fitness

Are you wondering how you're going to reach and maintain your fitness goals in the new year?

Fitness-tracking apps take advantage of your Android phone's GPS sensor and can track your route, pace, distance, and heart rate (with a supported heart rate monitor). Most of them also allow you to upload your stats so you can view your activity history. Going further, most of them even allow you to share your workouts on Twitter or Facebook, which is a great way to solicit encouragement from your friends and family.

Here are five popular fitness-tracking apps for your Android … Read more

While software may not be the glitziest of categories on display at CES, there's still plenty to be excited about as we prep for the 2012 event. From artificial intelligence to home integration, apps are definitely on the rise. Also, expect the cloud and health care to emerge as topics yet again.

Forecast: Cloudy Though this was on many prediction lists last year, we expect cloud computing to really hit its stride beginning with announcements at 2012's Consumer Electronics Show. Now that Apple's iCloud and other services have found creative (and successful) ways to store data in … Read more

When Greg Duffy shopped his business idea around in 2008, investor after investor told him the same thing: you're crazy.

Duffy wanted to build a gadget--an IP camera for home surveillance that's accessed via the cloud--and most startup investors didn't want anything to do with manufacturing. They wanted software, and software only.

Duffy persevered. Today, his company--Dropcam--uploads and processes more video every day than YouTube. This fall he raised $5.8 million, the first big pile of money for his San Francisco company. And while it's still in its early days, Dropcam's traction points to … Read more

Jawbone has halted production of Up, its fitness wristband over battery issues and has offered customers full refunds, regardless of whether they've encountered problems.

And the company is even allowing customers to keep their devices if they receive a refund. In essence, customers could tap the refund program to offset the cost of the device, even if their Up has no issues.

"I think most people will do what's right," said Travis Bogard, vice president of product management at Jawbone.

The Up, which garnered much attention at its launch a month ago, is a wristband that … Read more

All right, people, I hate to be the bearer of such grave news, but resolution season is almost upon us. If you're wondering how to make 2012 the year you finally shed those extra pounds, start choosing the apple over the fries, floss every day, etc., read on.

As of late last night, there's an app for all that--and it's free. Called Macaw, the app for iPhone and Android phones could just be the health and fitness app game changer.

Developed by U.S. Preventive Medicine alongside wireless health network provider Qualcomm Life, design firm Fjord (… Read more

It's not often that the worlds of technology and surfing collide, but when they do, the results can be pretty epic.

On a recent trip to Nazare, Portugal, big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara was able to paddle into a 45-foot wave--a feat that would be difficult to achieve on arm power alone--thanks to the help of jet-propelled surfboard.

The high-tech surfboard is the creation of a San Diego-based company called WaveJet. WaveJet is actually a pod that can be attached to any surfboard, kayak, or other personal watercraft and features battery-powered twin jet drives that produces 20 pounds of thrusts and can propel the board up to 12 miles per hour. A wristband worn by the surfer allows him or her to control the twin jets wirelessly and also provides information about battery life, which stands at around 40 minutes if used continuously. … Read more

Gentlemen--ladies, too--start your wristbands.

Although better known for its Bluetooth headsets, Jawbone is venturing into fitness gadgets with UP, a wristband that tracks your activity level, what you eat, and when you sleep. SmartPlanet's Sumi Das speaks to Jawbone Product Management VP Travis Bogard to find out how it works and gets an answer to a common complaint about the product--why doesn't it transmit data wirelessly?

This video first appeared on SmartPlanet under the headline "Can a smart wristband make you healthier?"

The ski and snowboarding season is upon us, and there are a number of tech products out there that let you track your runs, keep in touch with buddies, and listen to music, but the Recon Mod Live just might be one of the coolest gadgets for skiers and snowboarders yet.

Developed by Recon Instruments, the Mod Live uses a micro-optic display (hence, Mod) to project real-time information about your run, such as distance, speed, altitude, and vertical drop, right inside your ski goggles. The product consists of a mini computer on the right side that includes a GPS chip, accelerometers, a mini LCD, and 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, which is connected to a battery on the left side through a single cable. Users then insert the Mod Live into their goggles to view a virtual dashboard of stats. … Read more

New fitness technology products like Fitbit and Jawbone Up are aimed at pushing healthier lifestyles. The eButton isn't yet ready for prime time, but the University of Pittsburgh project really knows how to get all up in your business.

The eButton tracks all those little details that you would hesitate to confess to your personal trainer. The device combines a miniature camera, accelerometer, GPS, and a set of sensors into a gadget that you wear pinned to your chest.

The eButton is kind of like the Santa Claus of fitness tools. It knows if you've been out jogging or if you haven't gotten up from the couch since that "Battlestar Galactica" marathon started 12 hours ago.… Read more