Review: JAAP Bluetooth Wireless Heaphones - long battery life!!

Jaap Sports truly wireless headphones by alpha and delta in Singapore (https://www.alphandelta.com/home-1) even come with their own battery extender that will allow the headphones to continue working for\additional hours - perfect for long flights that I have been recently taking.

The JAAPs are a hybrid over ear and in ear design keeps them snuggly in place.

Works great with my iPhone 7 plus but issues with my cheap Lenovo tablet, it connected but no sound came out. These headphones are good for music, podcasts and audiobooks but not for watching videos or YouTube on your phone as there is latency issues when watching video, resulting in the audio and video getting out of sync.

After a few days of use here is my rating:

Pros:

• LONG battery life, especially using the self-contained battery charger/extender that you can drape around your neck, charging while you listen. 
• Hybrid over-ear and in-ear keep the headphones in place securely
• I like the case provided

Cons:

Can't be used to watch videos due to latency issues when watching a video, resulting in the audio and video getting out of sync.

4 Stars

Disclaimer: I was provided with a pair of the Jaap truly wireless headphones for free by the company Alpha and Delta for evaluation and this review

Why would @fitbit take away a product I loved with no replacement?

Over the past week I have discovered some cracks on the back of my Fitbit Force. As you remember I purchased this device in the US as I am still as yet to see it available I Australia. I contacted Fitbit support first via twitter as then by their support page as they requested. I provided photos. After a follow up request to find out what was going on as I had not heard from Support.

What I received, I thought was sent in error. Basically due to a small number of people (mainly in the US) suffering skin irritations, the Fitbit force was recalled. While I knew about the recall, the issue didn't effect me and I carried on.

As there was a recall in place Fitbit support stated they would not replace my damaged force but would refund me. I don't want to go back to using the Fitbit flex, for one, I had issues with the band breaking after 8 months - the same time I have been using the force, not to mention the shocking battery life of the flex compared to the force.

I am now left with either rigging up some repair or take the refund and look for another product after I have already invested in the Fitbit ecosystem including the matching scale.

Working on my Fitness!!

Working on my Fitness!

I know it may come as a shock to some of you, but I am no athlete…

I have just entered week 7 of the couch to 5km running program.

[youtube http://youtu.be/5T0utQ-XWGY]

If this fitness thing all sounds a little familiar, well yes.

I have been using the fitbit ecosystem for over 12months now. First the fitbit Flex which the band died after 9 months and there were little to no replacements available at the the time, so I imported the fitbit force which still does not seem to be available in Australia widely.

Throughout this whole time I have also been using the Fitbit Aria Scale. Because I love data I can see how many steps, how much I weighed or what my body fat as a percentage was for every day of the last year.

For those of you about to smash me saying fitness and weightless are different, just like climate change deniers thinking weather and climate are the same… I was getting to that.

If you look purely at the numbers, I am barely meeting my daily 10000 step count, and I have never had a higher weight or body fat percentage… however, 4 weeks ago I could not complete 2 x 3 min jogs with a walk in between, last saturday I ran more than most of a 5km fun run, and today ran 4.2km non stop.

For any one saying, I can't run - try the program, it slowly steps you up. It is not about speed - I am sure there are snails overtaking me when I get my little grandpa shuffle happening, but I am constantly moving.

For the uber nerds out there, I use my Lifeproof Arm band with my Lifeproof phone case, with Runkeeper and my Pebble smart watch ) to keep track of my runs.

Although twice now, my iPhone 5 has died during a simple 30-35min run. Before you ask, it is not one of the iPhone 5 models that are eligible for battery replacements.

Go on.. try it.. I dare you, better yet… take a friend or friends, other people really help with pace.

Try it Here

There are also many many apps available for your phone for free.

Cast off! - Cast comes off following bike crash

Today I went along to the Fracture Review Clinic at The Canberra Hospital (TCH) following my bike crash a few weeks ago . The Orthopaedic Registrar that reviewed my injury and my X-rays. He determined that my cast and sling can now come off!!. I have to admit I have been a little naughty. As my cast was a ‘half cast’ that only covered the top of my wrist and forearm and was then bandaged onto my arm using crape bandage, I have been removing the cast to sleep and shower. As I was in the Mardi Gras Parade on the weekend, I also didn't wear my cast during the parade. The biggest down side has been the muscle atrophy that my right forearm and bicep have suffered. Don't get me wrong, I have never exactly been ‘built’ but there is now a very noticeable difference between right and left biceps.

