If you are manically into your gadgets, you will no doubt have been keeping track of all the latest health, fitness and beauty gizmos being showcased over at the CES expo in Las Vegas earlier this month.
By all accounts it was a feast for the fitness enthusiast, with the place awash with wearable gadgetry promising to help us train smarter and more stylishly than ever before. For the beauty enthusiast there were rich high-tech pickings too – just not quite so much of it.
Here are my favourites:
The OMbra
The latest in smart bra technology, the OMbra (main pic) wirelessly records real-time biometrics and fitness data such as breathing rhythm and fatigue levels, as well as the more usual heart and calorie count. It will also measure how hard you are pushing yourself as you squat, lunge and the like, and then give an effort rating.
The bra, which works in conjunction with a smartphone app, is said to be extremely comfortable to wear, surprisingly. It’s made from a breathable mesh, four-way stretchable fabric and comes with adjustable straps and different size removable cups. It will be available from Spring and is expected to cost around $150. More here.
Fitbit Blaze
OK, perhaps this is the one that’s going to get most of us salivating – the Fitbit Blaze, the brand’s next gen wearable. The massively popular fitness tracker now has a colour touch screen (comparable in size to the Apple Watch), an on-screen workout aid (it will coach you on your workouts), plus GPS and accurate PurePulse heart rate monitor (though I’m a bit confused about the latter as a breakthrough feature as I thought the current version already had that?).
The Fitbit Blaze is available to pre-order at £159.99 here.
The Simple Human Mirror
A cordless sensor mirror that lights up automatically as your face approaches it. Crikey! It simulates natural sunlight for full colour variation, so you'll know when your makeup is colour-correct and flawless! Unlike traditional bulbs, the long-lasting LEDs won't burn out either.
The mirror recharges via a USB cord and plug adapter, and one charge is said to last up to five weeks. Oh and it also has 5x magnification for close-up detail. This one is available now for £149.99 here.
InBody Band
Now this is clever. It’s a wearable band that measures aspects of body composition such as body fat percentage, body fat mass, muscle mass and BMI. It also tracks more usual stats like heart rate, sleep patterns, calories eaten and steps taken. This has been around a little while - it won the CES Innovation Honoree Award last year.
The band doesn’t seem that widely available here - I’ve only seen it on sale with eBay sellers for around £129. The company website doesn’t give much detail on the product either, so I’m going to direct you to their Twitter feed which has more here.
