Tag: health

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#SGGQA 26: New Years Contest Winner, Lumia 950 Comparisons, and Are USB Cables Interesting?

Due to issues with my internet connection (thanks Time Warner Cable) we’re FINALLY getting around to announcing the winner of our New Year’s Fitness Gear contest. We’ll also chat you’re reactions to my Lumia 930 vs 950 comparison, and I ask you how interesting USB cables might be. Make sure you’re charged and ready! It’s Podcast Time!

Download this week’s show as an audio podcast!
Subscribe to #SGGQA via iTunes!
Subscribe to #SGGQA via RSS!
#SGGQA on PlayerFM!
#SGGQA on Stitcher!
Most Recent Episode on SoundCloud!

I wrote a book! If you want to take your smartphone photography and video skills up a notch, you’ll want to read my book! ‘Take Better Photos: Smartphone Photography for Noobs!’ is now available – http://amzn.to/1LZMa52

Continue reading “#SGGQA 26: New Years Contest Winner, Lumia 950 Comparisons, and Are USB Cables Interesting?”

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#SGGQA25: BIG STORAGE, Bone Conduction Audio, and the New Years Contest is Wrapping Up!

I finally got off my butt and got a MUCH bigger back up solution for all my photos and videos. We’re also chatting about bone conduction audio, and we’re quickly wrapping up my New Year, New You fitness gear contest! Make sure you’re charged and ready! It’s Podcast Time!

Full contest details and where to enter: http://goo.gl/eqXp42

Download this week’s show as an audio podcast!
Subscribe to #SGGQA via iTunes!
Subscribe to #SGGQA via RSS!
#SGGQA on PlayerFM!
#SGGQA on Stitcher!
Most Recent Episode on SoundCloud!

I wrote a book! If you want to take your smartphone photography and video skills up a notch, you’ll want to read my book! ‘Take Better Photos: Smartphone Photography for Noobs!’ is now available – http://amzn.to/1LZMa52

Continue reading “#SGGQA25: BIG STORAGE, Bone Conduction Audio, and the New Years Contest is Wrapping Up!”

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Deaf Youtuber Hears Music Better with AfterShokz Bone Conduction Headphones

I’m a big fan of AfterShokz headphones. Bone conduction is a terrific technology, and the Bluez 2 might just be the safest headphones you can wear outdoors.

vishal playing violinI recently got a message from a young Youtuber named Vishal who posts videos of himself playing piano and violin. He’s a remarkable young man, a talented musician who was born with a condition called Microtia and Aural Atresia, which means he was born without ear canals.

Doctors told his parents he would be deaf and mute, but Vishal’s father introduced him to music at a fairly young age, and thanks to bone conduction hearing aids, he participates in school much like a hearing child might.

After watching one of my reviews on AfterShokz headphones, his father thought they would be worth a try to see if they would be an improvement over the hearing aid he has worn most of his life.

They documented their unboxing and first impressions of the AfterShokz M3 Headphones which you can watch below.

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Microsoft Unveils Health App and $199 Band Smart Fitness Tracker

microsoft band smartwatch fitness trackerThe rumors of a Microsoft smartwatch are true!

Taking the wraps off of a new app and new hardware, the Microsoft Band will retail for $199. It features a 320×106 pixel capacitive touchscreen, built in GPS, a heart rate sensor, skin temperature sensor, Galvanic skin monitor, UV and Ambient light sensors, and a microphone. They’re only rating it as dust and splash resistant, so it might not be a good option for swimmers.

microsoft band smartwatch fitness tracker exploded view disassemblyInterestingly enough, there are two 100 mAh batteries, about half the capacity of the new LG G Watch R, but Microsoft is estimating 48 hour battery life.

While it’s built around fitness tracking, it will also pair with phones over Bluetooth for the standard collection of notifications and alerts. Happily, Microsoft is making this watch cross platform, so it will work with Windows Phone, iOS, and Android, though only Windows Phone users will have access to Cortana from their wrist.

microsoft band smartwatch fitness tracker heart rate monitorThe Band is being launch alongside a new Health app, which is also cross platform for Windows Phone, iOS, and Android. While Health is designed to be a fitness tracking service, both the Band and the app will leverage cloud services and will work with other fitness services like RunKeeper and UP by Jawbone.

