Withings bathroom scale review

The Connected bathroom scale is a new, high tech gadget from Withings. It provides a way of measuring your weight and keeping track of your diet progress and body composition that is in keeping with the modern focus on persona fitness. The basic concept is this: the bathroom scales tell you your weight in the normal manner and then using a WiFi connection, the results are sent to a web dashboard program which keeps track of your measurements over time, showing you clearly exactly when your weight has gone up or down. The precise tracking allows you to see how factors such as stress and many of the other elements of modern living affect your weight from day to day.

The first thing that strikes you about the Connected scale is that the design is pretty slick: soft lines and a dark, metallic colour scheme seem to have been drawn from the iPhone school of design. The ‘retro’ digital readout is large and easy to read and fits the look quite well. It turns on and off automatically and features an instant ‘weigh in’ whenever you stand on the scales. It’s also remarkably thin, being only twenty-three millimetres in depth, even with the four carpet feet attached. The device is powered by 4 AAA batteries (included with the package) and it includes free access to the web dashboard programme. All in all, for something that you stand on, it is a pretty attractive piece of kit.

This idea of using a WiFi connection to measure your weight is quite a good one. Considering that your weight can change depending on what time of day it is, having a nicely graphed progress report is likely to be far more informative than simply standing on a set of scales in the morning. The Connected scales also measures your fat mass, lean mass and body mass index, so you’ll get a good idea as to what is going on. It also features automatic user recognition, so you can have different profiles for each person in the house. All of this is automatically sent to the web dashboard programme, which you access via the Internet, or from a specially created iPhone application.

The dashboard itself is clear (both on the website and iphone app) and, as with the scale, looks pretty cool too. Since the scale is incredibly accurate itself, Withings say that the dashboard measurements are perfectly accurate and from these measurements, the system calculates your BMI and also offers you a ‘reference’ guide – a comparison of your figures to the statistics of the ‘ideal’ numbers of a healthy person of your age, height and gender. (They do of course specify that this reference point is an estimate and should not be taken as an absolute ideal.) It will also keep track of your ‘body curves’- your weight rising and falling over time. This is particularly important in the context of the so-called ‘yoyo effect’ – a possible side effect of the stresses of modern living and diet, whereby your weight continuously fluctuates. Access to the dashboard is by password, just in case you are a little embarrassed by the results and want to keep them private and it is possible to have multiple profiles if the Connected scale is to be used by more than one person.

So, now that we have established what the Connected bathroom scale does, it rather begs the question- why do we need all this? One of the most common health problems in modern Britain is obesity which, along with widespread poor nutrition, is on the increase. As all doctors will tell you, prevention is the easiest way to avoid the associated health risks with being over or under weight. Monitoring your progress in terms of not only weight, but also body fat and lean mass and on such a detailed scale, should tell you very quickly if you are doing something that is heading towards the slippery slope to obesity. Certainly, if you are on a diet and trying to loose weight, then being able to see your progress over time is a great way of encouraging yourself to keep going.

 

 

Pictured left : The withings website is easy to use and provides a innovative dashboard.

 

So to sum up, the Connected scale is nice to look at, well designed, accurate and easy to use. It is useful for keeping track of precisely what your body weight and BMI are doing. Many consumers particularly like the iPhone accessibility, which definitely ranks this a cool gadget. At 129 euros, it will probably be the most expensive gadget in many a bathroom — but then again, it may well also be the best-looking and coolest thing in there. They are available from www.withings.com

Withings scale gallery: 

The O2 Joggler Review

The O2 Joggler is an interesting product that is pretty hard to define by the standards of any other gadget out there. Despite it’s jaunty name, which suggests immediately the family setting in which the Joggler is intended to be used, there’s a chance that the level of connectivity and information that it makes accessible might be a little invasive. The Joggler will certainly require a good deal of scrutinising to see whether it fits into the homes in which it so longs to reside.

