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Last year, I was using several services to track my physical activity throughout the day for weight loss. I had to enter in my workouts and my caloric intake. Then I added the Nike Plus, which tracked my mileage and the pace of my runs, and then allowed me to upload my workout to my Nike Plus dashboard.Available early next year, I am really looking forward to utilizing the Fitbit Tracker an advanced monitor to track my activity throughout the day and even the quality of my sleep. Fitbit is the all-in-one fitness and sleep monitor (using motion sensing technology) to help track your level of activity throughout the day...and night. The small bluetooth device fits to your clothing worn throughout the day. The data collected is wirelessy uploaded to your own Fitbit dashboard where you can monitor and measure your progress.
FitBit seems to simplify and aggregate all of the necessary information into one health and wellness dashboard to log food, activities and track weight. The Fitbit device then does all of the rest, showing how many calories burned for the day and other personal stats.
To learn more about Fitbit, read more on the Fitbit launch at this year's TechCrunch50.
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We are popping the cork here at Extraordinique in celebration of our first review published on September 21, 2007. With close to 150 reviews since that day, we have enjoyed sharing our favorite finds with you. Taking a look back in the Archives, we revisited some of our top favorites. The team worked to identify a Top 10 list for Extraordinique - A Year in Review, but we all agreed if they are in the Archive, they are all Extraordinique in our view.
For 2007-08, revisit these favorite finds and let us know what you think.
Vibram FiveFingers
We first started Extraordinique with Vibram FiveFingers footwear, making one of Time Magazine's best inventions in 2007. Since our first post, it also looks like FiveFingers has come out with two more lines - KSO and Flow. Vibram FiveFingers was catalytic in our concept for Extraordinique. In an era of innovation and "smart" technology, footwear has been taken to a whole new level with Vibram FiveFingers.
Vosges Haute Chocolate
Vosges is a fun one because a year later, we still find family and friends talking about Mo's Bacon Bar or the truffles we brought home, which included a symphonic blend of sweet and salt. Muah! Delish!
Christine J. Brandt
Another artist bringing elements together in an extraordinary way is jewelry designer Christine J. Brandt. Her jewelry collection is beyond words - setting stones and minerals in rich wood carvings for rings, necklaces, and cufflinks. The color, shape and texture of all of her pieces embody the word - Extraordinique!
Ego
There is no such thing as "check your 'Ego' at the door" if you own one of these artistically and fashion-inspired notebooks. Winner of this year's Microsoft Fashion PC Award and nominated for the 2009 German designprize Ego will be competing with brands such as BMW and Porsche for uber design excellence.
SIGG
Eco-friendly SIGG bottles became our favorite functional, go-anywhere water bottle for the car, the gym, and our weekend bike rides this year. We found them to be ultra durable and kept our drinks cool and refreshing.
Stokke Strollers
Over the past year, Stokke seems to have had a major influence in the design of baby strollers and it doesn't stop there. Now, Stokke is featuring the Tripp Trapp - designed to "invite your child to the table" like no other high chair can. Again, Extraordinique!
Flip Video
The best in plug-in-play digital video recorders, we flipped for Flip Video. End of story!
Easy Glider
Taking "people mover" to a whole new level, we found EasyGlider to be the ultimate mash up of inline skating, skateboarding and surfing melded into the design of a "scooter."
Coal
As Fall is upon us, Coal is still the first company I think of for super cool (or should I say toasty) knitted caps and scarves that we love. Debuting their latest 2008 Winter collection, you gotta check them out.
Pi
In a year of outrageous gas prices, Pi took electric mobility to a whole new level with a highly functional and beautifully designed electric bike.
If you have a favorite, please comment and let us know what enjoyed the most from Extraordinique - All Things Extraordinary & Unique.
Now, to celebrate, if only we had some Bling H20!
Pardon the play on words here, but "iWood totally get this" for my iPhone 3G. We were just at an Apple store this weekend looking for iPhone cases and I have to admit I was disappointed with most of the designs. The iPhone is really an aesthetically gorgeous device in my opinion. It is sleek, clean - a minimalists dream. I don't want to cover it up with something that detracts from that, but I also want to protect it.The iWood is the first case I have seen on the market that can aesthetically enhance the iPhone in ways that make it even more Extraordinique!
