Hasta La Gadget!

We’ll be honest with you, we don’t know a lot about marketing healthcare devices to everyday people, so perhaps posting a goofy YouTube video with some re-written classic rock songs is standard practice in the industry. Whatever the case, the University of British Columbia’s Electrical & Computer Engineering in Medicine team managed to bring its Phone Oximeter to our attention, and all said, this could be a handy little device for monitoring vitals outside a hospital setting. The meter hooks up to a smartphone — an iPhone for trials, but we’re told it works with Android, Windows, and others — displaying the wearer’s blood oxygen level and heart and respiratory rates, and transmitting the readings to the hospital. The department has already done some field testing with the system, trying it out at the Vancouver General Hospital and bringing it to Uganda, where low cost medical devices and Journey spoofs are in high demand. Video probably only meant for its creators’ friends and family after the break.

[Thanks, Walter]

Continue reading Phone Oximeter saves lives, puts Journey’s lawyers on red alert (video)

Phone Oximeter saves lives, puts Journey’s lawyers on red alert (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 May 2011 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Until now, Verizon iPhone owners looking for the Mophie battery boost had three options: lugging around a Powerstation plug-in, settling for the Juice Pack Air’s measly 1500mAh battery, or slipping into an ill-fitting Juice Pack Plus AT&T case — an awkward fit, thanks to a slight difference in the handsets’ button placement. That long national nightmare is finally over, however, now that the 2000mAh Juice Pack Plus is compatible with both carriers, giving users up to eight more hours of 3G talk time and a few extra millimeters of thickness for around $100. The rubberized charging case is available in black, cyan, magenta, yellow, and a limited edition purple, of which only 2,000 were made. Oooh, exclusivity.

Continue reading Mophie Juice Pack Plus iPhone charging case now Verizon-friendly

Mophie Juice Pack Plus iPhone charging case now Verizon-friendly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 May 2011 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comcast rolled out a v1.5 update today for the iPhone / iPod Touch versions of its Xfinity TV app which allows them to access the video on-demand streaming that has been available on the iPad since February. Just like the iPad however, they’ll only work over WiFi — no streaming over 3G or downloading for offline viewing here, although unlike Cablevision and Time Warner’s iPad apps, you don’t have to be on your own WiFi for it to work. The slate of content has expanded to include 25 networks and over 6,000 hours of video, so for those confusing times when you’re within reach of WiFi but can’t get close to a TV, you can still queue up something for viewing. The official Twitter account advises a delete / reinstall for those having issues since upgrading, if you’re a Comcast subscriber who hasn’t already snagged the free app for its channel changing and remote DVR scheduling capabilities, you can do so at the link below.

[Thanks, Nick & Colby]

Comcast brings Xfinity TV VOD to iPhone, iPod Touch, but only on WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 May 2011 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don’t often jailbreak our iPhones to test apps, but a facial recognition unlock tool seemed a worthy excuse, so we gave it a shot. RecognizeMe uses the front-facing camera in your iPhone 4 (and iPad 2, eventually) to unlock the phone for its owner. Unfortunately, it also unlocked the device for Brian Heater (center), our resident 900 number enthusiast, and Bianca Bosker, Huff Po‘s tech editor and our only other friend in the newsroom. The app includes a setting for verification threshold, so we played around with that, trying a dozen times to get the app to ignore Brian, but even at 80 percent it was recognizing both of us (65 percent was the cutoff for Bianca). Bumping the threshold up to 100 percent finally locked Brian out, but at that level, the device wouldn’t unlock for anyone, making it totally secure — and totally busted. Verification took a full 25 seconds to timeout (compared to 5-15 seconds to grant access at lower levels, depending on lighting conditions), so using this app requires p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e. At this point, RecognizeMe is a $7 gimmick that might impress your grandmother (assuming she doesn’t ask to try it herself), but if you need to keep your device under lock and key, a tried-and-true passcode is still the way to go.

Continue reading RecognizeMe unlocks your jailbroken iPhone using your face, anyone else’s (video)

RecognizeMe unlocks your jailbroken iPhone using your face, anyone else’s (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lockitron. Even the name inspires a feeling of security. Security administered by giant Japanese robots, perhaps, but security nonetheless. Lockitron is a door lock that you can unlock with your cellphone.

It works like this. You replace either part or all of your door lock with Lockitron’s parts (depending on the kind of lock you have). Then, when you get home you fire up the app on your phone and hit the “unlock” button. That’s it. There is also a “lock” button for when you leave, and you can give access to a friend just by sending them an SMS with a code that lets them use their phone to open the door.

The Lockitron can also be used with an optional NFC (near field communication) add-on. This sticks onto the lock and when you wave your NFC-equipped phone in front of it it will open the door for you.

What’s not to like? If you have an NFC phone like the Nexus S, then you can now leave not only your wallet but your keys at home. Just make sure you don’t lose your cellphone, or you are royally screwed.

The Lockitron starts at $295, and is available now.

Lockitron product page [Lockitron]

See Also:

• Apple Adding NFC Contact-Less Payment to iPhone 5, Consultants …
• Remote Control Your Car With Your iPhone