Looking for a wearable, but high-tech, fitness device? Expect to browse the store shelves for a while.
In recent years, numerous companies have released various health monitors designed to be worn on the body or clipped on to clothing.
Within the broader wearable computing market, "health and fitness technologies are the most prevalent", according to Steve Koenig, the director of industry analysis at the Consumer Electronics Association.
There is the Fitbug, which counts steps taken and calories burnt. But do not get that confused with the Fitbit, a rival line of activity trackers that perform similar functions but can also track sleep as well.
Jawbone, an electronics manufacturer better known for its Bluetooth headsets, now also sells a US$130 wristband that tracks movement and sleep.
An accompanying app, meanwhile, displays data that illustrates a person's mood patterns and history of meals.
Nike's FuelBand boasts similar features and also straps around the wrist, much like those charity bracelets that have become commonplace these days.
"It's pretty congruent with a lot of fashion, and so it doesn't really look like a piece of tech - yet it is," says Mr Koenig.
Collectively, these various sports and activity trackers are on pace to generate more than $7 billion globally by 2015, and more than 30 million of them are expected to be sold this year, according to market data from ABI Research.
While basic step-counting pedometers have been around for decades now, they have recently been souped up by a growing number of companies that are trying to capture a larger share of this market.
The wider availability of smartphones, and the falling costs of components that power these devices, are only increasing manufacturer interest. "One of the biggest drivers [of fitness devices] is because of the massive growth of smartphones," says Josh Flood, a senior analyst with ABI Research.
"There are so many more sensors: altimeters, gyroscopes, accelerometers," he adds.
"This has allowed companies to take the idea and see what can they can do to enhance their product offering and create better products."
business@thenational.ae
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Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
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Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
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Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
Light welterweight 64.5kg
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Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
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Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
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