Miniot's iWood comes in five different wood grains and can even be engraved to further personalize your case. I wonder if I should put my Twitter name - @Extraordique or our logo?
I have the white iPhone 3G so I think the Padouk case would be gorgeous. Although I want to research which wood is most sustainable. Hmmm, too bad one doesn't come in bamboo. Hint! Hint!, Miniot.
Miniot also offers a matching wood docking station. Put it all together - it's Extraordinique!
• Special thanks to one of our Twitter friends who tipped us off on Miniot's iWood iPhone case. "HellYeah!"
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Innovation seems to be woven into the corporate culture at ASUS. Committed to green practices, ASUS recently launched their Bamboo Series notebook, a groundbreaking bamboo-clad product that is reported to be "green" throughout every phase of its life - from its conception, production and use to its eventual recycling and disposal. ASUS' commitment to continually bolstering its green capabilities sees their Bamboo Series notebook as proof that meeting the demands of modern computing can be reconciled with the need to preserve the Earth, especially when a green mentality has become more prominent and necessary for the planet.
The style of the notebook is modernly designed with artisan-grade Moso bamboo paneling. ASUS believes that their latest innovative line has "an arresting aura of spirituality, warmth and old world charm that synthetic materials and cold, impersonal metals will struggle to replicate." Now, that's Extraordinique!
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OK, so right up front, this cool contraption stopped me in my tracks. I want one or at least want to take one for a ride... and soon! I just came across this totally radical scooter / sports "vehicle." Called the Easyglider, this "vehicle" brings a whole new meaning to "people mover." Whether you want to take a leisurely cruise down a parkway or get x-games with inline skates or a skateboard, it seems like the creative minds at Easyglider wanted to design an innovative way to get people from here to there - you apply your own style.
I've got to believe these will become increasingly popular among the "cool kids." Now available in 50 countries, including the U.S., I can't wait to see these around town!
Check out this segment on TV's Beyond Tomorrow to view the Easyglide in action! It kind of puts it all in perspective.
I'm in the market for a new bluetooth headset and in my research Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset seems to hit all the marks for me. Honored with the 2007 Good Design Award, the Jawbone was designed by Yves Béhar of fuseproject for Aliph - a leading developer of mobile audio products focusing on providing the best user experience in any environment.So well designed, the Jawbone was even featured in an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The Jawbone comes in black, red and silver and works with all bluetooth compatible mobile phones, including iPhones (8GB and 16GB models)
Form meets function here as well with this headset. The Jawbone virtually eliminates all background noise thanks to the Noise Shield technology, an advanced, military-grade noise-canceling system that continuously adapts to your changing environment to deliver and receive unparalleled audio quality.
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I don't know about you, but I am really good at storing the digital pictures we take, but when it comes to actually printing them out to put in a frame, an album or a scrapbook, it just doesn't get done. I have a printer that even is dedicated for photo printing, but even still, if it isn't in the moment, they tend to be stored away for a "rainy day."
Polaroid has come out with a new mobile digital printer that is small (120mm (4.7") H X 72mm (2.8") W X 23.5mm (0.9") D) and lightweight (8 ounces without paper included in it) making it a mobile accessory that is easy to set up and print from instantly. The Instant Mobile Printer seems like the instant gratification much like the Polaroid One Step "Instamatic" camera I used to love as a kid, but with 21st Century technology called ZINK (zero ink). What makes this so extraordinique to me is their innovative new way of printing quality photos without a drop of ink.
According to Polaroid, "ZINK Paper is an advanced composite material with embedded yellow, magenta and cyan dye crystals, activated with 200 million heat pulses, in 30 seconds, in a single pass. With 100 billion crystals in a 2x3" print, the paper is 100% inkless. A ZINK-enabled printer uses heat to activate and colorize these crystals. Because there is no ink, every ZINK-enabled device has the unique benefits of being small, simple, elegant, and eco-friendly."
If you are looking an instant mobile printer for your digital and camera phone, check this out. The way Polaroid puts it, "enjoy (your pics) instantly, anywhere."
Great idea! Don't mind if I do! :)






















