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Wii Cyberbike gives you a workout, costs more than the system itself
We've seen this sort of preposterousness before from BigBen, and we're no closer to falling in love now than we were back in 2009. This behemoth allows you to get the full experience in the console's Cyber Cycling Sports title, and the feeling of actually accomplishing something in the process? A presumably marketable side effect. The updated Cyberbike Magnetic Edition is available in North America this time around, relying on -- surprise, surprise -- magnetic resistance to offer a costly workout for those under 286 pounds. This oversized peripheral is available now for $199.99 (bike and game combo), which puts it a bit too far above the cost of an actual console ($150) for us to consider giving it a shot. Plus, we've already committed to biking downtown for our eventual Wii U pickup -- and frankly, that's enough to cover our yearly workout quota.
LifeFitness exercise bike interfaces with Nexus S, makes fitness marginally enjoyable (video)
LifeFitness may have taken one too many creative liberties with its Cyberbike Wii accessory, but it did a laudable job of redeeming itself at Google I/O this week. The outfit brought a USB-equipped exercise bike to the show floor, where an Open Accessory-enabled Nexus S promptly stole the show. We were shown a demo of the CardioQuest app interfacing with the cycle over the aforementioned protocol; the bike itself had a heretofore unreleased firmware update installed that allowed it to interact with the phone, and we're told that said update will be available free of charge to existing customers in the coming weeks. As was announced yesterday during the opening keynote, the Android Open Accessory API is currently only capable of handling communications over USB, but that didn't stop a clever game from keeping a booth representative mighty busy. The gist is pretty simple -- pedal harder to move the Android up, and relax your stride to see him float down. The goal is to avoid the surrounding walls, while also keeping your mind from focusing on the fact that you're actually burning calories. Mum's the word on whether or not this particular app will ever make it into the Android Market, but there's a video of the chaos waiting just after the break, regardless.
Bona fide exercise bike abuses Wiimote accessory license... badly
See that up there? That's an exercise bike. And a Wii. Amazingly enough, there's a strong correlation between the two, and unless the entire world is being pranked here, BigBen interactive is actually looking to ship a "full-size" Wiimote-compatible fitness machine with its next game. We can't even fathom how quickly this thing is bound to fall apart (or how absurdly expensive it'll be if there's even a smidgen of quality), but we're more than anxious to learn of an MSRP. Now, if only Ford would pump out a Wiimote-friendly Focus to use in the next installment of Mario Kart, we'd be set.[Via Joystiq]
Life Fitness will merge exercise equipment and iPod
Forget the Nike + iPod kit, Life Fitness wants to make "iPod" synonymous with "workout." Earlier today they announced a new line of equipment that features built-in iPod integration. Once an iPod is docked, users can control playback and watch video via the machine's built-in LCD. Also, headphones can be plugged directly into the equipment. You can expect to see these in stores towards the end of March.So now you can't blame the weather for canceling your workout. Thanks a lot, Life Fitness.
