Are you considering buying a new watch? I’d wait a few months if I were you because there will be some really exciting new wearables, which will do much more than just tell the time. Watchmaker Fossil is collaborating with Google, Withings has a fashionable analog looking Activite model (above), which according to the Swiss based manufacturer “tracks swimming, steps taken, and sleep”. The watch also can detect which of those activities the user is partaking in. For the fitness-related activities, Activite also comes with a plastic strap. The glass on the watch reacts to tapping — users can tap on its face twice to see what time their alarm is set for. In the morning, the watch will vibrate to wake the user. The watch also vibrates upon completion of an objective.
And your wrist isn’t the only place you’ll be doning wearables ! Canadian company Carre Technologies sell Hexoskin shirts and have just tested the newer Astroskin, which “measure heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing rate, respiration volume, calories burned, and steps taken per minute, skin temperature,and it has a sophisticated EKG sensor and optical sensor that tracks blood oxygenation and blood pressure. If the user wears the shirt while they sleep, they are given a “sleep-efficiency score” based on movement, heart rate, and respiration. The shirts have a pocket in which users put a small wireless-enabled device that collects this information and sends it on to a smartphone”.
Lumafit is another wearable device, which acts as personal coach, exercise tracker and meditation trainer in one convenient earpiece. Upright offers a “posture correcting device, which promises to train users to stand straighter in just a few weeks. The small device attaches to the user’s lower back and gently vibrates when the user slouches. UpRight also has an embedded accelerometer that takes note of the user’s position and can determine whether the user is standing, sitting, walking, or running. Data is sent to a connected app via Bluetooth, which offers users a training program based on their height, age, and other factors. The app helps users set goals, review analytics about their posture, and connect with other UpRight users.”
It sounds like science fiction, but in fact all these devices are/will be at a store near you. I’m watching the posture correcting market because I need help in that area. I also like the sounds of the Lumafit, which takes you through 10-minute mindful breathing sessions through out your day.
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Until next time,
Your Boomer Life Partners
Disclosure: Mention of these products in this Boomer Life Today blog post were not solicited or paid for by companies in New Zealand or abroad.