Are these the features you’ve been looking for in a smartwatch? Leave us a comment below!

 

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Qualcomm adds Stopwatch to Toq Smartwatch

qualcomm toq activity tracker update smartwatchIt’s a simple update, but it’s nice to see a company committed to improving their product.

Rolled out this afternoon Toq owners found a new little applet which provides a simple stopwatch and lap timer. It’s one of those things which probably should’ve been included from the beginning, but better late than never.

While it’ll never unseat dedicated fitness trackers, the Toq is shaping up to be one of the better smartwatches for active folks, thanks in part to the screen which is visible in direct sunlight, and these most recent software updates.

If you’re rocking a Toq, check out Google Play to see if you’ve got the update yet, and you can see the watch in action below.

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AT&T EverThere: protecting Senior Citizens with advanced fall detection, Emergency care center calling

photo_01We’re a long way evolved from Life Call’s “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”.

Utilizing a smartphone style data connection, AT&T’s EverThere is bringing some tech sophistication to the discussion of health and personal monitoring. Each year, one third of adults over the age of 65 experience falls, many of which can cause serious injuries. EverThere brings a combination of GPS and movement tracking to help aid in the first aid response.

Like a fitness tracker, EverThere can detect movement, so in the event of a fall, paramedics can be alerted automatically. Unlike more home-based monitoring, the unit includes GPS so if a Senior family member is hurt while out and about, they location can be easily found. Connected to AT&T’s network, EverThere users can get help anywhere there’s a cellphone connection. A small, lightweight puck-like device can be worn on a chain or clipped to a belt, and the unit is battery powered for up to 36 hours.

Lastly, EverThere is an IP67 ruggedly built gadget, making it drop resistant, freeze resistant, and waterproof. It’s all about piece of mind, and you don’t want to have to worry about your emergency communication gadget getting damaged while in the middle of an emergency.

Prices start at $99 on an 11 month contract and a monthly rate of $29.99 for the EverThere service.

Full PR after the jump.

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Delta and Jet Blue first to announce electronics may be used during take off and landing

airline travel technology airplane cabin somegadgetguyIt’s happening!

The same day the FAA announced it no longer was bothered by devices being used in airplane mode during all stages of flight, we have two companies vying for our mobile electronics affections.

Delta and Jet Blue rushed out to let us know they’ll be allowing us to use all of our mobile glowing rectangles from the moment our butt is in a seat to the moment we’re throwing elbows to get off the flight. We can be sure the rest of the airlines are looking to make the same play soon. Most of my credit card points are tied up with United, so they better make the jump PDQ…

Bloomberg has a great write up detailing all the business concerns, and I’d just like to take this moment to remind all of my readers that just because this rule has opened up, it doesn’t mean you get to be a douche bag about your tech. Listen to the flight attendants, follow instructions from the pilots, fly safe.

Be a good tech citizen.

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f.lux Update Helps Your Tired Eyes While Looking at Computer Monitors at Night

flux update health somegadgetguy screen clor brightness temperature (1)f.lux is one of my favorite “lifehack-y” finds, and it gets installed on every computer I use. Basically it changes the color temperature of your display based on time of day. At night, instead of pure bright white light hitting your face, it’s softened to a warmer orange-y glow. It’s really nice, and it’s helped me tremendously with late night eye strain. It also helps take some of the edge off my internal clock as it gets closer to bedtime. My eyes aren’t being bombarded with sunlight grade light right before I shut off the light and try to sleep.

Well this little body science piece of software is getting a pretty robust update. Users can now customize an even wide range of color temperatures, and new hot keys allow for quick adjustments. Old f.lux would only disable color adjustments for an hour. Now you can manually engage or disable changes, or program in time periods to disable if you’re doing work on color sensitive things like photos and videos.

Best of all this is still a free software tool. It’s jarring the first couple times your screen colors change, but if you stare at glowing rectangles late into the evening like I do, your eyes will thank you for it.

Grab it now at http://justgetflux.com, or hit the jump for more info.

flux update health somegadgetguy screen clor brightness temperature (2)

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