Staying Healthy, Gadget-Style
The newest and coolest health gadgets products, from treadmills to "Dance Dance Revolution"
June 23, 2010 By Stephen SilverAt CEA Line Shows Wednesday Matt Bean, the brand editor of Men's Health and Women's Health benefits, held a briefing on some of the most interesting new products in the health gadget sector. The key to successful gadgets in the space, Bean said, is a Venn diagram of providing metrics, providing analysis and providing interaction. The "sweet spot," he said, does all three.
A few products highlighted at the briefing:
- The iFit Live, made by fitness manufacturer NordicTrack, is a treadmill which is connected to Google Maps, and therefore provide a simulation of any street surface in the world- from Central Park to your parents' neighborhood- provided Google Maps' cameras have been there.
- The Fitbit and Philips DirectLife are both next-generation versions of the old pedometers, only they can track everything you do throughout life, even sleeping, and the products can sync with a PC.
- Vitality GlowCaps are a product meant to remind users of prescription drugs, especially seniors, to take their medication as scheduled. If they are not taken, the system emails the user a reminder, and can also call loved ones to remind them to check up.
- Jitterbug cell phones are no-contract mobile phones, also targeted towards seniors, which allow users to easily summon help in a medical emergency.
- The Zeo headband, which also exhibited at Line Shows, is a "personal sleep coach" that includes a headband that tracks sleep quality and assigns a sleep score.
- The WiThings scale not only measures weight, plus also BMI and fatty mass, and does so wirelessly. The product also syncs up with an iPhone app.
- Garmin now makes a wrist-mounted GPS which doubles as a heart monitor and timer, in addition to a GPS tracker.
