Polar
Latest
Smartwatch-style notifications are finally coming to Polar's V800
Twelve months ago, Polar announced the V800, a supremely powerful GPS running watch that came with built-in activity tracking. The standout feature, however, would be that the device would offer-up Pebble-esque smartwatch notifications. Unfortunately, the company didn't have the development resources to make good on its promises, so the latter feature was iced in favor of improving the watch's swimming features. A year later, however, and the company is finally ready to make good on its pledge.
Polar's new fitness watch is a step up from a regular activity tracker
Can it really be a year since Polar rocked up at CES promising to change the world with its all-powerful V800? Yes, yes it can. This time around, however, the company is aiming its sights not at hardcore runners, but at people looking for a cheaper, yet more sophisticated activity tracker. Similar to the company's other budget fitness watches like the FT60, Polar's A300 ditches the GPS in favor of Loop-style 24/7 activity and sleep tracking.
Google+ flips the switch on polls after its recent purchase
Last month, Google nabbed a polling startup in order to boost the tools of its social network. Well, the folks in Mountain View didn't waste any time, as polls are already set to make their debut on Google+. The new feature is rolling out now, in case you need to crowdsource info for your next excursion or are curious to see which team the masses think will win the World Series. Polls can include up to five options with photos for each, and one click displays the ongoing results. Android and web users can expect to see the option "over the next few days," while it's said to be "coming soon" to iOS.
Polar's new GPS watch also offers activity tracking for $200
Most fitness wearables come from tech companies looking to slowly add features like GPS and water resistance to their gear. Polar, on the other hand, is turning its hardcore GPS-equipped running watches into 24/7 activity trackers like the V800. If that device was a little too rich for your blood, however, then the company is hoping that the M400 will be better suited to your budget. The $200 wearable is available in black or white, and offers the usual raft of fitness options like end time estimation, back-to-start directions and tailored running programs. You'll also be able to funnel your data through the Polar Flow app and service, enabling you to see the routes that other local runners took. Battery-wise, the company promises that it'll last for 24 days as a timepiece and activity tracker, or nine hours as a GPS watch. It'll hit stores towards the end of the year, and as usual with Polar's products, you can grab an additional Bluetooth heart-rate monitor for an extra $50.
Google buys an online polling startup to help improve Google+
You know what Google+ really needs, more than anything else? Polls. Right, maybe not, but Google did just acquire a startup (yes, another one!) called Polar that specialized in crafting buzzy online polls like "Who did a better job hosting 'The View'?" and "Is WhatsApp worth $16 billion?" (no, really) for media outlets and website operators. While it wouldn't be impossible for those sorts of click-driving questions to find a new home in Google+, that's not really why Google opened its checkbook. As the New York Times points out, this was actually an acquihire -- a deal meant more to snag the people behind the product than the product itself. Those folks (including co-founder Luke Wroblewski, a big proponent of mobile-first design) are joining the Google+ team to do, well, no one really knows yet. Google VP of engineering Dave Besris cryptically noted on his own Google+ page that they'd be working on making the maligned social service "even more awesome," which in this case apparently means helping fine-tune the Google+ experience, especially when it comes to those small screens we carry with us everywhere.
Polar's latest wearable wants to be more than just a sports watch
When we brought you the news concerning Polar's V800 a few days ago, we were impressed that it would replace both a running watch and an activity tracker. But when we spoke to the company's representatives here at CES, it seems that there's a bigger target to aim for. Polar is currently working on an update to the V800 that would see the device produce notifications and alerts in a similar way to the current crop of smartwatches. The company is also working on an option to offer a store for customizable watch faces, and the ability to buy additional functionality as you require.
Polar's latest wearable is a GPS watch and activity tracker all in one
We're big fans of Nike's SportWatch GPS, but we do wish that the wearable would double as an activity tracker when we're not sprinting 'round the block. Polar seems to feel our pain, and has welded together an activity tracker and a GPS watch for its latest CES gadget. The Polar V800 has integrated GPS with multi-sport profiles that'll record your performance no matter what you're doing, as well as tracking your heart rate and even your altitude. The rechargeable battery offers 14 hours for training, 50 hours in low-power GPS mode and 30 days if you're using it as a watch. It'll be available in April for $450, or $500 if you want one with a heart rate monitor, too.
