The S Band: Samsung's answer to the Nike+ FuelBand

You may already use a Fitbit or Nike+ FuelBand to track exercise and weight loss, but Samsung would apparently love it if you brought those functions in-house, using the company's hardware and software.

To that end, the company has expanded its Galaxy ecosystem with a new S Health app and a series of Samsung-branded peripherals, all designed to work with the phone to monitor your workouts and weigh-ins.

The company gave a sneak peek at three accessories: the S Band, Heart Rate Monitor (HRM), and Body Scale. Using the S Health app's "Total Reports" feature, you … Read more

Samsung's S View cover offers a sneak peek at your Galaxy S4

Phone covers can protect your screen, but they also hide status updates, incoming calls, and other information you may want to see at a glance. The new S View Cover for the Galaxy S4 clips onto the top of the new phone, but offers a clever workaround by simply cutting a rectangular peephole into the cover material, giving you partial access to the screen.

The phone can sense when the cover is closed and switch to a minimized view when new updates arrive, putting the information in a tiny window that lines up with the cover's cutout. In this … Read more

Fund this: Breathometer turns your smartphone into a breathalyzer

Everyone knows the dangers of drinking and driving. An unfortunate few choose to ignore them, often with tragic results. A good friend recently lost his nephew to a drunk driver. A member of my temple congregation lost his wife and children to a drunk driver. That same temple later lost its rabbi to a drunk driver. Shall I go on?

Obviously I'd rather not, which is why I fully support any technology that can help prevent such tragedies. Here's a gizmo that might: Indiegogo project Breathometer adds a breathalyzer to your smartphone.

Reminiscent of the Square credit-card reader, … Read more

Mind your manners with LinkMe SMS bracelet

You've played that "no phones at dinner" game and lost. You can't bear ignoring your messages. Well, this bit of bling could be your new best friend.

LinkMe is a digital bracelet that displays the messages, Facebook updates, and tweets that you need most.

Billed as a world first on its Kickstarter page, LinkMe will "display the messages and alerts you choose, making your entire social life available to you with just a glance at your wrist." … Read more

Fitbit adds $30M to its coffers

Successful health technology startup Fitbit has just gained access to a new round of investment funding, to the sweet tune of $30 million.

According to a report by venture capital watcher TechCrunch, multiple sources have told the outlet that Fitbit is in the process of raising over $30 million. This influx of additional cash has helped the company notch an impressive $300 million in valuation.

While the extra funding is eye-popping, these figures should not come as a big surprise to those following the personal fitness space closely. The category is exploding with a flood of players, from device makers … Read more

iPhone not sexy enough? Give it Smart Pants undies

Tired of your iPhone case? Now you can play dress-up with tiny underwear from Japan that turns your home button into something altogether different.

Smart Pants from game giant Bandai slip over the lower part of your iPhone in a weird but very Japanese bit of anthropomorphization.

The word "pants" (or "pantsu") is often used to denote underwear in Japan, and these mini undies come in eight varieties for both men and women.

The selection runs from bland briefs and boxer shorts to strawberry-patterned panties and racy leopard-print "t-back" thongs. … Read more

Crave giveaway: Two leather iPad cases from Kavaj

Congrats to Gene W. of Highlands, Texas, for winning a Kanex Sydnee four-port recharging station in last week's giveaway. Is your iPad in need of a new outfit? This week's prize is for you.

We're giving away two sleek iPad cases from Kavaj, a purveyor of leather gadget jackets started by two former employees of Amazon in Germany. The winner gets one Berlin case in black that fits the iPad 2, iPad 3, and iPad 4, and one Berlin case in brown for the iPad Mini. Both slender, supple jackets boast a classic minimalist style and can … Read more

iPhone piggy bank predicts how well you'll do in life

If you're terrible at something, just turn it into a fun activity. The Japanese did that very successfully when they turned singing into karaoke. Now they're doing the same with saving money.

Jinsei Ginko ("Life Bank") from Takara Tomy A.R.T.S is a digital piggy bank that works with your iPhone. It's designed with a Japanese bank-style logo to get you serious about hoarding yen.

The plastic piggy bank can hold 200 coins of 500 yen, the highest denomination, each worth about $5.41. That makes for a whopping total of 100,000 yen ($1,083). You could buy a bathtub of ramen with that. … Read more

Auris turns any 30-pin music dock into a Bluetooth speaker

In my kitchen I have this great Fluance speaker dock -- well, great except that it doesn't have Bluetooth. If I want to listen to music, I have to plop my iPhone onto its 30-pin connector.

Or not, if I plop an Auris onto it instead. This Kickstarter-spawned gizmo can turn that dock into a Bluetooth speaker, able to play wireless audio from my iPhone, iPad, Android device, Windows phone, or anything else capable of Bluetooth streaming.

Neat, huh? No wonder this Kickstarter campaign earned more than three times its funding goal. I received a sample Auris from BiteMyApple.co (… Read more