Fitbit Ultra review

Oh, hey, Fitbit. Nice to see you again. Although we thought the original fitness tracker did too little for a $100 gadget, enough people apparently begged to differ, as the the outfit just trotted out a second-gen model, dubbed the Fitbit Ultra. Like its predecessor, this little guy analyzes eating, exercise and sleep patterns (largely with the help of an accompanying website). If you've been following along, you know that design hasn't changed much, while that website and hundred-buck price should be mighty familiar, too. This time around the company is adding a few new features, including Foursquare-esque badges and an altimeter for counting how many steps you've climbed. But does this series of minor enhancements add up to a significant improvement? Time to lace up your running shoes, kids, and meet us after the break.

Gallery: Fitbit Ultra

Gallery: Fitbit Ultra review

Continue reading Fitbit Ultra review

Fitbit Ultra review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/03/fitbit-ultra-review/

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Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game

Shot Shot Pirate is very satisfying, because each level is short and to the point. You know what you have to do and you just do it.

As you may have gathered from the name, you're cast in the role of a pirate. Your goal is to shoot at a diamond and make it fall off a tower of bricks. The height of the tower changes as you progress through the levels. It's not enough to just make the diamond fall off the tower of bricks - it has to fall below a certain line (drawn on the screen) for the level to be completed.

There are also different kinds of bricks, with some heavier than others, and different kinds of ammo. You only get a certain amount of ammo for each level, and when it's gone, you lose. But don't worry! If you don't make it on the first try, it's very easy to restart the level and just give it another shot (or three).

All in all it's a cute game. I've seen similar games with better graphics and music, but the game delivers on its main promise - a few minutes of pure time wasting!

Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/24/shot-shot-pirate-is-a-fun-simple-physics-game/

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DPS Attempts to Reinvent the Deep Powder Ski with Cleats and Fat Spoons [Skis]

When skis when concave, that was a big deal. Aggressive skiers were soon carving deep lines into the hardpack and beginners were getting up and at 'em faster than ever. DPS wants to do that again with their funky Spoon. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hu9BvgJwh34/dps-attempts-to-reinvent-the-deep-powder-ski-with-cleats-and-fat-spoons

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Daily Crunch: Check-In Edition

MConcierge rolls out Guest Relationship Management solution for hospitality sector Art Lebedev Studio? Optimus Mini Six Hits Production, Will Land On Desks Later This Year Whiteboard Wall Clock Is Minimal And Practical The Nissan Leaf Review: A Fun And Practical Electric Car For The Masses Review: The HP Palm TouchPad

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/06/30/daily-crunch-check-in-edition/

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Dodge is a space-shooter in which you have no weapons

Space-shooters are usually a fairly fiery affair, with many types of guns, weapon upgrades, power-ups and more. Dodge does away with all of that, while keeping the very essence of a space shooter: Dark background, fast action, and stuff blowing up all over the place.

Your vector-looking spacecraft is the fastest thing on the screen, most of the time. And as the header implies, you have absolutely no weapons; you can't get any, either. All you have is agility and maneuverability.

Your opponents shoot heat-seeking missiles at you; the missiles lock on and start tracking you. The trick is to dodge the missiles while putting them in the path of one of your enemies, thus letting them have a taste of their own medicine.

There are three types of enemies, at least in the first few levels: "simple" spaceships which fire slow projectiles, "tanks" which seem to be more serious and take more hits to destroy, and "circles." The circles simply explode, spewing twenty or thirty very fast projectiles. This sounds dangerous, but is actually great once you learn to use them; they are very destructive for tanks, and can even blow up other circles.

The soundtrack is very techno, but it meshes very well with this type of game. Intense fun!

Dodge is a space-shooter in which you have no weapons originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/01/dodge-is-a-space-shooter-in-which-you-have-no-weapons/

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Slate's Dumbest Inventions Ever List Includes Beating Breasts. You know, For Kids [Wtf]

Ladies and gentlemen, these are our ancestor's Billy Mays infomercial products. Judge them lightly, but laugh heartily, for in 50 years' time our great grandkids will laugh openly at our version of the Beating Breast baby sleeping aide. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/PAi1UgJn1zE/slates-dumb-inventions-ever-list-includes-beating-breasts-you-know-for-kids

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Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users

Facebook has announced that its two mobile sites -- m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com -- have been unified, bringing a simpler mobile experience to Facebook users. And there are a lot of those -- a quarter billion, according to Facebook.

