smartech

Not sure whether it’s a new trend or not, but we’ve already seen Samsung’s MyFit storming out to the pond, and now it’s Philips’ turn to get the spot. It’s a fitness MP3 device called Activa and it would tell you when to start a calories-burn activity and when to stop. The body is relatively tiny and packs either 4GB or 8GB flash storage inside, but most importantly, it would match your music playlist with the phase of your workout. As for debut, check April 20 in your diaries, 130 bucks with your banker and PR after the jump.

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It’s been a while since we last heard from Samsung anything about new media players coming out. But hey, CES 2010 is only two days ahead and that’s probably the best time to announce the release of new products. Actually, there are two: the first, an 8GB device which answers the name MyFit and suppose to target fitness junkies with integrated sensors that detect fat and stress, along a built-in accelerometer and a slew of apps to ensure your health is well (including pedometer and My Coach). The second, which boasts 16GB of internal storage is called Ice Touch, packs 2-inch AMOLED screen and a body, made of tempered glass. It supports wide range of multimedia formats, including HD content and lossless audio and runs a brand of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI called Sweep. Price and availability for both players are yet to be determined.

Update: We’ve added a short preview video of the Ice Touch after the break (courtesy of engadget).

[via engadget]

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YAMAHA starts shipping the new BODiBEAT PMP, which is considered to be the world’s first music player that selects songs to match the pace of the user’s workout and automatically syncs music selections with the steps of the user’s walk or run, making exercises more fun than ever before. In addition, you get a BODiBEAT Station, software that automatically categorizes each downloaded song by beats per minute (bpm), and a small heart rate monitor that clips onto the user’s ear, allowing BODiBEAT to track the metrics of your workouts, including distance, time, pace and heart rate. To make it more comfortable, YAMAHA added an armband, designed for ease-of-use during active pursuits. The player itself packs only 512MB of internal flash memory and a 12 hours battery life when fully charged. There are four main operating modes, like Free, Fitness, Training and Music.

Free mode: BODiBEAT automatically matches the music to the exercise pace.

Fitness mode: you get Walk Fitness and Jog Fitness, each of which works in conjunction with the heart rate monitor to select the most appropriate music for optimal aerobic exercise at the user’s fitness level.

Training mode: tells users when to speed up and slow down for ideal results, and it does so while playing their favorite music.

Music mode: BODiBEAT functions as a standard portable audio player.

As for prices, the suggested retail price of $299 seems expropriated, considering the poor 512MB internal memory, but somehow, we get the impression it will be around $199 (just a hunch).

[YAMAHA]

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