Connected workout devices are “the next must-have
gadgets,” said Natt Garun in TheVerge.com. You’ve
seen the Peloton stationary bike. Now a variety of
imitation devices are “offering at-home workout
solutions where users stare at screens for guided
instructions instead of an in-person fitness trainer.”
There is Hydrow for rowing, FightCamp for box-
ing, Mirror for cardio exercises, and Tonal for
weight training. Even NordicTrack “has had to re-
work its collection to offer on-demand classes across
bikes, ellipticals, and treadmills.” Virtual classes are
the “natural evolution” of the old group-workout-
at-home VHS tapes, while offering livestreamed
options and more interactive elements. Many of the
new fitness devices carry a hefty price tag and come
with high monthly subscription fees. But their mak-
ers think customers will pay a premium for classes
they can take on their own schedule, much like streaming TV.
They’re betting that “the future of fitness is together, but alone.”Even gyms are launching their own at-home programs, said
Hilary Potkewitz in The Wall Street Journal. “Equinox, the
owner of SoulCycle, announced it will debut a streaming ser-
vice in the fall” in response to members’ desires “to choose
where, how, and when they work out.” Spin studio Flywheel is
also “ramping up virtual offerings after launching its own con-
nected stationary bike, Fly Anywhere,” while Gold’s Gym and
Crunch are each expanding their virtual programming. Peloton,which recently filed to go public, has more than
500,000 subscribers and engenders a community
spirit. “Unlike past home fitness fads that forced
people to generate their own motivation, these
new technologies provide virtual competitions,
online communities, and electronic alerts that
nudge you to exercise.”I tested four of the latest smart-home gym
offerings—ClassPass Live, the Mirror, the Pelo-
ton bike, and the Peloton treadmill, said Megan
Wollerton in CNET.com. Each has pluses and
minuses. ClassPass Live, a subscription that
comes with a heart-rate monitor and a Chrome-
cast to stream classes to your television, was “by
far the most affordable,” costing $79 plus a $19
monthly fee. And there are a lot of classes and
levels to choose, from strength training to yoga. However, “the
heart-rate monitor never connected successfully.” Mirror looked
cool, but “it isn’t full-length enough for you to see yourself dur-
ing floor exercises.” If you’re not doing a standing exercise, it
turns out to be “somewhat useless.” Not surprisingly, “both
Peloton products are well-designed and keep you motivated by
displaying real-time competitive rankings.” They are also both
expensive: $2,245 plus a $39 monthly fee for the bike, and a
full $3,995, plus the same fee, for the treadmill. At those prices,
you’ll really want to ask yourself before buying whether you’ll
use these products a lot.H ome tech: Building the workout of the future
Jay Brooks/Guardian/eyevine/Redux, screenshotTwitter stops official China ads
Twitter this week said it would stop taking ads
and promoted tweets from state-run media or-
ganizations after revelations that China’s offi-
cial news agencies had been buying Twitter ads
that painted Hong Kong protesters as public
enemies, said Ryan Mac and Rosalind Adams
in BuzzFeedNews.com. “Though Twitter and
Facebook are banned in China, the Chinese
state media runs several English-language
accounts to present its views to the outside
world.” The official tweets were first publi-
cized by a U.S.-based user who rebuked Twit-
ter for taking money from an “orchestrated
state-backed campaign to discredit and dehu-
manize the authentic voice of Hong Kong.”
Facebook continues to accept ads from state-
owned media but said it would re- examine
some ads about the Hong Kong protests.Best bets for a value laptop
Prepare to spend at least $450 to $500 to get
a laptop that can handle most schoolwork,
said Thorin Klosowski in The New York
Times. “You could get a laptop for $200,
but you shouldn’t.” Solid-state storage (SSD)
“makes the biggest difference in how a lap-
top feels to use for everyday tasks,” because
launching applications and opening files onan SSD is much faster than on a hard drive.
You’ll also want at least an Intel Core i3 pro-
cessor and at least 4 GB of memory, which
allows you to have several applications open
before the computer slows to a crawl. “This
leaves you with a choice of three different
types of computers: a Chromebook, a Win-
dows laptop, or a tablet.” My advice? Get a
Chromebook. “They’re better built, they have
longer battery life, and they’re easier to update
than their Windows-based competitors.”Self-driving trucks on Arizona highways
“UPS has been delivering cargo in self-driving
trucks for months and no one knew,” said
Jennings Brown in Gizmodo.com. The parcel
service announced last week that its venture-
capital arm has invested in TuSimple, a self-
driving truck startup. “The announcement also
revealed that since May, TuSimple autonomous
trucks have been hauling UPS loads on a 115-
mile route between Phoenix and Tucson” in
Arizona. TuSimple, which says it can cut the
average cost of truck shipping by 30 percent,
has been “helping UPS understand how to
get to Level 4 autonomous driving,” where a
vehicle doesn’t need anyone behind the wheel.
Currently UPS deliveries involving the trucks
still have an engineer and safety driver.Bytes: What’s new in tech
Japanese researchers designed
a wearable robotic tail that could
help humans keep better balance,
said Jessie Yeung in CNN.com.
The “ biomimicry- inspired tail” is
about 3 feet long. It’s “covered in
vertebrae-like plates” that con-
tain sensors and has four artificial
muscles to respond to the wearer’s
movements. “This countermove-
ment provides enough force to
change the body’s momentum and
center of gravity, helping to correct
balance and give wearers greater
stability.” The researchers studied the
tails of seahorses for a sense of the
right proportional size and weight.
They think the robot tails could be
used “to help steady elderly users,
or to provide extra support for jobs
that require lifting heavy objects.”Innovation of the week
20 NEWS Technology
Virtual classes on a real bike