Apps are just as good as wearables at tracking physical activity, study claims

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If you’ve got a smartphone and are looking to get fit, looking at the wearable devices on offer, then you might want to hold back on that purchase for now. A new research letter from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) argues smartphones apps are just as effective as wearable devices in tracking step counts.

JAMA’s paper, entitled ‘Accuracy of Smartphone Applications and Wearable...

By James Bourne, 11 February 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Applications, Devices, Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness.

HIRIS claims to be the "first wearable computer for everyone"

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Meet HIRIS. HIRIS stands for Human Interactive Reliable Integrated System, and boldly claims to be the “first wearable computer for everyone.” It’s a big claim – but does it stack up?

The main reasoning behind this claim is because HIRIS can withstand any environment and be placed anywhere, from different body parts to on tennis rackets. This isn’t an entirely new idea; Misfit Wearables,

By James Bourne, 09 February 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Fitness, Health & Wellness.

AXA awards patient-led healthcare innovations

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Health insurance provider, AXA PPP, is hosting their first ever "Health Tech & You" awards at the Design Museum in London and will announce an overall winner during a ceremony on the 18th March 2015. Perhaps predictably, the shortlist is laden with wearable and connected devices which monitor health and performance to usher in a new-generation of patient-led...

By Ryan Daws, 28 January 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness, Performance Monitoring, Trackers.

Wearable trackers can amplify your fitness

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Stop kidding yourself. Simply wearing a fitness tracker for a couple of months was never going to make you reach your health goals. In order for your new gadget to have any meaningful impact on your health, you need to know how to use it as effectively as possible.

1. Establish a Baseline

You might be raring to try out your new toy, but if you want to track your fitness level accurately you’ll need to establish a...

By Peter Lemon, 28 January 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness, Performance Monitoring, Trackers.

FDA sets down rules on which wearables they want to monitor

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it will only monitor wearable devices that claim to help diagnose and treat major illnesses.

The majority of devices on the market, however, will be classified in the ‘general wellness’ category, which as the name suggests relates more to general wellbeing and can be associated with weight management, physical fitness, improving self-esteem, sleep management or sexual function.

The FDA notes it’s more the classification...

By James Bourne, 21 January 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Fitness, Health & Wellness.

Majority of US consumers want to control health with connected devices, report finds

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A report published by A&D Medical of more than 2000 US adults has found more than half (56%) of respondents want to monitor their health with connected health devices that automatically send information to their doctors.

The potential of wearable technology, connected devices all powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) is here to stay – and according to A&D, consumers are increasingly looking for buy-in. Blood pressure (37%) was the most popular test respondents wanted to...

By James Bourne, 20 January 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health & Wellness, IoT.

Researchers debunk claims of wearables powering the quantified self

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We’ve got some bad news for you. That Fitbit, or Jawbone you got for Christmas isn’t going to magically make you a healthier person, or even really influence you to become healthier, just because of the technology involved.

That’s the key takeaway from a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which argues that mobile health apps need to do better in utilising theories of health behaviour, rather than focus on the...

By James Bourne, 15 January 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Fitness, Health & Wellness.

Jawbone’s $50 wearable and an intricate sleep tracker

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Wearable technology provider Jawbone has released two wristbands targeting different markets; UP MOVE, a $50 basic activity tracker, and UP3, a $180 wristband which captures detailed information on sleeping patterns and heart rate.

The UP3 offers a wide variety of goodies, including a multi-sensor platform which provides a user’s resting heart rate, and is designed to capture more health data as the platform updates. It also has a ‘smart coach’ mode, whereby the band...

By James Bourne, 06 November 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Fitness, Health & Wellness, Smartwatches.

Google puts wearable health on steroids

Microsoft has just unveiled their fitness band with the most sensors of any wrist-worn consumer device yet. In total, the "Microsoft Band" packs 10 different types including sensors which allow it to measure heart rate, stress levels, and even UV exposure.

But not a company to sit still, Google has announced the tech giant is working on perhaps the most important and innovative solution yet, cancer detection. Google has developed a "nanoparticle pill" which they will incorporate with a...

By Ryan Daws, 30 October 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Google, Health & Wellness, Research.

Did Microsoft show its wearable in SHIELD?

Microsoft will announce their millenial entry into the wearables market in the coming weeks, as reported by Forbes and confirmed by sources close to the Redmond-based giant. It seems that the company isn't going to be late-to-the-party as it was with Windows Phone...

The upcoming wearable is said to be focused on fitness and is more of a smartband.

But it's possible that Microsoft has shown their device already. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD is a TV show laden with the company's products - whether...

By Ryan Daws, 20 October 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health & Wellness, Smartwatches.