Hasta La Gadget!

If you thought that your parents were being unreasonable, asking you to call them when you have arrived at the prom, and arriving at the hotel or prom venue when the event is over, perhaps you might want to head on to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and live there as a female for a month to truly appreciate the kind of freedom you have here. For the longest time, women in Saudi Arabia cannot travel without consent from their male guardians and are unable to drive, and the latest development shackles them even more. It seems that women there are being monitored by an electronic system, where it is capable of tracking any cross-border movements to ensure that all the ladies and perhaps, one’s harem remain where they should.

As of last week, Saudi women’s male guardians started to receive text messages on their handsets, where these messages will reveal the location of the women under their custody should they happen to leave the country. Of course, it is all good and well if you are traveling with them, but if you are at the office, thinking that all is well at home, while receiving such a text message, hold on to your beard and think carefully just where they might have gone.

Needless to say, this electronic tracking system of women has received more condemnation in general than approval. What do you think?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: 1,000 Euro Reward For Finding Lumia 920 Dropped From Space, webOS Runs On Android Platform?,

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

A lot of us use our phones to track our runs, bike rides and other outdoor activities. You’ve probably also noticed that GPS is not exactly the most accurate way of measuring your exercise (especially if you live in a city with a lot of tall, tightly-packed buildings). And, if you’re less concerned with distance and time than you are with say… elevation, then your iPhone simply can’t help you. A company called EpicSesh is hoping to turn your humble iOS device into a serious 3D sport tracker by packing a bunch of sensors in a sleeve called the XensrCase. Inside the rugged case is a highly accurate gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer and separate GPS module that samples motion data 400 times a second to create smooth records of your jumps, flips and tricks, as well as your distance and speed. There’s also a companion app that pulls in the most relevant data and formats it appropriately for your sport of choice — be it snowboarding or windsurfing.

To get the product off the ground EpicSesh is looking for $100,000 in funding. To claim a XensrCase for yourself you’ll need to pledge $150, though, that deal is only good for the first 100 devices. After they’re gone you’ll need to pony up $170 for one in blue. For now the case is available for the iPhone 5, 4S and 4 as well as the iPod touch. But we’re hopeful an Android version of the same TruMotion tech is in the works. Head on after the break to see it in action and hit up the source link to pledge your support.

Continue reading Insert Coin: XensrCase turns your iPhone into a state of the art 3D sports tracker

Filed under: Peripherals

Insert Coin: XensrCase turns your iPhone into a state of the art 3D sports tracker originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Missing phone apps such as Find My iPhone often have a glaring weakness: as they depend on pings at regular intervals, they’re not much use at tracking down a lost device if the battery dies first. Enter a major revamp of Lookout’s Security & Antivirus app for Android. The updated title’s new Signal Flare component takes advantage of a phone’s tendency to go out in a blaze of wireless glory that marks its last location. By remembering where a phone was unintentionally laid to rest, Signal Flare helps track down a phone that might have died in the parking lot — or just underneath the couch. Should your phone remain safely in your pocket, you’ll likely still appreciate the reworked interface that blends in with Android 4.0 and beyond, the protection against click-to-call exploits and an activity feed that shows just what Lookout has been doing behind the scenes. Android users can get that extra reassurance today, and iOS users have been promised a parallel app in the future.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Lookout Security & Antivirus for Android gets a makeover, lets missing phones have one last gasp originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 12:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“Appcessories” is probably one of the more abrasive, yet devilishly descriptive, portmanteaus we’ve heard in recent years. But, if you’re still not sure what it means, consider the Rhythm pulse monitor from Scosche a perfect example. The forearm-mounted device is a pulse / heart rate monitor with an iOS companion app. Working with some of your phone’s inner smarts (like GPS), along with a dedicated accelerometer, the hardware / software combo logs vital data from your work out, which you can then share with the world, or enjoy broken down into detailed statistical analysis. If you’ve ever gone jogging with your iPhone, you’ll know how fiddly it can be to change music tracks on the hop, so you’ll be pleased to know the Rhythm covers that too. If this sounds like what your workout is missing, you can strap-up right away from any Apple or AT&T store (real or online) for $99, with other outlets, including Best-Buy stocking in time for Christmas.

Continue reading Scosche’s Rhythm pulse monitor for iOS tracks your run, lets you change the beat (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Scosche’s Rhythm pulse monitor for iOS tracks your run, lets you change the beat (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 01:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The second of Blue Microphone’s CES trio has broken cover. Mikey Digital, a mobile recording peripheral for the iPad and iPhone is now available at select retailers. If you’re in need of a refresher, the retooled version of the original Mikey tracking unit connects to you Apple smartphone or tablet via the dock connector. The mic houses the same two condenser capsules found on the more robust Snowball and Yeti USB mics while sporting built-in sensitivity control and CD-quality analog / digital conversion. A 3.5mm audio jack is included for monitoring or either stereo line-in or mic-in — if you’re looking to tack on a few more gadgets when recording with the 230-degree rotating kit. USB pass-thru allows for charging while in the midst of a session and a LED clipping indicator keeps tabs on volume levels to ensure the best results. If all of that sounds too good to pass up, the Mikey Digital will hit your wallet for $99.99 just as soon at you can enter your shipping info.

Continue reading Blue Microphones Mikey Digital portable microphone for iOS devices hits shelves, offers mobile tracking for $100

Filed under: Peripherals

Blue Microphones Mikey Digital portable microphone for iOS devices hits shelves, offers mobile tracking for $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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