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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.
WowWee's AppGear turns toys into smartphone 'appcessories' (video)
WowWee, the company best known for its endless supply of adorable robot toys, is kicking off 2012 with something a little more virtual than visceral. AppGear combines actual physical toys with iOS and Android apps, like the launch title Foam Fighters. Each collectible, action figure or playset is paired with its own free, downloadable app that offers an augmented reality game or virtual way to interact with the toys. The line will be launching in "early" 2012, for between $9.99 and $19.99 depending on the particular toy. Six products will be available at launch, including Alien Jailbreak, Zombie Burbs, and Elite Commander which you can check out in the videos below alongside some incredibly vague PR. And we'll be gunning for WowWee booth when we land in Vegas to get some hands-on time with this lineup of AR-toys.
Mosoro Bluetooth LE iOS accessories improve your golf, if the weather's right
So far the appcessories -- yeah we said it, APPcessories -- we've seen include some good ideas, and some less so. The Bluetooth LE 3D-Sport and Weather offerings from Mosoro fall into the former category (if they make their way into a shipping product that is). The 3D-Sport is a motion capture device you attach to sports equipment. The on-board accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer beam motion data to your iOS device, where it can be analyzed by Rocky-style Russian coaches to see where your throw or golf swing is going wrong. The latter is a mini weather station that reads temperature, humidity, elevation, and barometric pressure to tell you the conditions where you are right now. More usefully, it nabs your GPS location and uploads it all to Mosoro's aptly named "Cloud" Server that presumably maps out some crazy real-time crowdsourced weather report. Both also use Bluetooth 4.0's low energy technology so they won't need to see a charger for a long time. Now we just need a company that likes collating personal data, perhaps with a weather service, to snap this one up... any takers?
Pinball Magic turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a tiny pinball machine
I still haven't seen an actual iPad arcade cabinet for sale (all the ones we've seen so far have been made by hobbyists for themselves), but here's a pretty cool case/accessory for your iPhone or iPod touch. Pinball Magic is a little device that you can slide your handheld into, and with the help of a free app, you can play a full pinball game live on a little miniature table. There's a real ball plunger, flipper buttons, a full LED backlit display, and even a Tilt detector, so you can hit all the usual lights and gadgets (albeit in an extremely small form factor) without throwing quarters in at the local arcade. Assuming they still have those local arcades -- I haven't seen one around in a while now. Unlike the cardboard iPad arcade units, this one's on sale and ready to go -- you can pick it up from Best Buy for US $39.99. Sure, that's a little steep (especially since it only works with the one app), but it's a small price to pay to take yourself back to those heady days of reaching for high scores while pushing a little silver ball up and down ramps. If you happen to pick one up and try it out, let us know how it works for you. [via TouchArcade]
