Health and Beauty

The problem with handheld massagers is that unless the area of pain is reachable you need another person to operate it. While as an older person I have aches and pains all over my body like a lot of other people my back is the main offender.

This has been waiting since early 2014 to be reviewed; it came at the same time as the Pulse Oximeter and the Blood Pressure Cuff. The Pulse Oximeter worked immediately, the Blood Pressure Cuff when Android went to V5 but this had to wait for an iPad to arrive.

Music while you ride could well be what you do with this product as it is supplied with a handlebar mount. However it is still a perfectly good set of speakers for those of us who prefer music from the comfort of their armchairs.

Certainly a first for me, a Sat Nav designed for use on a bicycle, most car Sat Navs are totally unsuitable for such a job as their batteries have at best only a few hours of use before they expire without help from a cars battery.

It seems strange to talk about scales that use batteries but of course unless they are the old type that use weights all modern scales need a display and that normally needs at least a small battery. This is the exception it uses no battery.

Not the first back massage unit I have reviewed, as – like a lot of people of my age – I have a bad back they are always met with my backs apprehensive approval. This has one advantage over other powered units its small size when rolled up.

The latest offering from Braun to keep your face perfectly smooth, it is both a wet and dry shaver but unlike the last version I reviewed that had rubber sides this has a chrome effect and is therefore easier to drop if wet really means wet, like in the shower or bath.

Earlier this year I found a device that you do not need to wear that analyse your sleep patterns, that device came from Finland. Now a second somewhat similar device and they also come from Finland, my geography is not that great but two companies producing sleep analyst tools from a single European country is surely something a little unusual.

This is a French company that is perhaps best known for computers especially smaller offerings. Here as far as I know their first venture into weather prediction with a very comprehensive range of parts to give you accurate readings.

Men’s shavers tend to fall into a wet or dry category. However there are some products, of a more recent development, that are classified as being both wet and dry devices for use when removing the stubble that continues to appear on our faces.

When bleary eyed I viewed the first night sleep statistics on my Android phone I almost let out a cheer as at last a sleep monitor gives a real figure so you no longer feel you are going crazy with what other devices claim for sleep periods.

A visit to a riverside iconic London event centre introduced me to a stylish activity tracker that doubles as a hands-free earpiece.

This is the latest in a range of health and fitness items. It has one distinct difference in that it looks like a standard smart analogue watch. It is quite thin, is worn on the wrist, and, to anyone else looks exactly like a wrist watch.

This arrived shortly after the Mio Fuse, for something that uses the same App it works in quite a different way often to achieve the same goals. However its obvious differences are unlikely to matter to the user just getting the results.

There used to be a popular saying, in fact it could still be in use but I have not heard it recently, which implies “the older you get, the younger policemen appear!” I could also add from my own experiences that “the older you get, the steeper hills appear” or “the older you get, the longer it takes you to remove a product from its packaging.” This last statement sprang to mind as I struggled to extract the Withings Activité Pop offering from its protective casing. Admit

This is the latest fitness device to come my way, as I am now using Android 5 it should link without problem, it is stated to work with later versions of Android 4 with low power Bluetooth 4 and that is what you should check before purchase.

First an item I have reviewed before that anyone with high blood pressure needs, here though not the arm cuff but a wrist one. Second an item that anyone with Diabetes needs a testing device that automatically stores your daily readings for you.

A new corded vacuum from Vax however it’s not an upright nor is it a conventional pull along. Have they found a new way to clean your carpets and floors? I saw it at a recent visit to a popular London launch venue now I’m trying it out.

I am not a lover of evening presentations, probably because of the various medications I am on I cannot drink so I find the socialising a drag, let’s get down to the point of the event the presentation which was interesting and I got the chance to have a 1 to 1 with the scientist behind the event while the majority partied the evening away.

The Talkband is a hybrid device incorporating a bluetooth headset and a basic activity monitor. So how good is at these two distinct functions?

While a hairdryer is not the most important piece of electrical equipment to me I do not have hair down to my waist and anyone with long hair will certainly place such a thing higher on their must have list than the one compiled by myself.

Having looked at and used Epson’s first foray into health via watch that lets you log your pulse as well as much more I am here looking at another device, this one aimed at those whose aim is to get fit as well as those who just try to survive.

This is the last of five items requested from a press event I attended last autumn. I remember it being demonstrated around a course of obstructions to show its versatility and ease of twisting, only then was the extra feature unveiled.

Having looked at various Weather Stations over the years this was an item to cast my eyes over. Various units have been powered by battery and even solar power. This unit is powered by three ‘AA’ batteries the forth supplied battery powers the outside unit.

This neat electric shaver can be used as a dry shaver or as a wet shaver. For that top up before a night out when leaving the office its ideal. It also works exactly like a wet shaver when required, just lather up and shave in the normal way.

If your plates of meat are giving cause for concern then maybe this next product can be of assistance.

Last autumn I visited a venue called the Ice Tank, it was for a presentation from a company based in Germany that has a product to efficiently control your central heating, it even knows when the last person leaves or the first arrives back at your home.

Keeping a check on your blood pressure could provide an early warning of any health issues. This next product could help.

Wrist bands seem very popular here is one that has many functions, it can be a watch, an exercise monitor, a pedometer, it has a sleep tracker and with the aid of either an iOS or Android App this information can all be stored.

I think of Epson as a producer of printers and projectors, their parent company is Seiko so timing systems and quality watches are their bag. Here however a health product that combines a watch with a whole range of other features.