So what is the O2 Joggler? Well, O2 describe it as a device whose intentions are to organise your family better, and in practise it might be easiest to think of it as a digital cork board with a brain. It looks very much like a digital photo frame and indeed can be used as such, with a kick stand allowing it to sit on a kitchen counter or a coffee table. It is fashioned entirely from black plastic with a reflective touch sensitive display, and the whole package is very pleasant to look at though expect the smeary fingerprints that gather on most family friendly surfaces to cake the Joggler in no time.

The O2 Joggler is all about organisation, and at its core is the link up between it and the O2 Calendar service. This is basically a free online service which allows you to set up your own Calendar account and add all of your important meetings and events, which can then be accessed from your mobile or from your O2 Joggler. This kind of syncing capability is aimed at syncing up your family life in general and in practice should make keeping the numerous appointments which litter family life a little easier. In order to perform the syncing the O2 Joggler will need to be connected to your home network via Wi-Fi, something which many homes now have available to them. The Wi-Fi connectivity is used for other things as well, such as providing a variety of information services updated in real time from online feeds. The O2 Joggler gives you access to things like news headlines, weather forecasts, traffic reports and much more. This is aimed at providing convenience that isn’t offered by other devices, and is certainly quicker than booting up your PC or laptop if you’re in a rush and need to catch the latest sports results. However, anyone who lives in a house with a TV will have access to basically the same services via 24 hour news outlets, so in some respects the Joggler is a little bit behind the times.

The Joggler can also use your Wi-Fi connection to stream media from other computers connected to the network. This means you can watch videos, view photos and listen to music on the Joggler. This is a sensible use of the Wi-Fi connection, though again the question must be asked ‘Why?’ I can understand using the Joggler as a digital picture frame when it’s not being used as a calendar, but who would choose to watch videos and music on it rather than on a laptop? It’s also interesting to note that on the O2 site itself they’ve listed the fact that the Joggler doesn’t support the playback of iTunes files. Given the popularity of Apple products and iTunes as a digital download portal this seems to be a terrible idea, though you might imagine that perhaps there’s some legal wrangling behind this omission.

One area in which the O2 Joggler may yet prove itself special is the promise of internet radio in the future. This would give the Joggler the potential to access thousands of online stations and would effectively replace any kitchen radio equipment, offering unrivalled diversity. However, this isn’t yet a reality so for the moment you shouldn’t get too excited. The O2 Joggler will also keep itself up to date automatically as long as it is connected to the internet via Wi-Fi.

So what are we to make of the O2 Joggler? Well, for the most part it offers some intelligent and unique functionality and is the first in what we can only presume will be a new area of household technology. However, given that its major functions are all performed by existing household technologies, and the homes which it hopes to infiltrate will likely already have digital TV and picture frames, along with mobile phones and broadband internet. It’s usefulness in the average home is yet to be seen, but if you feel that the organisation of your family life needs an overhaul that can’t be achieved by a paper calendar, then perhaps the O2 Joggler is for you. Only time will tell.

It May Soon Cost You Extra To Use BBC iPlayer

If you’re like us and a mass of other TV watching consumers then you’ll have already enjoyed the impressive benefits that the BBC iPlayer has to offer. Like us you’ll undoubtedly be disheartened by the mere possibility that at least one exec inside the BBC believes that users should have to pay for the privilege of using the iPlayer service. Of course, if you never watch iPlayer then you’ll probably be even more miffed off at the half denial from official BBC sources that claimed they are looking into the possibility of increasing the license fee to charge users in that way.

The iPlayer has been something of a phenomenon sine its first introduction to the market. Viewers have been able to watch their favourite (and not so favourite if they’re that way inclined) BBC shows through a variety of different devices. As well as the BBC website, Virgin media and a wide selection of handheld devices have also offered iPlayer compatibility but you have to question just how popular it would remain if it were no longer a free service.

In case you were wondering who to voice your protests with, the head of technology Erik Huggers no less is the one to have stated that he “doesn’t believe in a free ride!”. The BBC did point out that Mr Huggers view is not necessarily the same as the rest of the BBC but they also confirmed that they are looking at potential ways of monetising the service which may include a separate iPlayer license or an addition to the cost of the existing license.

