LG’s Heart Rate Earphones and Lifeband Touch Launching This Month
Earlier this month, a clandestine report on anonymous sharing site Secret suggested Apple might be exploring the possibility of sensor-laden EarPods able to measure heart rate. The report was later revealed to be a hoax, but earphones with built-in sensors are a reality — for LG.
First introduced during January’s CES, LG’s fitness-oriented Heart Rate Earphones are designed to offer real-time heart monitoring. The earphones, which use sensors to measure blood flow through the inner ear, connect to a small medallion that is strapped to the arm or attached to a waistband, tracking metabolic rate and maximum oxygen consumption, while allowing users to listen to music.
The medallion that connects to the earphones is designed to work as a data processing hub, sending biometric information directly to the LG Fitness app or other popular third-party apps on an iPhone via Bluetooth. The earphones are said to offer hi-fi sound and they include a built-in microphone for making calls.
LG’s earphones are also designed to work alongside the company’s Lifeband Touch Activity Tracker, which is a full-fledged fitness band that measures a range of fitness-related statistics, including distance covered, calories burned, steps taken, and more.
LG’s Heart Rate Earphones are designed to provide accurate heart rate data by measuring blood flow signals in the ear via PerformTek sensor technology while also delivering excellent sound. Because of the unique physiology of the ear, wearers can get more accurate health and fitness metrics with LG’s Heart Rate Earphones than with other devices, especially when engaged in physical activity. LG Heart Rate Earphones can be used alone or with LG Lifeband Touch.
The Heart Rate Earphones and the Lifeband Touch can both be pre-ordered today from Best Buy and will see an official launch on May 18. The earphones retail for $180, while the Lifeband Touch can be purchased for $150.
Though the report of Apple developing EarPods with sensors was fabricated, the company has invested research into the concept, publishing several patents on the subject. It has also recently hired Eric Winokur, a researcher who developed an ear-worn vital signs monitor, likely for its wearables team. Despite this evidence, there’s currently no indication that Apple is working on or plans to work on EarPods with sensors, but LG has demonstrated that the technology certainly exists should the company choose to go in that direction.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime due in June, rumors suggest
Another day and another rumor for the new Samsung Galaxy S5 “Prime”. With a new teaser video from LG touting the “Simple is the New Smart” tagline, Samsung looks to be “Priming” a new high end Galaxy S5 which boast some impressive “rumored” specs.
Rumored Specs:
- 2560 x 1440 resolution
- 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display
- Octa-core Exynos 5430 CPU
According to Naver, the Galaxy S5 Prime could be hitting carriers in South Korea next month. The S5 is reportedly going to cost around $850 but the likelihood of that being true is slim. There is no mention of a worldwide launch at this time, but we can still hope!
Source: The Droid Guy
The post Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime due in June, rumors suggest appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Share keys and other small items with Hoard’s mini lockers
Everyone knows the ol’ key-under-the-rock trick for hiding your spare keys for guests, but it’s not exactly a secure method. Still, sometimes it’s preferable to the scheduling nightmare of arranging when and where to hand them off. Not so if Hoard has its way, however. Describing itself as a local drop box, Hoard is essentially like Amazon’s delivery lockers, except for your own stuff. Here’s how it works: You use the app to find the closest “hoard spot” to you and get the code for a tiny locker box, as seen above. You deposit the keys in the appropriate locale, send a confirmation to your guest, and then he or she will use the same code to retrieve them (bearing in mind the code is only good for 48 hours). They can also use the same method to hand the keys back to you.
We spoke to Anthony Forsans, Hoard’s co-founder, at a recent HAXLR8R event, and he says Hoard just started testing in Berlin and has plans to create more so-called “hoard spots” in San Francisco and New York. The service is free for now, though it does plan to charge around 3 Euros per use in Berlin at least. So far Hoard has already partnered with a Gloveler, a platform that lets folks rent out their homes, and CleanAgents, an European cleaning service, to help test the key-swapping service. Forsans tells us that Hoard isn’t just limited to keys, of course — anything that can fit within the roughly 10 x 8 x 10 cm cube is fair game. We’ll admit our minds immediately wandered to the potential illegal drug-dealing uses for this, but we’re hoping most people will use it for more legitimate purposes. To get a better idea of how Hoard works, hit the source link or watch the video below.