Smartphone users won't be losing any functionality because of the consolidation. If your phone supported the enhacned features offered by touch.facebook.com, the new site will automatically flip the switch when you visit.

Rolling the sites together helps simplify things for Facebook's developer team. Now changes can be pushed to a single site instead of two separate sites, which makes it easier to ensure that all mobile users receive a nearly identical experience regardless of the device they're using.

The new Facebook mobile can also check to see if your phone supports geolocation. If it doesn't, you won't be seeing much of Facebook Places -- which obviously relies heavily on geolocation. Images can also be optimized on the fly to keep page performance from suffering on less powerful devices. You can see the three different versions of the share button below, courtesy our friends at TechCrunch.

Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/facebook-launches-unified-mobile-site-announces-250-million-mob/

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Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style

For what seems like an eternity, Download Squad readers have reacted to news of security exploits targeting Adobe Reader with a common sentiment: why doesn't Microsoft build its own secure PDF reader into Windows? Apparently the Windows 8 team agrees, and they're working away at an application called Modern Reader which is exactly that.

From the handful of screenshots Paul Thurrott has shared, it's clear that Modern Reader has been built with Metro in mind. You can see the Reader back button in the top-left corner of the yellow image and the minimal page navigation bar on the right. We've posted some larger images we managed to scrape from Google's cache after the break.

Thurrott also mentions that Modern Reader is the first program spotted which is built using AppX -- a packaging technology that may allow developers to roll a single build to both Windows 8 desktops and Windows Phone 8 mobile devices.

Continue reading Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style

Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/windows-8-getting-a-built-in-pdf-reader-finally/

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Android App Review: ChannelCaster

Social media is all the rage these days. From Facebook rolling out their new layout, Google+ collecting members at a record rate, or Twitter doing whatever it does, seems like you can't click on a link or sign up for Spotify venture onto any part of the without someone's status, checkin, or tweet smacking you in the digital face.

ChannelCaster: Social News looks to further the concept of social in the news space by letting you follow sources you find interesting as well as browse and check out public channels other users have put together.

The whole interface of ChannelCaster feels reminiscient of some of the more eye-candy laden apps, like Pulse. All of your sources (or feeds or whatnot) are listed on your main screen and tapping one takes you to a Timeline-esque list of the most recent happenings from that source. It's a bit difficult to explain (and chaotic sounding), but it's actually quite cool.

You can even link up your Facebook and Twitter accounts to ChannelCaster and check on people's latest updates from within the app. From what I've gathered, it's read-only right now, so don't expect to update from within the app.

Honestly, ChannelCaster is something that just needs to be seen and experienced for you to truly get the effect of it. It's a very cool approach to news, and it's made by OneLouder Apps, the same developers who brought us FriendCaster and TweetCaster, so you know it's good.

Seriously, try it out. It's free, and I think you might just like it. For those who are about to rock, there's more pictures and download links after the break.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/jy7eX7UG5Q8/android-app-review-channelcaster

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Mutewatch wrists-on: stay on-task with good vibrations (video)

No, the picture above isn't some modernized Power Ranger's wrist communicator. This is the Mutewatch, and we've been intrigued since we first laid eyes on it over a year ago. At a glance, it looks akin to a rubber fashion bracelet, which could make its $260 price tag a shocker. But with the right touch or flick it reveals itself to be much more. The Stockholm-based start-up behind it, dubbed Mutewatch AB, envisions the device serving as "time management tool" for setting quick wrist-felt vibrating reminders during the course of the day. Think Growl, but on your wrist. The wristwatch lacks a dial and crystal, and instead has an angled, touch-sensitive section for a face with hidden LEDs, an ambient light sensor, a motion sensor and a vibrating motor for alarms. We've spent some time using a near-final unit seeing what it would be like silently manage our days, and it's all laid out just past the break.

Gallery: Mutewatch hands-on

Continue reading Mutewatch wrists-on: stay on-task with good vibrations (video)

Mutewatch wrists-on: stay on-task with good vibrations (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ipjqaWusbNg/

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Fly Or Die: The Compex Sport Elite

With Halloween around the corner, what better way to celebrate than to watch us animate my desiccated, lifeless limbs with jolts of fiery electricity? In this episode of Fly or Die, Erick and I look at the Compex Sport Elite. It zaps muscles to improve fitness, recovery, and general strength and it can, in a pinch, stand in for a massage. It also looks wildly freaky when turned on.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/WDbox-Xvzg0/

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