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Philips' DirectLife makes fun a workout

Philips' DirectLife fitness tracker, which monitors one's daily activity levels by tracking the duration and intensity of movements, has been doing so well since its release in October 2009, according to a company representative, that it is about to be released in Germany and the U.K. Moreover, Philips has just announced a companion gadget that might actually rival the iPod.

The "program" associated with DirectLife, which costs $99, plus a $12.50 monthly membership fee, is three-pronged: wear the small, waterproof monitor with 3D accelerometer technology (think Wii) to track your movements; go online to get … Read more

Philips' Activa MP3 player insults the lazy

LAS VEGAS--Wishing that your MP3 player would act more like a personal trainer? Me neither, but Philips is banking on finding an audience of motivation-starved fitness types for its newly announced Activa MP3 player ($129), available worldwide in April.

To put a new spin on working out with your MP3 player, the Activa gives gym rats real-time voice feedback on their performance. Only time will tell if the voice is more in step with the Wii Fit style of chipper encouragement, or with the Tony Little brand of aggressive shouting.

Assuming that the voice can be switched off for those … Read more

Philips' Ambient Experience relaxes heart patients

Cardiac patients undergoing procedures at the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) starting Thursday may find themselves either immersed in a Disney World setting or the African Savannah, with accompanying audio playing in the background. It's part of a testbed project by the center involving Philips' Ambient Experience to soothe patients through the intimidating clinical process of preparation, examination, treatment, and post-procedure.

The Ambient Experience takes patients on a multimedia ride, letting them personalize the lighting, projected images, and sounds in the examination or lab room. The 10 themes can be selected via a menu on a wireless touch-screen tablet, with more themes on the way. Once picked, the patient's choice is projected on the walls and ceilings and through TV screens, wrapping the user in a multi-sensory setting of his or her own choosing.

So far, the Ambient Experience appears to have had a positive impact on the three patients who earlier sampled it. According to 75-year-old Neo Bee, who was at the cardiac catheterization laboratory to have angioplasty to open her blocked arteries, "I saw birds and kangaroos on the ceiling and there was soothing music, too. I felt calm and relaxed."… Read more

Philips speaker is neither silent nor deadly

If you're looking for a small, tasteful, portable iPod speaker for less than $100, you could do a lot worse than the unfortunately named Philips SBD7500. Its sound quality is middle-of-the-road, yet still sounds pleasant, and its operation is about as simple as it gets--with a power switch, volume control, and a bass boost switch.

There's nothing fancy about the specs or features--no radio, no Bluetooth, no clock, and no remote. It is iPhone-compatible, though, and there's something to be said for keeping things simple. That said, if you have an extra $50 to throw at a … Read more

Philips Tapster shies away from retail

Philips' sleek and unique stereo Bluetooth headset, dubbed the Tapster for its slick touch-sensitive controls, garnered early praise from press and even took home an iF Product Design Award. Sadly, the gadget will never grace retail shelves, and while Philips elected not to enlighten us as to why, I think I have an idea: it doesn't work.

Well, at least our review sample didn't. The major draw of the Tapster is the playback and volume controls, which are manipulated via light tapping and swiping on the ear modules. In theory, this is a sweet idea, because pressing tactile … Read more

'EmoBracelet' tells traders when they need a time-out

Has all that online stock trading landed you in trouble? Philips Design has come up with a product for frazzled day traders--and no, it's not software that locks you out of your computer when you place a buy order for Nokia.

It's a biometric-style emotion-sensing system that supposedly alerts traders when it might be wise to take a breath and step away from the Charles Schwab site.

The Rationalizer system consists of the EmoBracelet and corresponding EmoBowl. The bracelet measures the user's emotional arousal level through a skin response sensor and displays the findings as a dynamic … Read more

Prince Philip: I practically have to make love to my TV

Prince Philip is the tall chap who married the queen of England, enjoys making beautifully inappropriate comments, and feels intimate contact with his television might be necessary in order to make it work.

In a revealing interview, only some of which seems to have appeared on the Buckingham Palace YouTube channel, the prince laid bare his electrical dysfunction, one that many might, secretly or not, actually share.

His interviewer, a rather well spoken chap called Kevin McCloud, brightened up the pages of London's Times newspaper with some of the prince's heartfelt words.

Perhaps the most elegant of the … Read more

Crave giveaway of the week: Philips NP2900 Streamium Network Music Player

For this week's installment of the weekly Crave giveaway, we're offering up the Philips NP2900 Streamium Network Music Player, one of our favorite Wi-Fi music systems.

Editor Matthew Moskovciak gave the NP2900 four stars, and in his review he called it "an excellent Wi-Fi radio, with a particularly attractive design and solid sound quality." His only reservation was its high price--but that's actually come down recently, making this unit even more compelling. (Read the full review.)

Normally, the Philips NP2900 would cost around $300, but you have the chance to get it gratis.

So, how … Read more

Philips introduces new flagship GoGear Muse

Philips has introduced its new flagship portable video player called the GoGear Muse. At first glance, it's easy to confuse the Muse with the strikingly similar but cheaper GoGear Aria.

Replacing the Opus as the flagship model, the Muse offers a slightly bigger screen (3-inch vs. the 2.8-inch on the Opus). File support has gotten a boost with the inclusion of BMP, GIF, PNG, Ogg Vorbis, APE, Real Video, and Real Audio formats. Unlike the Opus, the Muse is bundled with a pair of in-ear headphones that offer active noise cancelling.

Physically, the Muse is slightly smaller than … Read more