Hasta La Gadget!

 Last week, a small crowdfunded project called the Healbe GoBe made news, as backers and journalists questioned the company’s claims that it could measure caloric intake using a wearable device. While the claims do sound wild at best, the company is sticking to its story — and Indiegogo is sticking by the project. Read More

Most of you know that my fitness routine is limited to quickly changing TV channels and carrying heavy bags of cakes, ice cream and donuts into the house from the grocery store. I know I have to treat myself better, and there are so many gadgets out there that could help motivate me. I think I may have finally found one of those fitness bands that has a few features for real beginners like me, and, one that could continue to grow with me, as my commitment to daily exercise increases…

Check out Vivofit, the newest entry into the fitness band market, Vivofit actually learns your current activity level, *sigh* and then, assigns an attainable daily goal for you. As you manage to push on and meet those milestones, your Vívofit will set the bar just a little higher for the next day, gradually stepping you up to attain your fitness goals. Vivofit also maintains a free online community where you can view and track your progress.

Sure, Vivofit tells the time, but it also has quite a few additional features to keep you motivated. Use the optional heart rate monitor with your Vívofit in order to record your heart rate and zone data, and to get more accurate calorie burn information. Garmin Connect, the free online community that the company offers, allows you to challenge other Vívofit users, and start your own competitions with friends and family, in order to compete for badges and some all important chest thumping.

Your Vívofit will be your constant companion, and it keeps on “ticking” for more than a year without ever having to change the battery. Setting the sleep mode when you go to bed, then allows your band to track the quality of your sleep. Just log on to see how long you snoozed, and your periods of thrashing about. The Vívofit band is also water-resistant, so YES, you can shower, or jog in the rain, without having to worry. Get yours for around 140 bucks at amazon.com, and me? I’m going to start getting off the couch, you know, right after the last of the cake is gone.
[ Garmin’s Vivofit – Get’s you Going, Keeps you Going! copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Mozilla promised that Firefox OS was getting a gigantic interface redesign later this year, and it’s now clear just how ambitious that remake will be. Ahmed Nefzaoui and Soren Hentzchel have provided a detailed look at Firefox OS 2.0 that shows off…

Getting kids to do things they have to do like cleaning or washing up is about as much fun as pulling teeth for either side. The best way to get kids to do something is to make it into a game. Assign points, or use a rewards system and they’re suddenly ready to get things done.

It’s looking like someone took “making it into a game” seriously, as the Grush is coming into creation. This is a toothbrush that works alongside an app which will have kids brush away monsters on the screen of a phone or tablet, by brushing their teeth in real life. This is a motion sensing game wand controller that can track things like stroke, intensity, rotation, and gestures. There is a Grush Cloud that will store all of the brushing information, which means parents and dentists alike will have instant access to brushing antics.

The games that it comes with it are varied, in that you can chase away monsters, care for virtual pets, fly planes, and more. This will work with Android or iOS devices, and will provide a score or “Grush factor” based on the quality of your brushing technique. This is currently a crowdfunding campaign, but you can get the Grush, access to the Cloud, and all the games for $30-45 if you’re speedy. It does come with two replacement heads, but there’s a chance that you’re going to need more than that over the years. Of course, just because this is aimed at kids doesn’t mean it’s strictly for them. If you’d like to make everything you do in life a game, then there’s no shame in getting a Grush for yourself.

Available for crowdfunding on Indiegogo
[ Grush is tackling a new market – the gaming toothbrush copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

As the Nokia X smartphone runs on a forked version of Google’s Android mobile operating system, which translates to it not having access to Google’s services such as the Play Store or Hangouts, this does not mean that you are unable to run Android apps on it. The developer, however, will play an important role, and we are pleased to say that Facebook Messenger is now available on the Nokia X, while making its appearance for the Nokia Lumia and Nokia Asha devices, too.

Doing away with likes, shares and personal feeds, the Facebook Messenger app intends to be a pure conversation app, concentrating on you having private conversations with your mates. This means there is no need for the full Facebook app to be installed beforehand, which is a good thing if you happen to be running low on memory on your smartphone. With the Facebook Messenger app on Nokia’s devices, you can check out who happens to be online, being able to create group chats and send photos and stickers, now how about that?

Those who are rocking toa Nokia Lumia will see your Facebook friends added to your People Hub automatically, where notifications pop up on the Start Screen. As for Nokia X and Asha owners, these notifications will appear in Fastlane.[Press Release]

Facebook Messenger For Asha, Lumia, Nokia X Announced , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, Facebook, Nokia,