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These shoes use witchcraft to wrap around your feet when you step on them

NEWS – Here’s an unusual product that I’ve not seen before and I hope you haven’t either. They are called step in socks and they are a hands free shoe cover that will allow you to wear your dirty shoes into a house without tracking the dirt on the floor.  They are made of polyester and are reusable.

But the magic happens when you just toss them on the floor and step on them. True to their name, they are hands-free shoes because when you apply pressure to them, they wrap around your foot like some kind of futuristic shoe from a sci-fi movie. Just take a look at the video below to see them in action.

I can imagine how these step in socks would be handy for service people who go into people’s homes to fix appliances. They are one size fits all and you can find several different styles and brands on Amazon where the prices range from $10 – $13.

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These shoes use witchcraft to wrap around your feet when you step on them originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 16, 2019 at 4:29 pm.

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Motiv Smart Ring review

REVIEW – Over the years I’ve reviewed a LOT of fitness trackers. The vast majority of them have been trackers that clip to a belt or ones that you wear on your wrist like a watch. Only recently have we started to see fitness trackers that are small enough to fit on your finger like the ŌURA Ring that I reviewed over a year ago. I loved the idea of a finger wearable fitness tracker, but the original version of the  ŌURA Ring was just too large and uncomfortable for me to wear 24/7. Another smart ring fitness tracker that was on my gadget radar during that time was the Motiv Smart Ring but they ignored my requests to review one. Fast forward to a month ago when I was looking for gadgets to gift to myself for Christmas. The gifts that I ended up buying were an Apple MacBook Air, a 2018 11-inch iPad Pro, a DJI OSMO Pocket camera, and a Motiv Smart Ring. I ended up returning all of those gifts except for the Motiv Smart Ring, so I guess you can say that I like it. Let’s take a closer look.

What is it?

The Motiv Smart Ring is a truly ring sized fitness tracker that you wear on your finger 24/7 to track your activity, steps, sleep, and heart rate.

What’s in the box?

  • Motiv Smart Ring
  • USB magnetic charging dock

Design and features

Anyone who sees you wearing this smart ring will have no idea that it’s nothing other than a regular piece of jewelry as it takes a close look to see the electronics. First of all the ring has a titanium shell with a scratch resistant coating and is available in silver, rose gold, or black. I bought the black version that has a very subtle brushed matte finish.

The ring is ultra comfortable because it’s lightweight and there’s nothing noticeable that presses against your finger when you’re wearing it. You can see the flat part of the ring inside the medical grade plastic band which is where the steel and gold plated electronic contacts are located, but you don’t really feel it while wearing the ring.

When you order a Motiv ring, you’ll be sent a box of 7 plastic sizer rings that range from size 6 up to size 12. You’re instructed to wear the best fitting ring for at least 24hrs before you submit your ring order. Not that anyone cares, but I ended up with size 7 for my ring finger on my right hand.

The actual working smart ring fit identical to the sizer ring, so my delivered Motiv ring fit perfectly which is what you’ll want because you’re able to wear this ring 24/7 because it’s waterproof to 165 feet. That means you can swim with it, shower with it, workout with it, wash your hands with it, etc.

But before you can start using the ring, you’ll need to charge it. Luckily, that’s a simple and quick task. The ring comes with a magnetic charger that plugs into a USB port and quick charges the ring in about 90 minutes. You’ll also be happy to know that the Motiv Smart Ring has a 3-day battery life so you won’t have to charge it every day.

While the ring is charging, a small LED hidden in a strip on the ring will glow red while charging and will glow green when fully charged. Once in a while, you’ll also notice that the LED on the ring is flashing blue which means it’s syncing data with your phone. Note, that you don’t have to have your phone always with you to make sure you don’t lose your fitness data. The Motiv Ring has enough onboard memory to keep your stats safe for up to 3 days.

Motiv app


The Motiv app is available for iOS and Android. I have been using the Android version of the app with my Pixel 2 XL. The app’s interface is easy to understand and navigate. The dashboard screen shows your accumulated stats for the day which include how many hours you slept the night before, your active minutes for the day, steps for the day, miles traveled, calories burned, last heart rate, and a scrolling list of your activities.

The settings screen shows the current battery status and lets you customize your profile info and link to your Google Fit account.



The Motiv Ring doesn’t take a heart rate reading every minute like the VivaLNK Vital Scout continuous wellness monitor wearable patch that I reviewed recently, but to help save battery life, it senses when you are active.

We optimized our system to sample heart rate when it matters most, in order to maximize battery life. When we sense step activity, the heart rate sensor activates. For all those times you’re not generating steps, we check your heart rate every few minutes and if your heart rate is elevated, the Motiv Ring will engage the sensor to track continuously those times you are active.

As for step tracking, I found to be within 100 or so steps of the Google Fit app on my phone.

What I like

  • Comfortable to wear 24/7
  • 3-day battery life and quick charging

What needs to be improved

  • Better heart rate graphs with the time of day so you can see when the rates were elevated or lowest
  • Add recovery rate
  • Better sleep tracking graphs that show the times during the night when you were awake, etc
  • I’d like to see contactless payment features added

Final thoughts

Right now, the Motiv Ring is my favorite fitness tracking wearable. When I put it on I forget about it because it is comfortable to wear all day and while sleeping. I only take it off when I put lotion on my hands or when I need to charge it. The only downside to the Motiv Ring is the price, but I’m hoping they add more features to it to justify the expense. They already have a 2-step security feature for iOS and you can request access to the open beta for Android if you want to test it – this is something I haven’t done yet.

