Slashdot Mirror
New Phone Wants to be Your Personal Trainer
coondoggie writes to tell us that a new prototype "Wellness Phone" has been developed. Designed to help users with everything from staying in shape to checking your breath, the new phone can measure things like body fat, pulse, and even stress level through a series of questions. "The companies are reportedly still testing some of the phone's more advanced technology, including a function to keep track of meals and calculate calorific intake, as well as a network capacity to let users share data. The companies haven't said when nor how much they will sell the phones. Plus it doesn't look like they be sold in the US anytime soon either."
Are they going straight for Apple? Keeping track of meals is one of the flagship features of the iPhone.
Wanna know what you just ate? Look at the smudges on the screen...
Cretin - a powerful and flexible CD reencoder
When dealing with some of these companies will the phone encourage you to train for the shot put?
If the g'vt kept the data on you that google does you'd better believe you'd be calling it "doing evil"
I don't need my cell phone provider knowing about my health problems!
Don't know when, don't know how much, won't be in the US for a while... we need a tag for concepts that people 'claim' will happen... or just use Duke Nukem Forever...
An I.T. motto in the hands of an idiot is a dangerous thing...
.. something that we feel (from inside), not getting to know by asking or telling a cell phone! are we that lifeless to have got that detached? atleast the geico caveman used professional help.. we are getting worse!
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed H
It sounds like having this phone would cause stress!
Also, if somebody near me was using that thing, I might be tempted to use their phone as a rectal thermometer.
I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
Most likely called the "iNag"
A goal is a dream with a deadline
a new prototype "Wellness Phone" has been
Supplied with other products with "Genuine People Personality" - Eddie, the ships computer, Marvin the paranoid android, a Nutrimatic Drink Dispenser, and some cheerful lifts.. Oh God..
"A nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it." - Churchill
"I only speak the truth"
Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
"are you angry?"
"you need to get off your ass and go running!"
"eeew... did you eat garlic?"
Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
Hitler, that's who
The phone then can dispense inspirational advice, its makers say. Reports indicate the inspirational comments are in the: "Don't worry, tomorrow's a fresh new day," the phone then flashed. "Keep your chin up!" vein.
It is felt to be inspirational the first three times.
After that, it ends up collecting dust, being chucked at a wall, or smashed to complete oblivion.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
No "relieve stress by setting the ringer to vibrate" jokes?
Why do we keep putting crap in phones?
I don't need a tire pressure gauge, a fountain pen, blood pressure monitor, or a cigarette lighter in my phone. I'll use my phone for making phone calls.
http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/New_%22voice_chat%22_feature_proposed_for_mobile_phones
Maybe some models will come with a nice rack? Storage is the rave these days.
No thank you. If I can't manage to eat well, exercise, sleep enough and breathe on my own, I hope I die as nature intended it. The last thing I want is another beeping, nagging, synthesized voice or other digital reminder to make me even more neurotic than I am.
technical writing / development
I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
...more productive...
...like a cat tied to a stick...
measured, timed, put into a box, judged, rewarded.....
...stamped, approved...
...packaged, deposited...
...cremated, eulogised...
...remembered.
Stick Men
"Calorific" intake? Is that only food that tastes good?
Why do we keep putting crap in phones?
There's your problem. You're still thinking of your cell phone as a phone. Despite the name, it is no longer merely a device for telephone conversations. It stores names and addresses, has calendar functions, plays games, works as a quick and dirty digital camera, sends emails and text messages, acts as a flashlight, web browser, and a host of other things. It is not a phone. It is a portable computer that has phone capabilities.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
I purchased an MP3 player a few years ago from Samsung that did pretty much the same thing. I didn't care about the health aspect; it was just a cheap MP3 player on firesale. I ended up giving it away to a nephew becuse it wouldn't play Asian mp3's, only American ones. Rather odd, for a Korean-made mp3 player.
I have a Sony Ericsson w710i which has a pedometer (step counter). It's pretty accurate and I actually enjoy checking how many steps I've taken during the week/month or the average number of steps a day. It also helps get a rough distance between two places.
It doesn't do any other fitness things really.
Just thought I'd let people know about it.
I can get my wife one of these, and not worry about her having sex with it while I'm not home!
One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces.
wow, it can measure body fat through a series of questions?? amazing what technology can do nowadays.
Sorry can't talk right now, gotta run !
Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
Just what we need: A phone that can also serve as a polygraph. Now when the spooks record your conversations they can tell when you're lying. ;-)
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
when it is in the tumble drier making it look like you're getting a good work out!
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Hell, I don't want my cell phone knowing about my eating habits.
I don't think you need a device to do all that, it is just another consumer electronic that will try to tell you, "If you buy me you will lose weight!" Well my phone has a PDA built in and reminds me of everything, and guess what! I seldom do what the reminders say unless they have immediate, negative effects, like a bad grade for not turning an assignment in, or not going to work early when I should have. Sooner or later we have to take responsibility for what we do and how we treat our bodies etc etc. The mentality that consumer electronics will do it for us, will eventually put us all on trendy life support machines....if we worked at whatever dead end job we still have at that time. I'm not too worried that all that will come to pass, but I just wanna express how dumb a phone like that would be....unless maybe if you were a doctor of some sort and wanted to merge devices that you use on a daily basis.. :-)
To see a few of my Android apps goto: www.hartwired.com
Using your mobile to help stay in shape is a good idea, but there's really no need to buy a separate phone to do so (unless you want additional hardware functionality, like being able to hook it up to your running shoes).
There are quite a few Java applications out there to do so that work on most new mobile phones, like GymTracker to track workouts and KCal to monitor calorie consumption.
---
Hello, Slashdot user. My name is Dr. Sbaitso. I am here to help you.
* You: Call Sam.
* Phone: I'm afraid I can't do that. Not until you eat your whirled peas.
* You: I don't like whirled peas! Call Sam.
* Phone: I can see you're really upset about world peace.
I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over.
* You: No, I'm fine... wait, world peace? Please call Sam.
* Phone: I've just picked up a fault in the AE-35 unit.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
could be worse: what if it was a certain talking paper clip that everyone knows (it looks like you are browsing the web. would you like to: 1.) exercise 2.)eat a healthy snack 3.)return my annoying ass for a refund )
stuff
I suppose checking bad breath is HUGE! hasn't anyone ever told you that when someone offers you a breath mint, you should take it?
<URL:http://3rdworldpets.com/>
Are they going to give the phone a computery voice so it can lecture the smokers every time they try and light up? I think it would be cool if you could choose between different voices. I would include a HAL voice as well as one for a 'lecturing Jewish grandma', at very least. You could also have an 'irritating second-hand smoke whiner' voice. Obviously, the HAL voice would refer to everybody as Dave, regardless of their name. I wonder if they could make the phone capable of extinguishing the cigarettes? Years ago, it probably wouldn't have been feasible. (It would have made the phone too big.) However, nowadays with all this nanotechnology, I suppose anything is possible.