sweat away those pounds in 2012, with the help of the Touch Screen Heart Rate Watch?

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Review » Super Bowl XLVI to be streamed live!

For the first time in history, the biggest game in the United States is going to be streamed live to computers and mobile devices.

Here is the catch. If you want to view the championship NFL game of the year on a mobile device, then you had better have a Verizon phone and access to the NFL Mobile app.

I suppose that we should have seen a streaming Superbowl coming, as NBC is already doing web streaming on Sunday Night broadcasts, and they happen to be the network that is televising the big game this year.

Yes, it looks like the stars have aligned to give football fans what they want, except there is one thing that the live stream won’t give you: the commercials. I find that very hard to believe, as advertisers pay millions of dollars for seconds of airtime. I wouldn’t be surprised if some ads got on there somehow, as Superbowl commercials are legendary.

If it ends up that you don’t get those award-winning Super Bowl commercials, then you might like the usual NBC streaming features with DVR controls, different camera angles, highlights, statistics, as well as other bonuses.

I’m sure that a lot of football fans are rejoicing right now, and I am sure that soon every major sporting event from the World Cup to the World Series.

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Review » Dragon APX Frameless Goggles

Ski goggles are not just for fashion purposes – no sir, the reason for wearing them is to make sure that your eyes get adequate protection not only from the wind and snow, but from potentially glaring sunlight as well. Most of them come with frames though, so why not take the road less traveled with the £154.99 Dragon APX Frameless Goggles that is said to offer maximum vision with minimal bulk?

The rather radical all-lens appearance is also quite the performer, where the APXs are state-of-the-art wintersports goggles. Since they’re frameless, you will most definitely get a lift up the slope the next time the ski lift goes by your way, even though it is already super cramped inside simply because the girls there want to ask you just where did you get such a cool pair of ski goggles. Bono won’t be out of place wearing these, that’s for sure. Unlike regular goggles, the APX’s face-hugging triple-layer foam surround will remain on the inside, helping achieve not only style but safety for your eyes.

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Review » FINIS announces Tempo Trainer Pro availability

Metronomes aren’t just for folks who play the piano, you know. FINIS, the worldwide leader in technical swimming development and provider of select training equipment for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team, has just announced that they have made available their Tempo Trainer Pro – which essentially is an audible metronome pacing device. This is not revolutionary, but it is new and improved where personal pace coach devices are concerned.

The Tempo Trainer Pro is meant to assist a swimmer develop consistency by avoiding lulls through the transmission of an audible tempo beep while swimming. This is no doubt a tiny, waterproof device which can be worn under a swimmer’s cap, while sporting a sync button. It will be powered by a replaceable battery, sporting three modes which will monitor your strokes-per-minute and floating capability.

If you want to up the ante in your swimming routine, the Tempo Trainer Pro can be yours for $49.99. Of course, this is meant for serious swimmers only, but those who feel that they still want to shave off some seconds off their personal best would also be a suitable candidate to have the Tempo Trainer Pro under their swimming caps, as it works to synchronize your strokes according to your ability, helping you find the optimum combination of Distance-Per-Stroke (DPS) and stroke rate.

Since you can replace the battery now, it becomes an even better buy – as the Tempo Trainer Pro is able to last multiple lifetimes. Not only that, new features include a revamped Sync button and a new mode in strokes/strides per minute for increased functionality. If you do not have a penchant for water sports, then the Tempo Trainer Pro comes with a clip for dry land exercise including running and cycling.

Don’t worry about it getting lost in the swimming pool – it is 100% floatable, so even if it comes off, it should be on the water’s surface, bobbing up and down somewhere.

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Review » iHome NB639 Fitness evolved headphones

For some reason, I seem to be encountering a theme when I am reporting headphones, as I seem to be reviewing ones designed for an active crowd. Yesterday, it was the Jabra SPORT, today it is the iHome NB (New Balance) 639.

As you can see in the picture, the headphones have something else attached to them besides the iPod nano. The unit that you see there is able to detect your heart rate in your thumb at a touch of a button. It will then speak that information in your ear through the headphones, and save it.

The unit also has a button to start a workout, and this clip-on unit functions as a pedometer and data recorder. The user can then attach the unit to the USB dongle to charge it and the information off the unit can be graphed.

During exercise, the user can get real-time voice-over feedback on a heart rate, caloric burn, steps taken, as well as distance. It can do this while you are listening to your tunes on a mobile device.

In short, the iHome NB639 is essentially an audio exercise kit. I got a chance to try it out for myself, and I will recommend it if you like tunes and exercise at the same time. You should be able to get it on the iHome web site for a price of $99.99.

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Review » Z3 GPS goggles for those who do not want to get lost

Going skiiing can be quite the fun activity – after all, you have nothing but a huge expanse of snow to which you can ply your trade, slaloming through the slopes with wanton abandon (once your skill level is right up there, of course, beginners as well as those who are not experienced enough need to maintain a degree of caution). Sometimes of course, you still need to get your bearings correct wherever you ski, as exploring too far away from the base might see you getting lost (either that or, if you have a really bad sense of direction).

