HTC wants to help you get fit. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android.
Remember when reports from South Korea claimed Samsung was developing new fitness trackers with Under Armour? Well, it seems HTC got there first. The Taiwanese company today announced plans to launch “a series of products” that will work alongside UA Record, Under Armour’s own fitness tracking platform.
Nike+ Running. Image: Samsung.
Samsung has now announced its teamed up with Nike in order to launch a brand new, exclusive ‘Nike+ Running and Fitness’ application for the Gear S — the South Korean company’s first ever standalone, Tizen-powered smartwatch with 3G and Bluetooth compatibility.
After giving the world a glimpse at Android Wear back in March, Google has finally revealed its new OS meant for wearables. Android Wear, detailed Wednesday at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, is a true OS for smartwatches that will offer many advanced features like synced notifications, the ability to control other devices around you and constant display of relevant information based on the wearer’s location.
Unless Apple surprises the world with the speedy release of its long-rumored iWatch, it looks like Android Wear smartwatches will win the race for wrist supremacy. In other words, they’ll be your first “iWatch.” Here’s what the Google-powered devices will offer.
For today’s Secret Feature, we’re focussing our attention towards a very useful fitness tool bundled into the latest build of 4.4 KitKat. Believe it or not, Android includes native support for step recognition and step counters, which means that other fitness/health applications if downloaded will be notified when users are engaging in physical activity.
Runners, cyclists and other outdoor fitness enthusiasts are probably familiar with ANT+, a data-streaming technology that allows sensors like heart-rate monitors and bike speed or cadence sensors to communicate with something capable of displaying the data, like a watch — or a phone.
Problem is, only a very few handsets, like the Sony Xperia Ion, come standard with ANT+ technology built in. That’s where the Selfloops adapter comes in handy, allowing all those fitness sensors to talk to your phone — and it doubles as a massive 2000 mAh battery as well.
