Over the past several years, Apple has made efforts to expand the health-related features of the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apps and features like fall detection and high heart rate monitoring provide helpful insights, especially for senior citizens. La...
You might have thought Form already perfected the Swim Goggles, but the company is about to add another welcomed feature: heart rate tracking. Today, Form announced that it's teamed up with the fitness wearable company Polar to introduce the heart ra...
Mobvoi's second generation TicWatch Pro is available today, and the company hopes it will free you from your phone. The Wear OS-powered TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE offers wireless connectivity, so you can receive voice calls and app notifications, send and r...
Since cardiovascular diseases represent the #1 cause of death globally, monitoring parameters like heart rate and blood pressure using gadgets such as MOCAheart is essential, for both preventing and keeping such health problems under control.
The subject of a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter at the end of last year, MOCAheart is commercially available as of today. Seeing as how September 29 is World Heart Day, MOCACARE, the developer of this useful gadget, couldn’t have picked a better occasion to launch their product. Sure, there are plenty of cardiovascular monitoring devices out there, but none match the convenience, portability, and the great number of features of MOCAheart.
“We are excited to introduce MOCAheart and realize our ambition of empowering people to proactively monitor their heart health without interrupting their lifestyle,” explained Naama Stauber, co-founder and COO of MOCACARE. “By combining the latest developments in technology and medical science we have been able to deliver a device that will empower millions to effectively and effortlessly track cardiovascular health in taking action to prevent or minimize the well-known risks associated with heart disease.”
Probably one of the most interesting aspects about this gadget is the fact that it’s connected, thus giving both patients and health care providers instant access to the most recent readings, as well as to a history of the previous ones. The measured parameters include heart rate, blood oxygen levels and the proprietary MOCA index, a “correlation between the pressure exerted by the heart and the speed at which blood travels through the body”. To track these parameters, people need to use the “press and go” technique, so that the optical sensor and electrode get a proper reading. Environmental factors such as weather and location are also taken into account, so that medical personnel can tell what triggered a certain reaction.
As seen in the following images, MOCAheart fits comfortably in your hand, but for an even better experience, users can attach it to their iPhones using a custom built case. According to the manufacturer, Android cases will be available soon, but knowing how many different smartphones are powered by Google’s mobile OS, creating cases for each of them is nearly impossible. In that context, we can expect cases only for a selected few. Measuring 1 3/8” x 2 3/4” x 1/4” (35 x 70 x 6.35 mm) and weighing between 27 and 30 grams, this smart cardiovascular monitor is extremely durable, being made out of medical-grade stainless steel and biocompatible plastic.
Check out the following video for an unboxing of the product.
MOCAheart will be offered in four different colors, stainless steel, green, yellow, and red, presumably with matching iPhone cases. If you or someone close to you have a history of heart disease, head over to MOCACARE‘s website and order your MOCAheart for $149.99.
Renowned for the Bluetooth earpieces it makes, Jabra is now looking to add a twist to its products, by adding heart rate monitor functionality to wireless earphones.
Just in case the name of these Jabra wireless earphones wasn’t suggestive enough, the design of Sport Pulse indicates quite clearly that these are made for working out. From here on, the company doesn’t care that much if you’re running or lifting weights, as in both cases you might want to know your heart rate zones. Monitoring this aspect while performing physical activities is essential for making a progress, so Jabra decided it wouldn’t hurt if they added this functionality to a category of products they’re already good at making.
Jabra Sport Pulse tick all the boxes when it comes to convenience while working out. They feature a sleek design, comfortable to wear, and they don’t have any long wires to disturb you while running.
Much like Bose’s Quiet Comfort QC20, Jabra Sport Pulse include an earhook tip that keeps the earphones in place while moving around. Manufacturers of sports headphones have been testing multiple designs to make sure that the devices don’t fall off the ears during high-impact training of any sort. Jabra decided that the earhook is the most convenient way of preventing the headphones from coming loose.
Once used exclusively for taking or placing calls, Bluetooth earphones are now turned into an intermediary between your favorite music that’s being played on your smartphone, and your ears. After all, music is among the most powerful motivators while working out, and Jabra seems to have become aware of that.
The heart rate monitor included in the earphones transmits the collected data to Jabra Sport Life, a mobile app that’s available both on Android and iOS. And this is exactly where the workout improvement thing comes into play. The app provides voice feedback and enables users to set personal goals based on distance, time, burned calories, and desired heart rate.
Since Jabra Sport Pulse feature Dolby DSP, users are able to change the way music sounds using the equalizer included in the app.
These wireless earphones will be available starting on October 1, and will cost $200, which is a bit of a steep price for this kind of products, even with the added functionality.