Your local drop box! from hoard on Vimeo.
Source: Hoard
BBC’s iPlayer revamp goes live for everyone
The BBC unveiled a heavily redesigned iPlayer web client a couple of months ago now, but if you ignored the prompt to opt-in and see the new UI for yourself, we’re afraid you can’t fight change any longer. Today, the BBC’s taken the fresh-faced iPlayer layout out of “preview” mode, thereby retiring the old interface and ushering users to embrace the new one. Aside from looking different, there’s now a greater onus on finding new content to watch, and between the launch of the new iPlayer and now, the BBC’s already added more ways to filter programmes within the category and favourites tabs. Redesign virgins are best off jumping in and checking it out, and if you’re sad you didn’t get to say goodbye, the updated apps for set-top boxes and other TV-connected gear are still in preview mode, and the Android and iOS apps are still just like you remember them until they get made-over in “the coming weeks.”
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Software
‘Alien’ designer HR Giger dead at 74
Yesterday the world lost the man behind one of the most memorable movie villains of all time. HR Giger, the Swiss-born artist who designed the “Xenomorph” monster for the film Alien, passed away at age 74 after suffering injuries from a fall. While he’ll be best remembered for visual effects in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece, Giger was also a prolific surrealist painter and sculptor — one of his large-format paintings was even the inspiration behind the famous Alien character. Giger’s received numerous awards throughout his career, including induction into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame last year. Sci-fi, cinema and art fans won’t be forgetting his work any time soon, but now’s a better time than ever to check out this documentary about the making of Alien.
[Image credit: Cinephelia and Beyond]
Filed under: Misc
Source: BBC
Engadget giveaway: win a health and fitness bundle courtesy of Withings!
Beach season is upon us and you probably want to turn some heads, but being fit is about more than just looking good. You should be taking care of yourself and the right set of gadgets can go a long way towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle. With that in mind, the folks at Withings have offered to give two lucky Engadget readers a trio of smart devices for some fitness steez. The Pulse O2 activity tracker can help quantify movement, track sleep patterns and even measure your heart rate after a workout. While the Smart Body Analyzer scale can provide data on weight loss and even air quality in your surroundings. To round out that holistic regimen, there’s the new Withings Wireless Blood Pressure monitor. All you need to do is head on down to the Rafflecopter widget for up to three chances at winning this health-forward bundle. With all those barbecues on the horizon, we could all use a little push to burn some extra calories.
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. Two winners will each receive one (1) Withings Pulse activity tracking device, one (1) Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale and one (1) Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email or Facebook login. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Withings and Engadget / AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until May 14th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Filed under: Announcements
Microsoft lowers Xbox One price to $400 without Kinect
Is the $500 asking price of Xbox One too rich for your blood? Turns out you’re not alone, and Microsoft’s responding: the price of the Xbox One is dropping to $400, and the company’s dropping Kinect from the box as well. Starting June 9th, the Xbox One will be sold in a second bundle sans Kinect (a standalone version of Xbox One’s Kinect will be available “this fall,” should you wish to add one later on). It’s not clear if the $500 model that currently exists will continue to exist after June 9th, though it is clear why Microsoft made today’s move: sales numbers. Though the Xbox One is doing well at around 5 million units, it’s lagging behind Sony’s PlayStation 4 to the tune of several million units.
“There’s a lot about Kinect that I really love,” Xbox head Phil Spencer says in a video released alongside the news. “We’ve also heard from people that they just like to play games with a controller in their hand.” Spencer and co. are painting today’s news as a response to consumers — the blog post is titled, “Delivering More Choices for Fans,” even — but it’s hard to see it as anything other than a straight business decision. Microsoft’s initial coming out for Xbox One was held up by three pillars, one of which was going “all-in” on Kinect. Today’s news rolls back that pillar.
