Hasta La Gadget!

LAS VEGAS –Remember Fitibt, the cute fitness tracker for adults that logs your every move? Now seniors have their own version of the device. Wellcore is a monitoring system that offers automatic fall detection, a web site where you can input data to track your activity and rest patterns and send text alerts.

But it is not being pitched as just another fitness tracker. Instead Wellcore executives are playing up the device’s emergency alert system. Wellcore has motion detection and pattern recognition so if the wearer stumbles or falls, it can automatically send an emergency service, a caregiver or a family member an alert.

“Traditional personal response systems require users to push a button to activate it,” says Vijay Nadkarni, CEO of Wellcore. “They have also been marketed in a way that makes it embarrassing for many to buy it. We are combining the idea of fitness and an emergency response system.”

Monitoring your lifestyle through data and data analysis is becoming increasingly popular. New devices such as the Fitbit and the DirectLife from Philips are trying to automate self-tracking. Wellcore tap into that idea but adds a feature that should get the attention of seniors.

The Wellcore system, designed by Hartmut Esslinger, founder of industrial design firm, Frog Design, has two parts. It has a base unit that acts as a charger and a clip that can be hooked on to your belt or pants. The waterproof hardware costs $200 (every additional belt clip costs $100) and the emergency monitoring service will set you back by $50 a month. The system will be available for pre-orders starting February 18 through the company’s website.

Wellcore also includes features such as an automatic reminder sent through the device’s base unit asking to be worn. If the sensor is left unworn for an extended period of time, an email message is sent to a designated caregiver or family member, so it’s a good way to remind mom or dad to use it.

The password-protected online dashboard measures the numbers of steps taken everyday and charts patterns from the data offering activity graphs that indicate if its average or above average for the user. Users can also check their daily, monthly, or 90 day progress.

While the other fitness trackers can do more, they also aren’t designed for senior users. Wellcore attempts to bring the same idea to an older group by throwing in a few services that will sweeten the idea for them.

See Also:

• Review: Fitbit Fitness and Sleep Tracker
• Entrepreneurs Find Gold in Gadget Startups
• Know Thyself: Tracking Every Facet of Life, from Sleep to Mood

Photo: Wellcore system

This USB hub has 24 ports. Who could possibly use such a thing? I regularly have to re-jig my USB setup to fit in everything I use (not to mention the gear I test) and I can’t ever see myself needing almost a quarter-century of sockets.

We suppose it could be good for those who need to write a whole lot of thumb-drives at once, although there are purpose built devices for that which don’t make your peripherals radiate from the center like some demented electronic sunburst. The Super USB 24-Port Hub will set you back $70, and comes (of course) with a power adapter.

I have another concern about having so may gadgets hooked up to just one port on your computer. Unlike FireWire, USB communication is controlled by your computer and not the peripheral itself. Wouldn’t having 24 gizmos running concurrently drain the resources of even a powerful modern machine?

Super USB 24-Port Hub [USB Fever]

Pedal Brain is a kind of Nike+ for cyclists, an iPhone accessory and application that, despite looking quite excellent, could possibly nickel and dime itself out of existence.

Pedal brain comes in three parts: a handlebar-mounted iPhone (or iPod Touch) case (called the Pedal Brain Synapse), an iPhone application and a web-app. The case (plastic initially, with a carbon-fiber version to follow) communicates with your bike monitoring devices using the ANT+ wireless protocol, a standard utilized by power-meters, heart-rate monitors and speed and cadence sensors. This is the first deviation from the successful Nike+ model, which comes with its own sensor.

This requirement for expensive accessories might explain the price of the unit, which will go for between $130 and $200, and more for the carbon fiber case. This is in addition to a (undecided) monthly fee you’ll have to pay if you want to keep your data for more than a week. It’s true that amateur cyclists like to waste money on their hobby, especially on training kit they don’t need, so this could be a hit. And let’s face it, nobody will buy the plastic version. Anyone who has a power-meter will already be a carbon freak.

The app pulls together all of the information available and collates it into pretty graphs, which are shared in real-time with the web (iPhone-only) as they are recorded. An interesting twist is the coaching function, which lets cycling trainers submit coaching plans to which riders can subscribe. The prices of these are determined by the coach, and Pedal Brain adds $4-a-month on top.

The whole kit-n-caboodle should be available in March, ready for wussy, winter-shy cyclists.

Pedal Brain site [Pedal Brain via the Giz]

See Also:

• Knog Nerd
• Hands-On With the Sigma Wireless Bike Computer
• Five iPhone Apps That Replace Bike Hardware
• Cerevellum Bike Computer Concept

Juice is an all-in-one power-pack, a battery-chargin’, USB-powerin’ box which actually looks good enough to take outside the house (those leafy decorations are thankfully on a pair of charging AAs).

Unlike most designs featured on Yanko’s hallowed concept pages, the Juice, by Hiroaki Tanaka, will actually be in shops early in 2010 (in Japan and Taiwan) and coming to the US soon after, made by a company called Nobil.

The plastic box has a pair of adjustable side-slots to charge both double and triple-A cells, and a USB slot on the top will charge just about anything else. The power comes in from a wall outlets and the Juice itself has an internal battery pack which can be used to top of anything you plug or slot into it while on the go.

These kinds of chargers are becoming pretty essential, especially in the age of Kindles, iPod and even laptops having hidden, non-removable batteries. I have a little pocket-sized battery and charger for my iPod and whenever I’m out for more than a few hours it comes with me.

Juice [Nobil via Yanko]

I have mixed thoughts about Hammacher Schlemmer’s Airplane Seat Back Valet. On the one hand, it looks completely perfect for a long haul flight, keeping everything to hand without taking away precious knee-space, and looks like it could be easily rigged to hold a media-player in front of your eyes for some non-censored in-flight entertainment.

On the other hand, it is monstrously dorky, and spreading out all of your belongings for your fellow travelers to see is akin to traveling with your pants off, a kind of physical TMI.

We like that it has slots for memory cards, iPods, cellphones, books, tickets and even a netbook, and while the inclusion of a hidden money-pocket with six credit card slots seems superfluous at first, when you learn that the $40 piece of nylon folds into a shoulder bag for use off the plane, it makes more sense. It should be on sale aboard every plane in the Sky Mall magazine.

I won’t be buying one, as I like to take the aisle seat, jerk the seat back as far as it will go and then load up the flip-down table in front with all my in-flight essentials. Then, when my row-mates need to get up, I first stare at them in irritation, then tut under my breath, clearing the empty whisky miniatures and electronics slowly away before letting them out.

The Airplane Seat Back Valet [Hammacher Schlemmer]