November 12, 2004
'Well-Being' Fad Hits Cell Phone Market, Too
The well-being fad has found its way into the cellular phone market.
"Handsets providing various sorts of health care functions such as measuring fat layers and blood-sugar level are being released one by one. Samsung Electronics presented a brand-new cellular phone last week, the SPH-E3330, which can measure one's fat level. After entering one's name, weight, and height, a slight touch of the finger on the measuring device displays one's body fat level. The measured data can be estimated by daily, weekly, and monthly units in a graphical chart, reports Digital Chonsunilbo via Russell Buckley's Mobile Weblog.
"A diabetes hand set released by LG Electronics back in July, the LG-KP8400, has won steady popularity. This handset, equipped to measure blood-sugar levels, not only manages blood-sugar level, diet, and medication prescriptions, but also provides long-distance medical consultations. Placing a litmus paper stained with one's blood on the device shows one's blood-sugar level.
They also plan to release a "stress phone" that informs one of his or her stress level by checking their heart rates by early next year.
Related: The Nokia Fitness Monitor (Star tech Central) - Slated for release before the end of the year, is the one example of a fitness and health gadget designed for use with Nokia handphones. It has sensors measuring activity levels and allows users to keep track of variables such as distance, calories, steps and time spent exercising. For further information, cf www.nokia.com.
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