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A posture trainer works, if you want it to
In our line of work, everywhere is an office. Particularly at trade shows and other big events, you can find Engadget editors writing stories in hotel lobbies, the back of cabs or anywhere there's a power outlet. I'm no more consistent at home. Sometimes I stare at my laptop from the comfort of the couch or sit on the floor if my desk isn't proving to be an inspiring location. I hadn't given it much thought until an Upright Go posture tracker arrived on my doorstep. Had a complete disregard for ergonomics made its mark on my spine? Well, I'm still not quite sure.
Lumo stops forcing you to buy its running shorts
If there's one thing guaranteed to annoy your customers, it's being forced to buy something that they don't want. It's been an issue with the forthcoming Lumo Run, a posture-fixing sports wearable that only worked with a pair of custom-made shorts. Thankfully, the company has seen fit to alter its policy and will now release a version that can just clip onto whatever garment you're wearing. The clip-on version is cheaper, too, priced at $99 rather than the $149/$169 you'll pay for extra shorts or capri pants. Even better is that, until the gear launches this summer, pre-order customers can snag one for just $79.99.
ICYMI: Mars life, bendy smartphone screens and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-427843{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-427843, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-427843{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-427843").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: It's Space Week, and today's celestial story is an earth-bound look at what a colony of humans would have to endure on Mars. People from Hawaii's Space Exploration Analog and Simulation group just finished an eight month camp-out, cut away from society and only allowed outside when clad in space suits. Not so spacey but equally fascinating, MIT scientists figured out a bendable smartphone display's chemistry. And wearable product company Lumo announced new running shorts that aim to fix your body mechanics when pounding pavement.
Lumo's running shorts fix your form to avoid injury
Lumo is a wearable company that's already conquered the world of bad posture, so now it's moving on to helping runners avoid injury. The company is launching the Lumo Run, a pair of shorts with a small plastic doodad on the waistband that can monitor your biomechanics as you sprint around the block. Biomechanics, if you're not a runner, is fancy talk for our cadence, stride length and pelvic rotation -- all factors that you'd otherwise have to visit a specialist running center to learn more about. It's a similar set of tools that Myontec offer with its MBody fitness shorts, although that product will cost you the better part of $1,000. By comparison, Lumo's offering will retail for just $149 when it lands in the Spring of 2016.
Lumo Lift is an activity tracker that vibrates when it detects bad posture
Because everyone loves a gadget that vibrates when you're doing something wrong. Following last year's LUMOback, which vibrates when it detected bad posture, the folks at BodyTech are back with yet another activity tracker, this time with a more discreet design. Dubbed the Lumo Lift, it works essentially the same way as the original, which is to say it counts steps and calories burned, and can detect when you're walking, running, sitting or lying down. And, of course, it knows when you're slouching, and delivers some gentle vibrations as a way of nagging you into standing up straight. But whereas the first edition looked like some sort of high-tech weightlifting belt, this one is about as small as any other fitness tracker, meaning you can clip it onto your clothing (or your underclothing, if that's the way you roll). Like the original, it will work exclusively with an iOS app (at least to start), which you can use to review your posture stats over time, and also use a journal feature to record how you feel. It's launching first as a crowdfunded project, with prices ranging from $59 to $79 depending on which backer level you buy into. If all goes according to plan, it will ship sometime this spring.
Orange's Europe-bound trio of branded phones includes its first 4G handset
At this rate, there won't be anything left to announce when MWC actually opens its doors. Today's premature launcher is Orange Europe, which is launching a trio of Jelly Bean-running smartphones that are destined for the continent. First up, the Lumo is the company's first 4G smartphone, packing a 4.5-inch display and an 8-megapixel camera. If you prefer your devices to be on the skinny side, then the 4.7-inch San Remo comes with an 8.2mm thick body and similarly equipped imaging sensor. Finally, the budget-focused Nivo offers a 4-inch display and a 5-megapixel camera. Orange has already told us that it won't be coming to the UK, but should arrive in Romania, Slovakia and Spain across the first half of the year -- unless someone's lawyers decide that the Lumo name's a bit too close for comfort.
