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Christmas High Tech Gadgets M2 DirectLife and Fitbit the iPhones of the Fitness World
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(12/19/09) M2, DirectLife, and Fitbit are the iPones of the fitness industry. They are the coolest technology for fitness ever. Read on.
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December 19, 2009 -- A half decade ago, when we've reported about fitness products for Christmas giving, it was generally about exercise products for the home where your body actually used it to exercise.
Then the trend started shifting to products that are very smart and engage you to stay fit or measure your progress, things like pedometers, heart rate monitors, Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution.
But this season sees technology taking fitness to astronomical heights. There are three hot products on the market that, when worn on the body, actually sense your body's movements and expenditure of energy and can tell you if you're meeting your fitness goals or not. |
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The technology is ultra cool and will cause a discontinuous leap forward in modern human activity awareness as the iPhone did for portable web browsing. 
The M2
The M2 is produced and marketed by MYTRAK, the same folks who provide the intelligence to thousands of Curves exercise machines called Curves Smart, and now have over 1 million users of their technology.
The M2, which looks like an iPod, is clipped to your belt or waistband, and provides feedback on your energy expenditure, with the push of a button. It analyzes daily activity and displays the results of ones overall progress in real time with their Health Circle.
First, users create a personalized profile online and goals are downloaded to M2 via the web. The M2 then monitors their activity and gives immediate feedback about their overall progress toward their goals.
The three components of the Health Circle monitor heart rate, energy expenditure, and health. The idea is to keep all three section green. Yellow or red lights are a wake-up call, motivating the user to do more.
Periodically, the M2 is synced up with the host computer via the Internet to keep analytical data. M2 will also throw in a phone session with a personal trainer to help you to get started. 
FitBit
The Fitbit is a sleek, rounded-edge spring clip, two inches long and half an inch wide. You can clip it to a pocket edge, a bra strap or whatever. Inside, the Fitbit contains an accelerometer - a three-way motion sensor like the one in the Wii or the iPhone. This instrument tallies how much it's jostled during the day.
When you press the display button, it cycles through how many steps you've taken today, how many miles, how many calories burned and how generally active you've been.
The Fitbit can also track your nightly sleep, and whether it was restful or not.
The Fitbit bit sends the collected activity data to its little U.S.B. charging stand. If you leave that stand connected to your computer, with the Fitbit software running, then just passing within 15 feet is enough to trigger a wireless transfer to the Web. 
DirectLife
DirectLife is the creation of Philips. Similar to M2 and FitBit, it captures energy expenditure. It does not display numbers on a screen but does displays a row of little green indicators lights to show you how close you are to your activity goal so far today ranging from one to nine lights.
DirectLife is waterproof, so you swimming can be one of your fitness activities. It also has a robust website employs a team of fitness and nutrition experts whose sole job is to look over your activity data, answer your questions and motivate you.
The whole idea of these devises is that they are small and unobtrusive, you can wear them to work or your workout. The activity measured can be as simple as walking up the stairs are as vigorous as jogging 5 miles.
By hitting daily and weekly fitness goals with a little prodding from a devise will go far to improve the general health of the population.
Partial Source: David Pogue, The New York Times
More Like This…
High Tech Fitness Gadgets For Christmas Healthy Giving
Holiday Gift Giving - Exercise DVDs Can Get Friends and Family on the Road to Better Health
Give the Gift of Fitness
Give the Gift of Fitness This Holiday Season
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