Fractured Wrist and Rotor head (elbow)

Well….Last Monday night, after finishing work, I was riding home enjoying the  amazing twilight that Canberra has been experiencing lately.

After crossing the Kings Ave Bridge and turning back down towards the lake .. I realised I was coming down the off ramp a little too fast, applying the brakes, the rear wheel started ‘popping’ out, the it suddenly buckled and locked in the rear brake callipers - I was able to ‘lay the bike down’ as they say. However I did land rather heavily on my right wrist. I did miss the concrete and managed to land on the dirt beside the path.

Long story short, a pop up the the hospital (after dropping the bike at the shop for repair of course) - Turns out I have fractured my Scaphoid (one of the small bones on my wrist) and fractured my Rotator Head (ball of forearm bone where it joins the elbow). After spending most of the evening the the most amazing nurse at ED named Christine, I was sent home with a half plaster cast and bandaged up.  I have followed up with the the Ordo Registrar on the phone who can't see me until the 4th of March for review .. Don't they know this weekend is MARDI GRAS!!!

Using @pactapp to keep my EXERCISE promises

I know this may not be new or even news to other people, but I am lazy. Bone idle. However nothing makes me move my slightly jiggly butt more than good old fashioned $$$$. Whether saving it or spending it.  Long ago when I previously had a Personal Trainer, my sole motivation for going to the gym and seeing him was the knowledge that if I was there or not he would be charging me $60 a session. So off I went.  Sadly as I could only afford to see my PT two times a week (dude, thats $240 a fortnight) I simply didn't go to the gym on the days I didn't have to see him. 

Fast forward to 2013/2014. I have started to lose KGs through a combo of light exercise and my tech companions ( the Fitbit Flex tracker, Fitbit Aria Scale and my trusty iPhone 5). I am hovering at around 76-77Kgs. Unlike in Darwin, where I was running and walking every day, hitting my Fitbit Target of 10,000 steps a day - I am lucky to hit 5000 here without additional exercise. 

This week I am trying a new app that combines my NEED to move my butt with the nagging and motivation of lose $$$ if I do not. It is PACT

Essentially I promise to go to the gym or use their activity tracker for more than 30mins on a set number of times in a week after ‘betting’ my self I can do it. In my case I said I would go to the gym OR get 10,000 steps on my Fitbit 2 times between Monday - Sunday or it will cost me $5, however if I do what I say I will EARN $1. These are all small sums as I am testing it out. I would be looking to move this to the $50 mark and 3 times a week if I see it working.

Do you use a Fitbit? How about the PactApp? Experiences?

Pebble Watch 3 months on + SDK2.0

Well following on from my previous post on the pebble watch I thought I would give a bit of an update. http://wade85.com/pebble-watch-first-impressions-the-first-72-hours/

When I watched the kick started videos during the hype of the pebble watch launch I knew I wanted it straight away. What I failed to appreciate was how the kickstarter + pebble business model is different from the normal technology retail space. You don't see a product, order it and then use it.  You become part of the process. The concept is done but you are buying a product that has not been made yet. Almost like buying a house off the plan.  

The pebble did end up coming on the big Burma trip with us.  Sadly under SDK 1.0 the watch could not use storage on the phone to back up my dual time zone settings. But what I found interesting is after landing in either Myanmar or Malaysia as soon as my phone locked onto the new network time so did my pebble so it was up to date where ever we were.  Due to having no data connection thus redendering 90% of my phones functions useless and in turn the watches it was left in flight mode. 

With SDK 2.0 being out for a few days now I can say I have not lost caller ID once ( a turn around from before). I don't need to constantly open or kill and reopen the pebble http app to get the weather on my watch face. I am also getting a lot more notifications than before. 

It is getting better..