The BenQ GP1 Micro LCD Projector

BenQ has unveiled a hugely impressive little projector that, despite being one of the smallest around, still manages to pack a very good range of decent features and capabilities into its petite little shell. In terms of size, it weight a rather pathetic 640g and will most definitely fit into the palm of your hand although we strongly suggest that you find somewhere else to rest it or you’re still going to get arm ache after watching an entire series of Prison Break or Heroes.

Boasting the capability to project images of up to 80” in size, the BenQ GP1 mini LED projector offers a 2W internal speaker and uses LED in place of the typical lamp arrangement. It runs directly from your media players and handheld devices with no need for a PC to be attached (hence the need for its own built in speaker). Auto play modes and auto keystone are joined by other useful features like wall colour correction (I think it corrects the colour of the display image rather than physically correcting the colour of your wall).

Standard inputs include USB, composite, and D-Sub and if you want to use your video capable iPod or iPhone then you can also get the optional docking station that will let you. It’s slated to hit the shelves next month over here and it’ll cost you just shy of £499 which really isn’t that bad when you compare it to the price of a decent size and decent quality plasma or LCD TV.

The Wonderful World Of Home Automation

Home automation is something that really gets our tech sensors going. The concept of being able to call home from the office, just before you leave work, and have the bath filled to just the right level with water of the perfect temperature and even having a cup of coffee ready and waiting for you as soon as you walk through the door is the perfect use of tech and gadgets in our opinion. While iHouse pretty much rules the roost in the US there’s a number of companies that offer similar products over here on this side of the pond too.

Companies like Install Automation, that you might have seen on 5’s Gadget Show, you can automate just about everything from the turning on and off of lights to the rising of your plasma television when you’re ready to sit down and watch Emmerdale in glorious high definition. Sound servers, DVD servers, and media changers not only automate but share a whole variety of your media in all the rooms of the house giving you complete freedom. And then, the ultimate in home control, Telestial Controls (even the name makes it sound incredible).

A telestial interface acts as a sort of middleman between your mobile phone and all of the tech in your home. You can control the heating, the lighting, and even your alarm system and the cooker if you so desire through the power of SMS text message. You create your own user instructions and then text the house with instructions on what to do. No more arguing with the kids when you want them to put the washing on – the house will do it for you. No need to panic that you’ve left the cooker on when you go out – the house will check it’s turned off. You get our drift.

The Touchscreen Tap

Just when you thought that basically every household item that could be geeked up had been geeked up, they had to go and give the tech treatment to the common household tap didn’t they? I mean, seriously, is there really any reason to have a touch screen tap? No, we didn’t think so and yet, yes, we really do actually want one. The addition of facial recognition so that the water comes out at your ideal temperature just makes it even more appealing in our eyes. You can even access the Internet to check your email and manage your scheduler all from the comfort of your own… erm… bathroom.

The SmartFaucet (well of course it’s American, and for reference it’s from iHome should you want one) allows you to control the pressure of the water as well as the temperature and you can alter the personal settings so that whenever you use the tap it delivers water exactly how you want it. Hopefully, the facial recognition will still work when you’ve been out the night before, eyes are puffy, bags are bigger, and your hands are covering most of your face.

On the positive side, if you’ve got an especially compact bathroom it provides a really handy way of checking your emails and conducting business and stuff while you’re on the lav doing your other business. Oh, and it’s got a pretty little light that illuminates the water as it’s ejected (just in case you can’t find it without assistance presumably).

The hi-fi where minimum means maximum

Are you about to decorate and want to get rid of the bulky hi-fi system that has been a dust gatherer for the last ten years? Are you thinking you would like a hi-fi system that is minimal and less intrusive? Are you looking to be able to listen to your music no matter where you are in the house? Then you need the latest in wireless digital music system the Sonos.

The Sonos is the ultimate in home entertainment as it allows you to listen to your music in any room that you place the ZonePlayers, so it could be in your bedrooms, dining room, kitchen, study or even your bathroom. The Sonos offers the ultimate in multi-room flexibility, it will allow you to playback music content from your computer, iPod or even CD player when ever you like wherever you like. The Sonos will even allow you access free radio content on the internet and playback whenever you like by adding to your favourites list.

