Fitness monitors are coming in your ears

Just when you think the wearables market can't get any more weird, along comes something weirder.

To be fair to FreeWavz and its smart earphones, it's not the first attempt to provide an ear-mounted health tracker. LG has announced something similar with its Lifeband Touch Activity Tracker.

And in some ways, the ears aren't a terrible place to measure blood flow, although I'd like to see a side-by-side measure of heart rate accuracy compared to a chest strap.

Yet despite mention of its "medical grade pulse oximeter", the FreeWavz ability to measure O2 saturation seems very odd.

More generally, it seems like FreeWavz might be decent - if expensive - sports headphones with some random health monitoring features thrown into the mix, because that sort of thing sells a Kickstarter campaign.

So, no. I won't be contributing to the $300,000 goal.

If you do, FreeWavz can be currently backed for $179, compared to SRP of $299. 

Another day, another fitness monitoring band?

Well, hopefully not. It looks like the Moov band is a more intelligent mix of hardware and software.

Part of this is what the company calls its 9-axis motion-sensing hardware; basically something that can measure movement particularly well. Indeed, you can use multiple Moov units if you want to track activities like boxing or get gait analysis on your running style.

This is combined with real-time AI software - initially via an iOS app, but with Android to follow - that's described as a 'virtual coach'. More than tracking your exercise, its purpose is to improve your movement. Examples given include tracking your landing impact when running, or pedal stroke efficiency for cycling.

Of course, it does the usual pedometer, sleep, calorie stuff as well.

Pricing is currently listed as $70 (international P&P is $20) compared to a RRP of $120, with delivery now slated as autumn 2014. The July batch of Moov unit sold out within 2 weeks.

"Reading the glucose in your cells?" Just more health monitoring snakeoil

It seems the big push in wearables is measuring body metrics through the skin.

The Basis B1 watch was the first watch to claim to measure heart rate in this way, although plenty of others also now claim this, and it seems that Apple and Google are engaged in more advanced schemes for their rumoured smartwatches.

Similarly, there have been tech demos that can pick up your pulse rate by measuring the slightly reddening of your skin through a webcam as your heart pumps blood.

Still I remain very skeptical about the latest Indiegogo funding project, which claims to be able to automatically measure calorie intake through your skin.

Healbe has already raised $533,096 (over the $100,000 target with 33 days to go) for its GoBe wearable, so people are obviously keen on the technology.

If you want to fund it, the best current deal is a $189 price point against at $300 RRP.

As for how it works, Healbe claims its "continuous piezo pressure sensor" can handle heart rate, while the accelerometer will calculate calorie burn and metabolic rate.

In terms of measuring calorie input, it says it combines "a unique algorithm with measurements from the body manager's pressure, accelerometer, and impedance sensors to show you calories consumed".

In other words, it guesses - just as my current $100 Fitbit Flex does.

Yet, elsewhere, it claims it measures your calorie intake - "by reading the glucose in your cells".

Absolute tosh.

Keep your wrist free with ankle fitness monitor Flyfit

It’s a function of the advanced consumer market that competition results in attempted differentiation in terms of price, functionality and style.

In the current fitness wrist band market, price is a difficult place to complete. Basically, you need to shoot for $99.

Style is also difficult. After all, this is a piece of coloured, rubberised plastic you’ll wear around your wrist.

Function then? Kickstarter Flyfit is totally going for that with its fitness ankle band.

There is some logic as the team behind it are keen cyclists and want to better track that activity (they make an argument for swimming too).

Of course, the rub is if you don’t want to track yourself on a cycle, there’s little reason to buy - or in this case, back - Flyfit. The cost is $99, plus $25 for P&P outside the US.

In terms of the hardware, you have a small metal pod that has four symbols which light up. It slips into the coloured, rubberised plastic ankle band. Checking out proper stats happens on your smartphone via Bluetooth. And, my current personal bugbear, you have to switch the system into sleep mode.

Still, given it’s reached over 80 percent of its $90,000 goal with over 3 weeks remaining, it looks like Flyfit will be successful (in Kickstarter terms, at least).

You can see how Flyfit views its market differentiation, below.

Skulpt and Atlas demonstrate the continued power of crowdfunding

There's been plenty of debate about the importance of crowdfunding sources such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo in certain sectors of the tech world.

As with many new opportunities, the first 12 months sees a free-for-all which eventually - after some crashes and burning - settles down to a sustainable business model for a small subset of the original potential audience.

Certainly that seems to be what's happened in late 2013 into 2014, where crowdfunding for games is now pretty much dead, while crowdfunding for wearable technology is still going strong. Maybe that's because wearable tech is the hot topic, but I also think that there's a better fit as with games all you really get/are offered is a virtual experience. With wearables, on the other hand, you can something to wear (maybe even on your other hand).

Long introduction, but it does lead me to point out that the Skulpt Aim device, which measures your muscle quality using an IQ-type system (average = 100) has completed its Indiegogo, raising $384,509 from a $150,000 original goal.

Skulpt took advantage of a lot of press following its CES 2014 appearance. It even made it to Newsnight on the BBC.

Another company looking to make a similar splash, also on Indiegogo is Atlas. Here the sell is harder as it's yet another bracelet sports tracker, albeit one with the marketing tag that it's the "first fitness tracker that actually tracks your workout".

Priced at $159, apparently it can even identify the exercises you're doing, counting reps, and evaluating your form - all thanks to its inertial sensors, which can track in the x, y and z-axis. I don't see why it's such an odd shape though, and I'll also be interested to see how accurate the heart rate monitor is compared to a proper chest strap.

Still, the company has already reached its $125,000 goal; with 18 days to go, it's currently over $162,000.

You can find out more from the Atlas website.