Good thing there is this thing called GPS – and Zeal Optics from Colorado has introduced their latest model of goggles that sports a built-in global positioning system, calling it the Z3 GPS Goggles. These goggles will be constructed based on the technology introduced in the company’s Transcend GPS Goggles collection, where among the new features will include enhanced style and comfort, ease-of-use and data-capture capabilities.

Your eyes will definitely experience a whole new perspective – where you will be able to enjoy a far more advanced optics, not to mention improved head-mounted display technology and new 3-D data-capturing features. Taking nothing but the best capabilities of the Transcend GPS line, the Z3 GPS will come with enlarged polarized in-molded anti-fog lenses that will remove 99.9% of glare from the sun and slopes so that your eyes won’t fatigue so fast, but it will also be able to automatically adjust varying light levels that go from a clear tint in low light, to a dark rose/brown tint in brighter light.

You will also be able to obtain real-time access to performance statistics such as speed, altitude, temperature, and time during your run down the slopes. Seems to be the perfect tool for those who eat, sleep and breathe skiing. Nice to see the built-in monitor being redesigned in a manner that it is less obtrusive now than ever before. A rechargeable lithium ion battery will sport a 7-hour run time, so you should tire out far faster beyond the batteries do.

Expect the Z3 GPS to be used to the maximum thanks to downloadable software which lets you transfer all data from your goggles to your PC and Mac computers. It will retail for $549 a pop if you’re interested.

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Review » String Thing helps you get it right

You know what they say – a good workman never blames his tools, but sometimes, you just think that if it weren’t for your tools and not the lack of skill, you would be able to do so much better in a particular sport or activity. If you’re an avid fan (and player) of racquet sports such as tennis, then surely you would need to know a little bit of basic physics. For example, the nylon strings on your tennis racquet were specially designed to shift, stretch and spring back as it comes into contact with the ball to deliver power to your shots. The strings won’t stay evenly spaced out and in place all the time though, so eventually they will get misaligned.

Enter the £19.99 String Thing which is rather curiously named, allowing you to reset strings to their proper position without having to do it the old fashioned way by hand, and the latter most probably would be a disaster since they probably would not end up being perfectly straight anyways. Made from polycarbonate, this virtually indestructible String Thing is able to give Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton a run for its money in terms of toughness.

The entire process of running the String Thing through your racquet takes mere seconds, so you can get back to your playing best as soon as possible.

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Review » FitDesk lets you pedal while you work

As someone who works from home for a majority of my job, I am concerned about my sedentary lifestyle.

I don’t consider myself “fat” but I believe that I’m probably overweight. That probably means that I am overweight if I am not willing to admit it. However, if I did my work from a FitDesk, I might find that at least my legs would be more muscular.

The FitDesk is a pretty simple concept based on putting a desk atop a stationary bike where the handlebars are. I’m not certain whether my work will be the same quality if I am pedaling and typing at the same time, but at least I am exercising.

Right now, I am typing this paragraph while I am sit-running in place. I have to admit, I am feeling the burn, but my typing is getting slower. I guess you can’t tell that since you are reading the end-product.

Still, I like the idea of typing, and then pedaling while I’m trying to figure out what to type next. I might as well be exercising my body as well as my mind. This is definitely better than putting my computer on a treadmill, or something.

I’m not certain how well a laptop would stay on this desk, as the one in the picture looks glued on or attached with double-stick tape. If you want to try it out, be prepared to spend $229.

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Review » Oscillating Table Tennis Trainer

 

 Oscillating Table Tennis Trainer

Want to pick up mad table tennis skills like Forrest Gump? Perhaps he had a really, really good coach or trainer, or he might have actually traveled to the future to purchase this $199.95 Oscillating Table Tennis Trainer – and dedicated all of his spare time to it in order to become a world champion. Similar to a tennis ball machine albeit coming in a much smaller form factor, this scaled down automatic oscillating table tennis trainer is capable of serving non-stop stream of balls for solo practice in order to make sure you’re ready to face just about any situation that comes your way.

There is a tethered remote that controls just which serve direction the ball is headed for, letting you practice both forehand and backhand strokes. Three spin settings will further help you hone your response – Backspin (where the ball rotates away from the receiving player, requiring a chopping stroke to return); Topspin (where the ball rotates toward the player); and a challenging Heavy Topspin (high rpm rotation that must be returned with a controlled downward stroke).

Capable of holding 110 balls, you can have it sending balls to you at any rate from 12 to 70 per minute.

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Review » Slip ‘N Slide Hockey Rink

Summer is on where I am at, and it is a hot one. I recently got one of those Slip ‘N Slides for my daughter, but I wish I would have purchased this one.

I’m not certain how this Water Soaked Knee Hockey Rink compares to real hockey, and I think it would be better to compare this toy to Air Hockey.

This toy that you see in the picture here uses water from 30 tiny nozzles around it, and it makes the surface super slick. I like the over-sized puck, as it looks like a soft frisbee.

It certainly looks like a lot of fun, but one thing I have discovered about these slip and slides is that the ground is usually never too soft. In other words, watch out for the falls.

I would imagine that kids could break out into a fight with these particular sticks. I suppose that the penalty box will have to be off the “ice”. I wonder if parents will have to be referee here.

If you want to get this, you should be able to get it at the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog for about $49.95. You should probably get in on this deal before summer gets to fall.

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