Reebok Unveils High-Tech Sneaker Pump 2.0
604827
Hoping to build on the success of a shoe that generated big sales but also some snickers when it was introduced 15 years ago, Reebok Inc.
182538
The US$100-plus sneaker is back with a vengeance touting a range of bells and whistles that will have you walking in air with no need for laces ever again.
547566
InfoWorld - One of Europe&#39;s largest shoe companies plans to embed wireless chips in shoes sold at hundreds of stores across the continent.
276367
By KELLI KENNEDY  MIAMI - Isaac Daniel calls the tiny Global Positioning System chip he's embedded into a line of sneakers "peace of mind." He wishes his 8-year-old son had been wearing them when he got a call from his school in 2002 saying the boy was missing.
480628
A novel set of input devices aim to reduce repetitive stress injuries by going vertical.
133
NEW ORLEANS - A polyester mesh stocking pulled over the bottom of a weak heart can help it pump better, according a new study. &quot;It is sort of breakthrough technology,&quot; said Dr.
462923
Servers, e-mail applications, and other less-than-chic combinations of hardware and software typically inhabit the technology realm. Linen is rarely equated with LEDs, while discussing couture along with the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard is almost laughable.However, last Wednesday night at the Boston Museum of Science, the IT industry shed its wonkish ways and demonstrated that it can be in vogue during a fashion show that blended technology with threads. Seamless: Computational Couture featured about 20 designers and design teams from around the world who created garments and accessories influenced by technology.Like its counterparts in New York and Europe, this fashion show featured disc jockeys spinning electronic music, a sports celebrity and, of course, leggy models. And like every fashion show, this iteration featured a runway. A section of the museum with an open floor plan served as the catwalk. Models started their strut on the third floor, took the escalator to the second floor where they sashayed for a bit before boarding another escalator to the ground floor for more sauntering.The colorful fabric, avant-garde designs and crowd of 1,000 all blended harmoniously with technology, making the domain of the IBMs and Googles feel stylish and sexy.&quot;All of the technology is really there,&quot; said Christine Liu, who co-produced the event and helped found the Seamless shows, with this event serving as the third. &quot;The genius behind it is finding the application, the way it&#39;s integrated into the garment, the aesthetics of it, the motivation behind it, and that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re looking for. This sort of composite poetry.&quot;The applications of technology to fashion proved myriad. Featured designs included clothing that powers portable electronic devices, jackets for measuring Wi-Fi signal strength and displaying messages via LED (light-emitting diode) and a ring that applies a tech twist to showy jewelry.Cognoscenti debate whether fashion should place function or form first. Amanda Parkes and Adam Kumpf combine both principles by designing stylish garments that generate their own power. The duo featured a shirt in a dark cooper fabric with an off-the-shoulder neckline, turquoise trim at the neck and what appeared to be decorative buttons around the elbows and waistline. The buttons are actually coin batteries that store voltage created as the wearer moves. The shirt is woven with piezoelectric film fibers around the body&#39;s joints. These fibers convert the mechanical strain created by motion into electrical voltage. The stored power can be used to recharge portable devices, such as an MP3 player.Wi-Fi is used to connect to the Internet, but Jenny Chowdhury, a resident researcher at New York University, also uses the technology to illuminate her line of clothing, 802.11 Apparel. She uses hacked Wi-Fi detectors and LEDs, among other technology, in her designs. The detector picks up signals as a person walks, and rows of LEDs illuminate to indicate the signal&#39;s strength. On the jacket she presented, five horizontal fabric panels with a flower motif ran from the right side of the clothing to its center. The panels, transparent in some sections, allowed the light from strings of blue LEDs to shine through. One glowing row meant a weak signal while a strong signal lit up all five rows.In addition to technology, nature influenced Chowdhury&#39;s design.&quot;Since the beginning of time we&#8217;ve borrowed from the environment to decorate garments,&quot; she said. &quot;Since Wi-Fi is such a large part of the environment now, I thought I would integrate it in that same way. So that&#8217;s why there&#8217;s a floral motif on top of the bars for Wi-Fi.&quot;Fashionistas unanimously support the belief that clothes should make a statement. Barbara Layne&#39;s pair of black linen jackets truly execute on this concept. Messages and graphics are uploaded to the jackets and scrolled across an array of LEDs that are handwoven into the back of the outerwear.The garments can display separate messages individually. However, when magnets in the jackets&#39; cuffs connect, a third, different message scrolls from one jacket to the other. In an homage to weaving and the technological advances it represented, Layne displays the jacket&#39;s electronic components on the back.&quot;We&#39;re exposing the technology because we want to show integration between textiles and technology,&quot; said Layne, who is a professor at Concordia University in Montreal.Rappers sport bling and socialites wear diamonds. Thanks to Markus Kison, technophiles now have their piece of status jewelry. A small horizontal display on his Vanity Ring shows the number of times the wearer&#39;s name has been searched on Google. The ring comes with software that people use to enter their names and link to Google. The ring is updated with the latest tally after it is placed in its accompanying docking station.While this jewelry isn&#39;t on the market, Kison, who studied physics in Germany, cautions that the ring is only for special, Google-worthy people.&quot;So this ring is really about important people,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#8217;s really like this because no one would wear a ring with a thousand hits on it.&quot;Perhaps that is why Manny Delcarmen, a pitcher for the reigning World Series champion baseball team the Boston Red Sox, modeled Kison&#39;s creation.This fashion show may serve as a harbinger of the future, one that combines technology that allows Web access or powers PCs with what people wear to work or a restaurant. After all, Prada designed a cell phone and Marc Jacobs sold iPod holders. Watch the runway to find out.