What to pack for a long, lonely trek across the Antarctic
Captain Robert Falcon Scott's mission to become the first to reach the South Pole famously ended in tragedy. A double tragedy, in fact, because Scott and his crew perished after finding that a rival Norwegian team had already beaten them to the punch. They died in 1912, while attempting to walk back to the Antarctic coast, having discovered nothing but a red and blue flag marking their destination. Their only consolation was that, unlike the Norwegians, they had stopped to collect valuable geological samples and other scientific information along the way. If they'd had better technology, would they have survived? For the sake of polar explorer Ben Saunders, who's currently in Antarctica re-tracing Scott's steps, we certainly hope so. Saunders and his companion Tarka L'Herpiniere are in the middle of a four-month, 1,800-mile expedition, without support by air or land, to re-trace and complete Scott's final journey. It's the first such attempt to do so, but the journey isn't about exploration this time: It's more a test of human endurance. It's also about pushing technology to its limits. Armed with a pair of Ultrabooks supplied by Intel, one of the pair's main sponsors, and a carbon-fiber sled packed with other devices, they will attempt to survive and blog about their journey. We met up with the pair before their outbound flight from the UK to find out exactly what they were taking with them.
A fond farewell to Polar of GuildOx
It's no secret that we like GuildOx around here. We've covered the ever expanding ways GuildOx has offered services from Flex Raid ranking to mount and pet tracking to achievements and titles. My own personal favorite was the specialization tracking it debuted for both PvE and PvP - I know I've personally often relied on data from GuildOx when writing for the site. Developer and sole proprietor Polar has announced that he is moving on to pursue other opportunities. Since GuildOx is basically a one person operation, he's looking for someone to come and take over the site and keep it moving forward as we go into the next expansion. If you think you have the time, interest, and skills necessary, contact Polar <at> GuildOx.com. Best of luck to you in the future, Polar, and best of luck to GuildOx, a very useful service that hopefully will get to stick around for the future!
Polar Loop wristband tracks activity, exercise and sleep alongside an iPhone app for $109
We've tested our fair share of activity trackers and Polar is now adding one more to the fray. That's not a Nike+ FuelBand you see, it's the Polar Loop: a wearable for your wrist that keep tabs on activity, exercise and sleep patterns. Touting the "first waterproof" gadget of this sort, the company says the device can discern between activity levels, with alerts and motivational feedback along the way. The Loop syncs to Apple smartphones via Bluetooth with its companion app, Polar Flow. Similar to Nike's wearable, Polar's offering displays goal info, calories burned, steps taken and the time on an LED display. If you're also after a heart rate monitor, the Loop can be combined with Polar's H6 or H7 heart rate sensors for that purpose when it arrives next month in black with a pink version set for release in 2014.
Polar polls show high user acceptance of iOS 7 UI and icons
iOS 7 is now in its fifth beta incarnation and going through intense scrutiny by developers as the release date for the new mobile OS nears. Several iOS 7 beta testers have apparently decided to break NDA and conduct polls to judge the public's opinion on both the user interface and specific app icons when compared to the iOS 6 versions. Polar user LukeW went through the various iOS interface elements such as switches, the date picker, status bar, navigation bar, etc. and asked the public to vote on whether they preferred the iOS 6 or iOS 7 version. In every case, the iOS 7 versions were the winner. While I won't go through every result, here are some vote results for important iOS 7 UI elements: Date Picker -- iOS 7: 1,365 votes, iOS 6: 404 votes Status Bar -- iOS 7: 1,199 votes, iOS 6: 543 votes Share Sheet -- iOS 7: 1,022 votes, iOS 6: 261 votes Lock Screen -- iOS 7: 1,054 votes, iOS 6: 254 votes Notification -- iOS 7: 1,087 votes, iOS 6: 200 votes Of course, there were certain commenters who hated all of the iOS 7 elements in this decidedly unscientific poll (we're looking at you, autumn...). Not to be outdone, Polar user Giantsquid looked at side-by-side comparisons of app icons. The results weren't as grossly tilted towards iOS 7 as they were in the UI elements poll: Contacts icon -- iOS 7: 19,702 votes, iOS 6: 8,979 votes Siri icon -- iOS 7: 6,914 votes, iOS 6: 8,243 votes Passbook icon -- iOS 7: 16,096 votes, iOS 6: 14,233 votes Maps icon -- iOS 7: 10,904 votes, iOS 6: 4,195 votes Safari icon -- iOS 7: 10,597 votes, iOS 6: 17,593 votes The results of both of these polls are subject to scrutiny; the votes represent only a tiny sample of the millions of iOS users around the world. But it's interesting to see how people are reacting to the look and feel of iOS 7 -- mostly in a positive light. [via 9to5Mac]