Do you want to buy a fitness monitor, but don’t want to spend a fortune on it? Scosche Rhythm+ might be what you’re looking for, as it performs only that functions, without any costly bells and whistles.
Rhythm+ is the successor of an armband heart monitor that performs an even simpler function. Unlike the original Rhythm, this one also has a lower price. The current iteration can be placed either around the wrist or your arm, where it measures your heart rate and transmits it to your mobile device. After a bit of magic, the companion app turns the collected data into some sort of visual feedback of your workout.
If Rhythm had a battery life of six hours, the current version adds two more to that. Besides that, it seems to resist both sweat and water up to 1 meter. Another aspect that has changed from the previous version is the lack of music control, which no longer adorn the face of the device.
Scosche used a PerformTek biometric sensor for tracking the heart rate of the wearer. Apparently, the same technology is used by LG’s fitness-tracking earphones, which should be launched in Q3.
Luckily for us, there’s no discrimination regarding the mobile operating system on which the companion app runs. There are both iOS and Android versions of the app, and as long as there’s less than 100 feet between the Rhythm+ and the smartphone or tablet, the device should be able to transmit the data via Bluetooth 4.0 or ANT+.
Rhythm+ works with such fitness apps as Endomondo and RunKeeper, which is great, as you won’t have to buy additional gizmos to ensure compatibility between the two.
Even though there are striking similarities between Scosche Rhythm+ and Mio Link, the former is waterproof and costs $20 less, facts that make it an obvious winner.
This heart rate monitor has a price that starts at $79.99. For that price, you’ll get the device itself, one small and one large armband, a USB charger and a free 12 month membership for MapMyfitness, a fitness app that would typically run you down $30 a year. All in all, the Rhythm+ heart rate monitor might be a great choice for the ones looking for a simple device that performs a single function, and performs it well.
Having realized that making wearables that are compatible only with one’s own smartphones and tablets would push people away, the Redmond giant hinted that its smartwatch will also work with iOS and Android devices.
Windows Phone, or whatever modified version of this mobile OS will be powering Microsoft’s smartwatch, has a tremendous downside: a very poor app ecosystem. The company might be able to compensate for that by making the wearable compatible with other operating systems, namely with iOS and Android, the big players of today’s mobile market. This is not the only good news that Microsoft has in store for us, as Forbes has learned that the smartwatch will be packed with an array of sensors that track the heart rate of the wearer. The collected data will be synced with iPhones, Android smartphones and Windows Phones.
Microsoft seems to follow in Google’s steps, as the search giant likes to have its apps on more platforms than just Android. Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect division is in charge with optical engineering the device so that it measures heart rate continuously during the day. This feature certainly helps Microsoft’s smartwatch differentiate itself from Samsung’s Gear Fit, whose heart rate monitor needs to be turned on manually. The battery should keep the smartwatch functioning for up to two days, depending on the wearer’s usage habits.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, stated at a conference last week that “It’s time for us to build the next big thing,” and a cross-platform smartwatch might be just that. Some may think that the Redmond giant is late to the game, but Apple has yet to launch its long-awaited iWatch.
Cross-platform or not, as long as it only acts as a companion for smartphones (regardless of the OS they’re running), Microsoft’s smartwatch won’t stand a chance against the standalone smartwatch that Samsung is rumoredly working on.
Continuous heart rate tracking is definitely a sought-after feature, especially among fitness buffs and people who like to diagnose themselves while also trying to circumvent traditional health care. Future doctors had better start learning how to interpret all the data collected by wearables, or else they’ll be left behind, at least from this point of view. The quantified self concept will also be transformed when devices such as Microsoft’s smartwatch will hit the market.
Typically, when you buy sports watch that can monitor your heart rate, you have to wear a chest strap with it. TomTom has announced a new GPS sports watch called the Runner Cardio that is able to...
The much awaited Consumer Electronics Show (CES), also known as International CES is just only a few days away from now. We have been eagerly waiting for this event since last and can’t wait anymore...
Over the past several years, Apple has made efforts to expand the health-related features of the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apps and features like fall detection and high heart rate monitoring provide helpful insights, especially for senior citizens. La...
You might have thought Form already perfected the Swim Goggles, but the company is about to add another welcomed feature: heart rate tracking. Today, Form announced that it's teamed up with the fitness wearable company Polar to introduce the heart ra...
Mobvoi's second generation TicWatch Pro is available today, and the company hopes it will free you from your phone. The Wear OS-powered TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE offers wireless connectivity, so you can receive voice calls and app notifications, send and r...
Apple’s next iPhone already has a rumored launch date, along with several features that may or may not end up …