536687
I put on a pair of sneakers and walk around the room in the division of biomechanical engineering at Stanford University. The sneakers are a cool go-go white with the Nike logo. They look like the real Nike; they feel like the real Nike. But they are actually experimental shoes in disguise --...
464081
Nike Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. have teamed up to try to become a runner&#039;s best friend. The two companies announced Tuesday they are jointly developing a wireless system so some Nike shoes embedded with a sensor can communicate with Apple&#039;s iPod Nano music player to track a runner&#039;s performance and help choreograph songs to the moment.
720211
(InfoWorld) - Vending machines are not just about soda and candy and chips anymore. Wireless technologies that enable credit card purchases are spurring companies to market a wider variety of items from vending machines--everything from suntan lotion to golf balls to consumer electronics. Say, for example, your cell phone dies and you desperately need to replace it. These days you can simply buy a new one from a vending machine. How about a new pair of shoes? For awhile, Reebok was selling sneakers this way. "Cashless is really opening up the marketplace for what one would call very high-ticket items," says Steve Herbert, president and chief operating officer for USA Technologies. His company's e-Port hardware, which can be installed in vending machines, handles credit card processing, tracks inventory and monitors the "health and welfare" of the machines, alerting technicians in case of trouble. The device, used by customers including Motorola and Reebok, includes a general packet radioÂ­ service cellular connection. While the wireless credit card payment capability solves the problem of requiring end users to stuff $100 or more in cash into a machine, it also solves a related problem: At $1.50 or $2 for a soda, the currency systems in a soda machine can fill up before the machine is empty, Herbert says, cutting into potential sales and profits. Operators want to allow users to buy with credit cards in order to be able to sell every last item in the machine. The e-Port and related software also fuel a variety of wireless applications beyond vending. Sony uses software from USA Technologies in digital photo printing kiosks to enable credit card authorization and head off problems. For example, if paper runs out, the software tells a technician that it's time for a refill. Next up: a vending machine that sells gold wedding rings? It would be a hit in Las Vegas for sure.
243359
Nike on Tuesday unveiled what it said is the first shoe designed specifically for American Indians, an effort aiming at promoting physical fitness in a population with high obesity rates.
88641
These sneakers are going for more than $5,000 on charity auction site Blue Sole. Check out CNET's new gadgets blog, Crave, which covers the hottest and coolest gizmos around.
4302
Nike Inc. said on Tuesday that its  shoes will now be able to talk to Apple Computer Inc.&#039;s iPod  music players about how far anathlete has run with a new  wireless system called Nike+iPod.
568848
(InfoWorld) - One of Europe's largest shoe companies plans to embed wireless chips in shoes sold at hundreds of stores across the continent. Under a deal announced Friday, Checkpoint Systems will provide RenoÂ with RFID (radio frequency identification) tags and store tagging systems. The tagging specialist will deliver wafer-thin RFID chips designed especially for shoes from its Asian production facilities, in addition to systems that allow check-out clerks to quickly and easily deactivate tagged products. By having the tags integrated into it shoes, Reno aims to curb theft for both boxed products and those on display, as well as shoes customers try on in the stores. Reno has been using RFID technology to track product shipments from its factories to its stores for several years but has not yet used the technology to track individual products inside each store. The shoe company, based in Thaleischweiler-Froschen, Germany, operates more than 700 stores in 15 countries. It is a member of the Hamm-Reno-Group (HR Group), which has more than 1,700 outlets across Europe. Last year, Checkpoint Systems landed a deal with GermanÂ retail giant MetroÂ to supply RFID systems. The German retail giant, with more 2,300 supermarkets and wholesale, department and electronics stores, is collaborating with several IT companies, including IBM, Intel, and SAP, and more than 40 additional consumer goods and technology suppliers to develop RFID systems for the retail sector. RFID tagging is expected to be a main theme at this year's Cebit trade show, which begins March 15 in Hanover, Germany.
115715
Red pumps. Silver slingbacks. Bronze flats. Black suede boots. Size 7 1/2, please.
733103
How a pair of turnaround specialists got footwear maker R.G. Barry back on its feet
307969
This year saw the debut of some great new products. These include the cell phone that keeps track of blood sugar levels and the digital music player that indicates how fast you run.