There has also been talk of a contactless payment feature later this year that uses your heart rate to identify you. That’s a feature I’d love to have so I don’t have to take my phone out of my pocket when buying something. Unfortunately, it won’t come to existing rings and will require that I buy a new one. But even as it is now, I’m still a fan of this ring. So much so that I bought one for myself.

Price: $199.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was purchased with my own funds. You can read more about it at mymotiv.com

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Motiv Smart Ring review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 16, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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WyzeCam security cameras, PortraitPro image editing software, and more – Review updates

REVIEW – To provide even more value to our product reviews, we like to update our past reviews on a regular basis so you will know how the products stand the test of time. Today we have a new batch of review updates so click through to see the list of updated reviews and you’ll find the updates at the bottom of each review.

WyzeCam security camera review by Julie Strietelmeier

VentiFresh small space air purifier review by Julie Strietelmeier

PortraitPro 17 Studio Max photo editing software review by Julian Perry

Lapinator Laptop Desk Review by Julie Strietelmeier

Olight S2R Baton flashlight review by Julie Strietelmeier

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WyzeCam security cameras, PortraitPro image editing software, and more – Review updates originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 16, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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Brando Smart Fingerprint Padlock review


REVIEW – As a self-confessed gadget nerd, I am always looking for the unique gadget that provides a balance between technology and usefulness. Sometimes it can just be a gimmick that I like, and if that gimmick lets me do something automated and techie, then I am good. For this review, I am testing the Brando Smart Fingerprint Padlock. Let’s see if I get excited.

What is it?

The Brando Smart Fingerprint Padlock is a biometric lock that eliminates the need for using a key to gain access.  Your fingerprint is your password via the fingerprint ID function.

What’s in the box


1 x Smart Fingerprint Padlock
1 x Micro USB Charging Cable
1 x User Manual

Design and features

Features:

One touch open
IP65 rated waterproof and dustproof design
Supports up to 380 kg weight
Supports up to 10 fingerprints recording
USB charge: With the feature of Low power consumption and long standby time
Support 360-degree arbitrary direction press type fingerprint recognition
Built-in 300mAh lithium battery, with a maximum standby time of up to 2 years, and a maximum number of unlocking time of up to 2500 times
Dimensions: 47 x 15 x 75mm (approx.)
Weight: 120g
Note: If the battery is short of power, it can be unlocked in an emergency. After charging, you can directly press the fingerprint to unlock it

On the front of the lock, there is a black overall finish that you can see is a magnet for fingerprints. On the lower half of the lock there is a fingerprint biometric pad and to the left of it is a LED that provides access indication/confirmation.


On one side of the padlock, there is a USB charging port with a rubber waterproof cover.

Performance

Biometric access for this lock is set up with an administrator set of fingerprints and up to 10 user fingerprints. See the setup instructions below.


Once you follow the instructions, setup is very easy and the biometric access has worked as indicated. I have been using it every day a few times daily for about almost one month and I have not had to recharge so far. I will admit that I do not have it attached to anything that I need critical access to because I am unable to get over my fear of some electronic failure and no manual override key.

What I like

  • The biometric feature
  • The build quality

What can be improved

  • Addition of a non-electronic emergency unlock capability like a proprietary key

Final thoughts

I have always been intrigued by biometric access for many types of devices but I have always been a bit apprehensive to trust the safekeeping of anything critical to such devices. My concerns have included possible failures of the biometric functions at a critical time and the vulnerabilities associated with the abilities of hackers or such relevant criminal types if the device is connected online. In the case of this lock, there is the additional concern of no mechanical type override key, with the override function also being electronic. While I really like the build quality, and while it has functioned pretty well even considering the times when repetition is needed to open the lock, my personal fear of being locked out at a critical time, makes me want to overlook the positives and pass on this one.

Price: $45
Where to buy: Brando
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Brando

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Brando Smart Fingerprint Padlock review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 16, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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Nike’s new self-lacing, smart basketball shoe is the future of the game

NEWS – On Tuesday Nike officially introduced the world to the future of basketball shoes when it rolled out its first self-lacing shoes, the Adapt BB.

These new age kicks were designed to give you a customized, consistent fit.  When you step into the Nike Adapt BB, a custom motor and gear train senses the tension needed by the foot and adjusts accordingly to keep the foot snug.

The Adapt BB’s where built for basketball. Nikes FitAdapt tech allows players to adjust the fit of the shoes depending on different moments of a game. For example, during a timeout, a player can loosen the shoe before tightening it up as they re-enter the game. This can be done manually with the touch of a button on the shoe or by using the Nike Adapt app.

With the Nike Adapt app, you can fine-tune your fit, switch between presets, customize the LED lights,  and check the shoes battery levels.

The Adapt BB’s are powered by a rechargeable battery. Charging the shoes is as easy as placing them the Qi wireless charging mat that comes with every pair. According to Nike, the shoes will last up to 14 days on a single full charge. Fully charging the shoes takes about three hours.

If you want to see the shoes in action, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum will be the first NBA player to wear the Adapt BB’s in an NBA game Wednesday night in Boston’s home game against the Toronto Raptors. Nike’s Adapt BB basketball shoe ($350) will be available at 10:00 AM EST on February 17th which coincidentally is the same day as this year’s NBA All-Star game.

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Nike’s new self-lacing, smart basketball shoe is the future of the game originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 16, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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