Microsoft and Polar demo Companion Web concept through a TV app (video)
Second screen experiences on mobile devices are nothing new -- just ask many TV viewers -- but two-way interaction is frequently limited to completely in-house efforts like SmartGlass. Microsoft wants that kind of integration to spread, so it's teaming up with Polar on a web app that demonstrates the Companion Web, where pages on one device control and complement pages on another. Polar's app lets viewers register their opinions of a TV show from their phones, and watch as a matching site on their tablet or TV reflects both the vote and the page position. The Companion Web demo isn't as elaborate as experiments like Google's Map Dive, but it does show that browsers don't have to be novelties in the living room -- especially once features like the Xbox One's Snap Mode come into play.
Engadget's back to school guide 2011: fun stuff!
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Since the weekend is finally upon us, we figured now's as good a time as any to sit back, relax, and have some fun. Play along with our fun stuff picks -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here! It's Friday, and that can only mean one thing: two days of parties, sleeping in, and seeing your campus transform from a vehicle of intense education to a spring break-like haven of drunken delight. We've rounded up a few toys to help you relax before you head back to class -- a memory card reader that doubles as a pocket mirror, an Arduino-powered car that can stream video from the dorm hall, and an electric-powered sports car that can drive you and a friend far from campus for a pricey weekend getaway -- so kick off the shoes and prepare to embrace these 48 hours of freedom. And when it's time to get back to the books, we have the gear for that too -- and we're giving it away! Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and check out our giveaway page for more details.
Polar RCX5 training computer feels your multi-sport pain
The French didn't only invent the guillotine. They also bequeathed us something even more painful (though that's hard to prove): "Les trois sports", aka the Triathlon. A swimming-cycling-running succession of pure hurt, which Polar's latest RCX5 training computer seeks to measure using an array of sensors -- much like its rivals the Garmin Forerunner 610 and Timex Ironman Global Trainer. You can buy the RCX5 now for $350 in a basic pack, which includes the watch plus the WearLink+ Hybrid, an amphibious chest-strapped heart rate monitor. Alternatively, you can pick up a pricier bundle containing an extra sensor of your choice. The Bike bundle ($390) includes Polar's CS W.I.N.D. speed sensor that installs on a fork and spoke. The Run bundle ($420) comes with a s3+ stride sensor that clips to your laces. Finally, the top-of-the-range Multi bundle ($480) replaces both those options with a G5 GPS sensor, which ought to work equally well for both both runners and cyclists thanks to our shiny friends out in orbit. Hit the PR after the break for further details or the extra coverage link for triathlete DC Rainmaker's seriously in-depth review.
Polar and Nike announce WearLink+ heart rate monitor for Nike+
Well, it's not June 1st, but Nike+ users now finally have a heart rate monitor to help kick their training up a notch in the form of the just-announced Polar WearLink+. That is naturally compatible with all Nike+ gear, and it will let you see your BPM at a glance on your Nike+ SportBand, or hear spoken feedback of your BPM while you run on your iPod nano. The heart rate monitor will even work with Polar's own range of training computers and Polar-compatible fitness equipment at the same time, and it has a soft textile chest strap that promises to "seamlessly adapt" to your body shape (it's also thankfully machine-washable). Look for the strap to be available in the US this month for $69.95, with a release in Canada and Europe set to follow in July. Full press release is after the break.
