I've always been somewhat fascinated by the real-life equivalent of fantastical movie gadgets. My flying car may be on backorder at the moment, but when I saw the new Hulk movie with Edward Norton, I knew there was one movie-featured gadget that I could get right away.
Norton's wristwatch -- besides telling time -- monitors his heart rate and alerts him via a (somewhat annoying) beeping sound if he's approaching a high, Hulk-inducing heart rate. Even if you don't suffer from Hulk-like episodes, such a watch could be useful for anyone who wants to figure out why they get so winded going up the stairs; excercisers in particular find such gadgets extremely useful for monitoring progress and keeping their workout within a safe zone.
The heart monitor wristwatch is a simple concept, and it turns out there are a whole bunch of similar products on the market.
As a leader in the heart rate monitor market, it shouldn't be a suprise that Polar has a line of heart monitoring watches. They even come in three different series: A-Series for beginner and intermediate; M-Series and F-Series for beginner to advanced; and AXN-Series and S-Series for advanced training for coaches and athletes. The Polar FS1 retails for $69.95, while the more advanced AXN700 retails for $449.95.
If you can't be bothered to wear a watch, why not just slip on a specially designed t-shirt? The Vital Jacket, by Portugese company Biodevices, monitors both your ECG waves and heart rate. It hasn't hit the consumer market yet, but the company says that the shirt was put to the test during the Euro Cup 2008 by the Portugese team; you can check out the data collected on its Web site.
Up against Dick Tracy's two-way communicator and the many James Bond watches, the heart rate monitoring watch has tough competition for coolest movie watch. Still, a heart rate-monitoring watch (or t-shirt) could bring you another step closer to becoming your favorite superhero. Or maybe it could just help keep you in shape.
Post by Brittany Petersen.
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January 6, 2009 9:46 AM
It's very cool. I've been searching for a website that stated from wich brand the heart monitor was from and finally you saved my life. Thankz, man. I'll look on Amazon and see if i can get myself one of those.Thankz!