Hasta La Gadget!

When you go for a run, the less you’ve got to carry on your person, the better. Think of VEA’s new Sportive mobile watch as something of a digital fannypack: it looks goofy, but it’ll help you consolidate some of that extra baggage. The device has some basic phone functionality, a camera, and an MP3 player — oh, and it apparently does the time as well. It’s got a nano-sized 1.5-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, 8GB of storage, and an SOS button that sends out your location and other vital info, should anything happen to you on your run. It’ll start shipping on July 14th for €399 ($578). Run, don’t walk, because the price bumps up to an even more lofty €499 ($722) in September.

VEA’s Sportive mobile watch is for those with money, calories to burn originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cervélo, which for the past decade has made some of the most coveted race bikes in cycling, is launching a new model for the Tour de France. And we have the exclusive, including the first test ride of any media outlet on the planet. Check back tomorrow for all the details and cool behind-the-scenes photos.

It’s only 15 years old, but Cervélo has become one of the top brands in cycling. It got there through innovative designs and engineering that brought a win at the Tour de France, an Ironman World Championship, Olympic medals and several of cycling’s top one-day races, including multiple wins at the brutal Paris-Roubaix (Google it).

One of the company’s primary innovations has been aero-road designs, which combine the geometry of normal road bikes with the streamlined, wind-cheating tube shapes of triathlon bikes. The Cervélo S3 is the current standard in aero-road bikes, and the company’s wind tunnel and lab tests suggest this new bike will be a massive improvement over the S3 in both aerodynamics and stiffness.

Current world champion Thor Hushovd will be among those riding the new bike at the Tour, which starts Saturday, but he agreed to do so only if he could race it at the Norwegian national championships last weekend. That’s why some spy photos of the aggressively aero design have leaked out, in case you’d like a preview. Either way, check back tomorrow for photos of the bike in the University of Washington wind tunnel and more photos from our exclusive test rides.

Photo: Mike Kane/Wired.com

Remember those old diving suits with the big metal helmets and the weighted shoes that let you walk across the ocean floor? The divers carried no tanks, relying instead on a partner pumping air down a hose from the surface. If the guy up top decided to take a smoke break, or just nodded off, the poor diver would suffocate.

So forget that lazy, good-for-nothing smoker on the surface. This is 2011 after all. Replace his sorry ass with the PowerSnorkel, a “Power Snorkel Hookah.”

The hookah consists of a buoy with a pump and compressor. It sends air down a tube to the diver(s) below. One diver can drop to 12 meters (40 feet), two can go to 6 meters (20 feet). In the latter case, each diver gets their own 6-meter tube which attaches to a y-divider.

A flag on top lets the pump and tank be easily seen and found, the battery will run for about an hour, and the kit includes a pair of regulators and dive harnesses.

It looks like a lot of fun. It’s no replacement for Scuba gear, of course. It’s more like a power-up for normal snorkelers. For recreational gear, its a little pricy — $2,500 — but then again, you are trusting your life to it, and it certainly costs less than keeping an unreliable, ne’er-do-well assistant on your team.

PowerSnorkel [Power Dive via Oh Gizmo]

See Also:

• CES: Scuba Mask and Camera — Combined!
• Reading Glasses for Scuba Divers

You might have wondered why so much attention was lavished on one doughy white guy after the Mavericks won the NBA title last night. More »

More than three years after testing out 3D production during a Rugby Six Nations match the BBC is ready to send out its first 3D broadcast during the men’s and women’s singles finals at Wimbledon. UK viewers can catch 3D tennis via the BBC HD feed on Freeview, Freesat, Virgin or Sky, July 2nd and 3rd. Here in the US ESPN 3D has already announced plans to air those matches, plus the men’s semifinal, both live and reaired at more convenient local times. While Panasonic featured its 3D tech last week during the French Open at Roland Garros, Sony is going to be working the dials at Wimbledon along with the BBC as the network undertakes “a 3D TV editorial experiment.” 3D Focus TV has more details like the channel listings and a behind the scenes look at a 3D promo shot to advertise movie theater screenings that will also be available during the event. So far Sky has been way out in front of the 3D push in the UK while the BBC is taking a more cautious approach, but since Wimbledon was one of the first sporting events aired in color on the BBC, it’s no surprise this pops up as a test event in the run up to new broadcast technologies emerging during the London Olympics next year.

Continue reading BBC picks Wimbledon for its first 3D broadcast in July

BBC picks Wimbledon for its first 3D broadcast in July originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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