MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.
Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/400858
40 MacDirectory COLUMN PUMPUP by PumpUp This app bills itself as the first photo-based social network for health and fitness, and it has taken off like wildfire in its early months, garnering more than 1.7 million users and more than $2.4 million in recent funding. The free app is being called the new Instagram for fitness. It combines photo sharing, community, and fitness coaching, and aims to immerse users in a motivational community. Interestingly, about 90 percent of the users are women, the company reports. They believe part of the app's appeal is that it's a positive and separate social community from Facebook. Users can share "post-workout selfies, healthy recipes, inspirational photos and more," PumpUp advertises. The participants can scroll through a newsfeed and provide likes and comments to keep one another motivated. PumpUp claims that members who share photos to the network are "more than five times more likely to stay on track with their goals." Aside from the social component, PumpUp also offers custom workouts and fitness coaching, and the ability to track activity, weight, calories burned, reps, time spent exercising, and progress over time--all in an effort to create a full-package health app. http://pumpup.co/ SPROUTLING BABY MONITOR by Sproutling This controversial device, created by former Apple and Google engineers, has been called everything from a baby house-arrest anklet to a Fitbit for your baby. It is comprised of three parts: a wearable band, a smart charger, and a mobile app. The "world's smartest baby monitor" gathers 16 different measurements every second from the baby and the baby's environment. While it isn't the first wearable technology for babies, Sproutling says their product surpasses their competitors' devices by collecting more data, learning from the baby's past behavior, and displaying data in a simple format that won't overwhelm the parents. "Insights, not data. Delivered to you anytime, anywhere," the company claims. For example, the device will not only note whether the baby has rolled over, but predict when the baby will wake up, what the baby's mood will be, and whether the room is too bright, loud, warm, etc. The information is displayed on the caregivers' smart phones, and the app can display information for multiple babies. "Works with twins, triplets and (gasp!) quadruplets." The Sproutling Baby Monitor can be pre-ordered on the company's website and is expected to ship in early 2015. http://www.sproutling.com + iHealth BY HEATHER CASPI