The Sonos uses a special mesh wireless system called SonosNet which allows for perfectly synchronized superior sound quality without delays or echoes in every room. Sonos is also simple to set up and expand as required, no need to have a special engineer to call out to set up, no expensive unsightly cabling. All that is required is high speed internet, a router the required number of zone players and controllers – and you are away.

The Sonos can be purchased in a bundle so that you have sufficient equipment to set up in two rooms, just expand as you require. You can purchase extra individual units and controllers as required. Further benefits of purchasing this system if you are an iPod user, is that you can download a special App that will enable your iPod to act as an extra controller.

Panasonic new Blu-ray recorders are coming to the UK

Panasonic are about to launch three Blu-ray disc recorders to the UK market in the summer. The reason for the change of heart by Panasonic, is that at last there is HD content available in the UK to make the market for a Blu-ray recorder viable. The advent of the Freesat HD broadcast service last year has now made it possible to record HD content without breaching any of Sky copyright protection.

more on Panasonic Blu Ray

Don’t scrap Grandad convert him on the Ion VCR 2 PC VHS

It’s a pretty sad state of affairs that if you have a video collection then you are probably now regarded as ‘of the older generation’. The advent of DVD and now Blu-ray disc technology makes the dear old video collection a dust gatherer in the cupboard, and if you are like us you just can’t bear to throw away your old Star Wars collection or your classic Rocky films. Yes of course you could buy them on DVD but then it would mean throwing your originals away, and well that is like throwing your Grandad away because he is old and sits in the corner not doing very much. It just isn’t going to happen, you love him after all!

Luckily the video collection is easy to deal with now with the Ion VCR 2 PC VHS digitiser, this clever device will convert your VHS video tapes to digital video files on your PC via a very simple USB cable connection. OK, it’s not going to be the quality of your Blu-ray or DVD’s as the Ion VCR 2 PC VHS only has one codec option for a start but it means that you can still enjoy your videos and you won’t feel guilty about selling them at a car boot sale afterwards.

To use the Ion VCR 2 PC VHS digitiser you will need to first install the EZ VHS Converter software, then the simple one cable plug in USB link goes directly to your PC and push the button and you are able to enjoy your old VHS collection or home movies once more. To our delight once you have converted using the Ion VCR 2 PC VHS digitiser you can then upload the files to your iPod or mobile phone that supports playback of videos. The Ion VCR 2 PC VHS digitiser is priced at just under £150 so it isn’t cheap, but if the whole family invested in it then you could share it around allowing for the whole family to utilise this useful bit of kit.

Now do they have a simple USB device for Grandad?

Get your 3D specs on – 3D home entertainment on its way

A new report released today by Screen Digest the media analyst company predicts a massive growth in 3D home entertainment technology. At present to enjoy the superior 3D visual experience people mostly need to visit the cinema to watch 3D movies, wearing the rather peculiar 3D glasses that make the whole enhanced viewing experience possible. There is expected to be a growth in demand for 3D home entertainment in the very near future, however although the ability to release films in 3D for home entertainment is possible at present, there are a few factors that remain as stumbling blocks to a larger distribution of this service. The first is the need for specialist equipment including 3D glasses the second is the shortage of films released in a 3D format.

Screen Digest anticipates that the home entertainment 3D market will gradually increase due to the continued advancement in 3D technology namely the development of autostereoscopic systems – this technology will not require the use of special 3D glasses and the expectation of the end user to have sufficient content to warrant further expenditure for the new home entertainment 3FD technology. At present film studios are releasing only a very small quantity of films, in 2008 there were only seven 3D films released, in 200 there are expected to be seventeen new releases and in 2010 there is expected to be 28 films released. It is expected in the early development of the technology that the most releases will be from animated film companies as this technology is much easier to adapt than mainstream films.

The Screen Digest report also focuses on the need for a unified standard of home entertainment 3D technology so as to avert the possibility of any technology format wars, although they expect this to be via the high definition capabilities of the Blu-ray disc. The report also focuses on projected market distribution with an anticipated 10% of world markets by 2011 rising substantially to 16% in 2015 which equates to 2.8billion sales of 3D home entertainment equipment.

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