It’s not a question of people using Kinect, apparently. Microsoft says that over 80 percent of Xbox One owners are “actively” using Kinect. The other 20 percent are assuredly stewing in anger over saying “Xbox On” six or seven times without it working.
Today’s news is the latest walkback from Microsoft’s initial vision for the Xbox One, unveiled last May in a day-long Redmond, Wash. event. The price cut is just one of two major announcements from Microsoft’s Xbox division today: the long-running Xbox Live service is taking a variety of services out from behind its paywall (known as an Xbox Live “Gold Membership”), making them free to all Xbox One and 360 users.
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and other services now open to all on Xbox One, Xbox 360
In a move that bucks the standard set by Microsoft itself back in 2005, both the Xbox One and Xbox 360 will drop the requirement for an Xbox Live paid membership to access services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube. Microsoft announced this morning that it would be streamlining its offerings and bringing its prices and structure more inline with those offered by Sony. That means not only cheaper hardware, but also abandoning the need to have an Xbox Live Gold subscription for access to apps and streaming media. It’s a move that certainly makes sense given that sales of the Xbox One are several million units behind the Play Station 4.
Until now, if you’ve wanted to watch Netflix on your Xbox you’ve needed to cough up for Live as well. That’s another $5 a month (at least) for the privilege of enjoying your existing subscriptions — something that never really sat well with many consumers. Reducing the total cost of ownership is one of the key ways to suck in new users. To compliment its efforts on the media front, Microsoft is also bringing Games with Gold and Deals with Gold to the Xbox One in early June. That means free games every month and steep discounts on titles like Ryse: Son of Rome. Now that the playing field seems a little more level (at least in terms of cost) the next-gen console wars will boil down to just a few things: exclusive games, additional functionality and marketing.
Wanna know the full breakdown? Microsoft’s made this handy chart to help out:
Syrmo teaches you to skate better, captures your sick tricks
Skateboards have seen their share of electronic add-ons lately, but most are designed to take the effort out of cruising around. But leveraging some tech to conquer 360° kickflips and other tricks sounds far more interesting, especially when failed attempts pile up and you could use a helping hand. A trio of skaters armed with hardware and software skills have finally tackled the problem, and their solution is Syrmo. It’s a device that fits under your board’s trucks and adds motion tracking, Bluetooth and internal memory to to your otherwise low-tech deck, which you can sync with the companion app. The software aims to capture 3D-rendered replays of tricks coupled with stats on height, air time and distance — letting you see if that ollie was really as high as you thought. In addition to skimming through the day’s progress, it plans to provide social, geo-location and automated video editing features. Those high-drama moments when the board’s in mid-flight can be automatically enhanced with slow-motion effects and trimmed into easy-to-share video clips. The Kickstarter page is live if you want to cruise on over to show your support. Who knows, Syrmo may just take some of the pressure out of learning to land those flips.
Filed under: Peripherals, Software
Details uncovered for Samsung’s 13.3-inch tablet, and Super AMOLED tablets
More info has surfaced on the rumours that Samsung are developing three new Tablet devices, two of which have AMLOED screens but all three will have a WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) screen resolution with 3G and WiFi versions in the pipe line.
Codenamed “Chagall”, this first device could be the Galaxy Tab S with its super AMLOED screen being 10.5″ in size and running with either flavours of the Exynos 5 chipset which are reported to boast 1.9GHz four Cortex-A15 cores or four Cortex-A7 cores. To help with keeping the device running smoothly, 32-bit dual-channel 933MHz LPDDR3e RAM is on the list along with graphics being handled by an hexa-core Mali-T628 GPU.
The final two devices with the codename of “Klimt” & “Warhol” will be of similar spec as the first but will see “Klimt” with a super AMOLED screen of only 8.4″ in size. Meanwhile the “Warhole is set to be more impressive with its, possible LCD and not AMOLED, 13.3″ screen size which could see it be a high-end Samsung device something along the lines of a Galaxy Tab Pro.
Android 4.4 KitKat will be power all three Tablets with Samsung’s software customisation.
SOURCE: gsmarena.com
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