fitness

When it comes to getting fit or losing weight, there's no shortage of books, blogs, diets, workout videos, or group exercise classes to help you out. 

Now, tech fiends can add another category of helpful resources: mobile apps. Androids and iPhones both have a large selection of exercise and weight loss apps, but how do you chose among them all?

To help you reach your fitness or weight loss goals faster, I found the most interactive, effective, and fun apps available. Here are three of the best, free apps for Android and iOS to help you get in shape (in no particular order):

RunKeeper (iPhone, Android): This free app lets you track your outdoor activities like hiking, jogging, and running.… Read more

Looking for a really good fitness application for your phone can be a pain in the butt--and exhausting. At which point, you're done trying. The GPS is off by (insert miles here), Facebook integration doesn't work, it has less than a handful of workout scenarios, no customization...

CardioTrainer has been in the top-apps list in the Android Market since the market was first introduced. CNET reviewed the lite version in May 2009, and a lot of bugs have been fixed in those two years--I mean, you'd hope so right?

On Amazon's Appstore for Android you can download the full, ad-free version of the Pro version (typically $9.99) for nothing. Features include auto-mapping, six levels of interval training, 20 levels of difficulty, audio and video feedback during workouts, pedometer, more than 40 different preinstalled workouts to choose from, and a built-in music player. There's a customization setting if your workout isn't in the predefined list.

There is a precursor to installing this app on Amazon, however. You must download and install the free (or lite) version of CardioTrainer first. Once that's done, download and install the Pro version. And there you go! Unlocked, free and fully-featured.

CardioTrainer Pro will be Amazon's free App of the Day until 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT tonight. Try it out. There's always the option of uninstalling if it doesn't suit your needs, and free is free. … Read more

Owners of Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone and the 7-inch Galaxy Tab tablet will finally receive an upgrade to Android 2.3 Gingerbread starting very soon.

Samsung announced today that the Gingerbread upgrade would also extend to its Galaxy Ace, Gio, Fit, and mini phones.

The company will kick off with an upgrade to the Galaxy S in the U.K. and Nordic countries starting as soon as the middle of this month. The upgrade would then travel through the rest of the world, reaching other European countries, North America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and then other regions.… Read more

In this edition of CNET's Roadside Assistance, Brian Cooley and Wayne Cunningham are out, but Antuan Goodwin is in to answers questions about the Honda Fit, the Ford Fiesta, Bose audio, and something about a Kia and an Oldsmobile sharing the same design cues.

In the market for a used car? Here's some good news. Consumer Reports today released its list of used cars that rate as more reliable than their brand-new counterparts.

The Consumer Reports' Annual Auto issue lists 11 2008 models with about the same or even fewer problems than comparable 2010 models. That list includes the 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser and Yaris with a reported 11 and 12 problems per 100 vehicles, respectively. Although Consumer Reports reveals the average 2010 car had 13 problems per 100. Consumer Reports did not rate the FJ Cruiser and Yaris with high in road … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--I'm at the Launch Conference today, and the first company I checked out was Greengoose, a very clever physical-activity monitoring company. It was at this same location, the San Francisco Design Center, at the competing TechCrunch conference, that I first saw the Fitbit, a little clip-on activity monitor that should have taken the fitness world by storm. But I've seen none of these little solid-state pedometers out in the real world, and nobody I know talks about what was once seen as a really innovative business. Can Greengoose succeed where Fitbit has floundered?

… Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Samsung usually arrives at a trade show with all guns blazing and Mobile World Congress was no exception. Not only did the company show off its new Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II, but also it displayed some handsets it had announced previously. And these devices came in all sizes.

On the larger side is the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, which T-Mobile and Sammy revealed last month. With a 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen and a slim rectangular shape, it looks very much like the earlier Samsung Vibrant. It certainly was pretty, but it felt rather fragile. … Read more

I've reviewed and thoroughly enjoyed some of the very best custom in-ear headphones on the market, including the JH Audio 13 Pro headphones and the Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors, so I thought it was about time to check out an entry-level custom in-ear. The Ultimate Ears UE 4 Pro model retails for $399, and looks much like the company's other custom models. No surprise there; they all come from impressions made from the customer's ear canals, hence the "custom" part of custom in-ear headphones, from UE or other manufacturers. Each one is a unique, hand-built … Read more

There's a big question being explored right now about the intersection of health and social media: Does the tracking and sharing of personal fitness and diet data motivate us to get, and stay, healthy?

A host of Web sites and mobile apps are banking on the answer being yes. FitDay provides a free diet journal; Daily Burn offers logs to track diet, exercise, and weight; an Awareness app promises to upgrade one's mental software; and dozens of other sites and apps cater to specific types of diets, exercises, and desired outcomes.

So the just-launched Humana fit social network, designed to help users live healthier, more active lives, is going to have to offer some pretty stellar features to stand out.… Read more