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LG Heart Rate Monitor Earphone review: good fitness gadget, poor earphones
Heart rate monitors are no longer the exclusive domain of fitness gadgets. The last 12 months have seen sensors make their way into smartphones and wearables, replacing for many of us the need for a standalone pulse monitor. The problem is a lot of these options have been unable to deliver accurate heart rate mesurements, partly because those sensors have to maintain contact with your skin; if they slip, then the readout skips. Maybe LG has the answer, then: Put heart rate monitoring technology into a pair of Bluetooth headphones. If you're like me and are constantly wired for sound during workouts, what could possibly be better? LG's Heart Rate Monitor earphones link to an iOS/Android app, with absolutely nothing burdening your wrists. LG's fitness app can even add your exercise sessions to a step counter, so long as you buy LG's optional Lifeband Touch fitness band. What's more, the app also integrates with other fitness apps like RunKeeper. It all sounds great on paper, but there's a problem: the headphones don't actually sound good. Let me explain.
Withings Smart Activity Tracker hits the FCC with a catchier Pulse name
Withings introduced its Smart Activity Tracker at CES with many details regarding how it worked, but few hints of just when it would reach our belts and wrists. Courtesy of an FCC approval, we now know that it's relatively close. The exercise and sleep sensor has gone through US testing with no real surprises in hardware, but a much simpler branding strategy: the manual suggests the tracker will just be called the Pulse, which could help in a market full of one-word rivals. About all that's left is for Withings to say exactly where and when we can get its new wearable.
Researchers create video game that monitors heart rate to keep children's anger in check
Nintendo may have left its Vitality Sensor by the wayside, but researchers at Boston Children's Hospital are using heart rate monitoring in a video game to teach children with anger issues how to temper their emotions. Dubbed RAGE (Regulate and Gain Emotional) Control, the game tasks players with blasting hostile spaceships while keeping their heart rate from exceeding a predefined limit. If a gamer's pulse rises above the ceiling, they'll lose the ability to shoot until they can ease their pulse back down. A group of 18 kids who received standard treatments and played the game for five, 15-minute-long sessions had better control of their heart rate and lower anger levels than a group that only used traditional treatments. Currently, a controlled clinical trial of RAGE Control is underway and there are plans to take the concept a step further with toys and games suited for younger children. Look out below for the full press release or tap the second source link for the team's paper in the Journal of Adolescent Psychiatry. [Image credit: Thirteen of Clubs, Flickr]
Scosche's Rhythm pulse monitor for iOS tracks your run, lets you change the beat (video)
"Appcessories" is probably one of the more abrasive, yet devilishly descriptive, portmanteaus we've heard in recent years. But, if you're still not sure what it means, consider the Rhythm pulse monitor from Scosche a perfect example. The forearm-mounted device is a pulse / heart rate monitor with an iOS companion app. Working with some of your phone's inner smarts (like GPS), along with a dedicated accelerometer, the hardware / software combo logs vital data from your work out, which you can then share with the world, or enjoy broken down into detailed statistical analysis. If you've ever gone jogging with your iPhone, you'll know how fiddly it can be to change music tracks on the hop, so you'll be pleased to know the Rhythm covers that too. If this sounds like what your workout is missing, you can strap-up right away from any Apple or AT&T store (real or online) for $99, with other outlets, including Best-Buy stocking in time for Christmas.