He ain't heavy, he's my brother -actually it's me

As you have seen from my other posts I have been trying to get my ballooning weight under control recently. My fitbit devices have been really integral as part of my attempt. The Aria and the Flex have been my daily companions. The Aria greets me every morning once I wake up. Visually reminding me to step on and get the result. It displays weight plus body fat as a percentage. I try to do it every day, same time, same place. Lately while the actual kilogram figure is yoyoing, the body fat as a percentage has been shrinking - interesting today is the lowest. This morning displaying 24% tonight in the 23% range. ( see below). Because the aria is connected to my wifi network it automatically uploads the results to my fitbit account which my iPhone app pulls down and displays.

I am by no means athletic.

This all started while trying to pass my fitness test for my work. I have never been a runner. Running usually induced two types of pain - shins hurting almost immediately and my throat acting like I am taking my last breath.

Stopping by my local shoe shop with the gait tracking and balance measuring gadgety in store it was identified that my arches are falling ( don't quote me, I think that's right). The sales person kindly offered to sell me $220 worth of the ugliest shoes available. Politely declining, I opted for the ever sexy orthotics. I have to say the change was instant and amazing. Since losing a tiny bit of weight the throat stopped burning weeks ago. But the shins continued. The orthotics had an immediate effect. The first day I kept wanting to stop where I remember my shins hurting onto regular route. Only this time I didn't hurt.

A week later, I am feeling great. I have an appointment with a podiatrist tomorrow to hopefully measure and custom make orthotics rather than off the shelf numbers I have now.

Wish me luck

Run run as fast as you can !!!

This week had been a big week for me in the fitness / jogging side. Every night this week I have been out walking and jogging in Darwin - how could you not. The whether has been sublime. I usually run at night. Later the better. Averaging 6-8kms. The nights here don't drop below 22 degrees C.

My fitbit flex has really changed the way I view activity. It's right there on my wrist. It's blinking lights shaming me into activity. The more lights the more active you have been. It has 5 lights that break your goal into 5ths. My daily goal is currently 10,000 steps ( roughly 5kms) so each light is 2000 steps. The nature of my current role at work means that I am largely sedentary (desk bound) during the day - I would be lucky to pass 2000 steps at work. But by bed time I am usually clocking up between 12000 & 16000. My walking partner who can walk to work recently scored 24kms in a single day with only a normal day activity with a night walk.

Weight wise I am still hovering between 76-78kgs. But body fat as a percentage is dropping from 26% to as low as 24% this morning.

How far do you usually run per day?

Your Smartphone Can Now Be Your Eye Doctor | Gizmodo Australia

Your Smartphone Can Now Be Your Eye Doctor | Gizmodo Australia.

Quantifying self - Fitness / life tracking

I recently heard a BBC Radio 4 program about Life tracking ( they had a fancy title, Quantifying self). While listening I was thinking HOLY CRAP, thats me.. my whole life is recorded - whether pictorially through Facebook or Instagram, textually through here or tumblr and fitness wise I will go into below. I recently have been trying to shift some KGs after hitting my highest weight without much effort! (mid 80kgs)

As you are probably aware, I am a gadget man, the first item that grabbed my eye was the new Fitbit Flex.

Basically its a Bluetooth Enabled Pedometer which doubles as a sleep tracker.

The wrist based device 'gameifies' the process of basically moving your body. In default setting of 10000 steps as a goal per day the device shows one single light per 2000 steps, providing vibration feedback when the 10000 is reached. The crowning glory of the divide in my opinion is back end - the app tracking and recording.

More recently I have added the Aria - the wifi enabled scale that perfectly couples with the Flex and the Fitbit app, not just measuring KGs but also lean body mass.

For the record - am now in the 70kg range.

Fitbit Flex:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/viZsv2kMZeo]

Fitbit Aria:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/Pap8wqbKqIM]

Adding runkeeper to my arsonal has really helped to, I am finding I am racing my own personal best minutes per KM rate.

Runkeeper

http://runkeeper.com/home

I have recently found a new service that claims to link / sync everything together - I am still testing this:

Sync Metrics

http://www.syncmetrics.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b02mfzrw