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A Kickstarter project called ,The Dash, is offering the superhero of bluetooth earphones. The two small buds are packed with sensors such as an accelerometer, thermometer, capacitive touch, bone mic, Infrared LED and optical sensor and more.

All of this so you can listen to music (from a phone or from the onboard 4GB of storage) and track your exercise (speed, pace, distance, heart rate, oxygen saturation, etc.

It naturally blocks ambient sound (noise isolation) but can let through some sounds so you don't get hit by a car.

the product page spends a lot of time describing these interesting earphones that can be had for a mere $199 investment.

Kickstarter (link)

Atlas identifies and tracks all your exercises

January 21, 2014technologyEdward Kiledjian

Most fitness trackers are glorified pedometers. The same pedometer technology we have been using for 30 years with some extra software to make it look more modern. To really track your workouts and help you improve, you need a much deeper level of information collection and a more mature set of data analytics tools.

Over a year ago, I loved the idea of a fitness tracker called Amiigo (link).

Unfortunately the Amiigo is more than a year late to deliver their product and updates aren't very comforting. What I liked about the Amiigo was that was supposed to measure pulse & skin temperature in addition to the standard array of sensors so it could determine what exercise you are performing and how hard you are really working out.

Now a new entrant to the game called Atlas (link) is making some interesting promises. Like the Amiigo, it is able to identify exercises (differentiating between similar movements like jumping rope and jumping jacks). It doesn't have all of the sensors that the Amiigo has but it seems much more capable than other quantifiable self devices (Shine, Nike Fuelband, Fitbit, etc).

They intend to make the app both IOS and Android compatible.

It's important to remind you that this is still being developed by a small smart up and is dependant on funding from IndieGogo (link). Keep in mind that many of these great ideas never materialize or come to market months to years late.

I think this is a great little device and it would be fantastic if they can get it to market. We'll just have to wait and see.

UnderArmour buys MapMyFitness app

November 14, 2013technologyEdward Kiledjian

Under Armor has its own Armour39 tracking service but most users complained it lacked some basic features and wasn't polished enough. It seems Under Armour heard all the complaints and is buying competing fitness app MapMyFitness (for $150M)

MapMyFitness brings 20 millions users and the ability to suck in data from Jawbone UP, Nike Fuelband and of course from its own smartphone apps. UnderArmor will leverage all of this tech and user base to take fitness analytics to the next level.

Under Armour

A fitness wristband that automatically tracks your food

October 28, 2013HealthEdward Kiledjian

The quantified self via wearable tech is the next frontier and everyone wants a piece of the action. Typically the trinity is the tracking of exercise, sleep and pule (for exertion estimates and stress). For nutrition (aka calorie count), you typically have to enter the information into the devices smartphone app which means you will forget or just give-up after the first week.

Now a new entrant promises to track your calorie intake automatically. YES AUTOMATICALLY, as in without you having to do anything. How is this black magic accomplished you ask? The company describes it like this

"Nutrition is monitored using different wavelengths of light to look into the blood stream and detect metabolites as they are released while and after you eat. This allows AIRO to measure caloric intake and even the quality of meals consumed, providing recommendations on ways to improve nutrition."

So the wristband is supposed to know the nutritional breakdown of what you ate (protein, fat, carb) and then monitors what it does to your body. The company admits it cant differentiate between simple and complex carbs (we all know they are different) but they are conducting additional experiments in the hope that they will be able to fine tune their detection algorithms.

I have been using an iPhone app called Stress Doctor (from Azumio) that uses the timing and intensity of my pulse to detect stress levels (low, medium, high) and it seems Airo does the same except automatically. If it detects elevated stress levels, it will vibrate to encourage you to relax and provides recommended breathing exercises in the app to guide you.

It also combines all of the sensors to measure the intensity of your workouts (similar to what the Amiigo is supposed to do). My constantly monitoring you vitals, the app is also supposed to recommend rest days if it feels you are over-exercising.

The Airo is supposed to use your physiological indicators to measure quantity and quality of sleep. It will vibrate to wake you up at the best possible time (since it knows your sleep cycle).

An interesting distinction with this product is that it not only turns your life into a measurement game but also provides a game plan in response to what it is detecting. You no longer have to play doctor.

You can pre-order AIRO today and it is expected to ship fall 2014 (but remember these types of devices are notoriously bad at meeting their shipping dates. Amiigo is almost 6 months late thus far). The device pre-order costs $US149 but will cost $199 in stores when it hits retails.

You can pre-order the device here.

A Cronut hamburger available in Toronto

August 19, 2013technologyEdward Kiledjian

What is a cronut?

This is a conut:

"Described by many as a half croissant, half doughnut — this pastry hybrid by Chef Dominique Ansel is taking the world by storm. After its launch on May 10, 2013, Cronut™ fans spanned the world from Berlin to Singapore, making it the most viral dessert item to date. " - http://dominiqueansel.com/cronut-101/

What is a cronut burger

CTV Toronto is reporting hat a maple bacon cronut burger will be sold at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto (from August 16 - September 2).

Source CTV News Toronto

All of this for $10.

Smart earbuds for music and exercise tracking