First Look: TIME Mobile, a slick magazine for your iPhone / iPod touch
Instead of sifting through the piles of TIME magazines at your doctor's office, where you don't know who's healthy or unhealthy hands have touched the pages, you now have another option to browse through TIME content on your iPhone. The recently launched TIME Mobile [iTunes link] app provides a better browsing experience and more content than the mobile version of magazine's website. In addition, the app brings with it support for video, which is lacking on the mobile version of TIME's site and not supported for the iPhone on the full version of the site because the videos are encoded in Flash. TIME Mobile also brings a new approach for browsing articles. Like Cover Flow view in the iPhone and iTunes, TIME Mobile's "Image Flow" provides some eye candy in front of the meat and potatoes of the article content. One thing absent in the app is support for offline reading, a useful feature for situations where data connectivity is lacking, such as on an airplane. The USA Today app [iTunes link], which is in the same app genre as TIME Mobile, supports offline reading by tapping on the update button on each section. Perhaps such a feature could be added to TIME Mobile as a paid-for feature, or as for free to those who subscribe to the paper version of the magazine. Update: TIME's app team tells us that offline reading is built-in as part of the app, but for some reason I could not get it to work consistently; we're following up with them to figure out why it's wonky. Powered by Polar, a mobile publishing provider that also powers BusinessWeek [iTunes link] and CNNMoney [iTunes link] iPhone apps as well as a host of other apps on a variety of mobile platforms, TIME Mobile is available as a free download in the App Store.
Nokia N79 Active to come with heart rate monitor, guilt
We knew something was up with these Bluetooth heart rate straps from Polar, and sure enough, Nokia has announced a partnership to get serious fitness monitoring integrated with its products. The first to take advantage will be a special version of the N79, creatively dubbed the N79 Active, which will include 4GB of onboard memory the requisite strap right in the box and sell for about €375 ($494) when it ships "soon" in "select territories." Of course, the new hardware isn't any good without new software, and it just so happens that the N79 Active will include a new version of Nokia's Sports Tracker app for keeping tabs on workouts. We'd heard that other Polar accessories like cadence sensors for biking fanatics were in the works, so this could end up developing into a whole franchise.[Via All About Symbian]
Polar's Bluetooth heart rate monitor (for Nokia?) gets FCC approval
Huh, wonder what's under that white sticker! Don't suppose it could be a "Polar for Nokia" logo, could it? We're betting it is, which means fitness freaks with Finnish phones banded to their arms should be able to start tracking their grueling 20-mile jogs through San Francisco before too long. We know it's Bluetooth, we know it straps to your chest, and we know the all-too-sparse draft manual identifies the pod as the WearLink+, but that's about all we know. Anyone stoked about this?
Nokia hooking up with Polar for fitness monitoring?
Nokia's been pushing its exercise logging solution, Sports Tracker, for a while now -- but compared to dedicated fitness computers from companies like Suunto, Garmin, and Polar, it's not quite as useful since you can't automatically record your heart rate. For serious health nuts, that's a deal-breaker right there, but rumor has it that Nokia has now teamed up with Polar (another Finnish company, coincidentally) to deliver everything the average runner needs to start sending vital stats straight to their phones. It gets better: besides Bluetooth chest straps, we're hearing there'll be compatible cadence sensors (for bikers) and barometer / altimeters, too. The whole initiative is apparently in the final stages of development, so we wouldn't be surprised to see it officially announced either at CES or MWC. Ugh, this means we no longer have an excuse not to get off our lazy asses and jog, doesn't it?
Polar offers up RS800G3 multisport training system
Polar's RS800, which was originally introduced last September, is getting one-upped this fall by the RS800G3 multisport training system. Essentially, this acts as a GPS upgrade to the wristwatch, which "enables athletes to measure speed and distance for a variety of outdoor sports." The entire system now consists of the RS800 wrist unit, Wearlink W.I.N.D. heart rate transmitter, ProTrainer 5 software and the G3 GPS Sensor, and those who already plunked down for the watch last year can purchase the G3 GPS sensor separately. The sensor itself packs a SiRFstarIII chipset, is water resistant and can last around 15-hours on just a single AA battery. Price wise, athletes (or athletes to-be) can pick up the entire RS800G3 bundle for $499.95, while the standalone G3 will run you $139.95.[Thanks, SK]
