Fitbit Force Bracelet
If you're looking for an alternative to the Nike Fuel Band, the Fibit Force is something that might be worth checking out. Worn on your wrist like a watch, the Fibit Force tracks of all your daily activity ranging from the number of steps you take, distance traveled, calories burned, and it even monitors your sleep. It offers the convenience of owning a watch, and now it includes an improved OLED screen with the ability to sync with your phone through Bluetooth. The Fitbit Force offers an array of features, so if you're in need of some new wrist wear, head on over to Fitbit here.
[Via Uncrate]
Work From Home With The iRobot Ava 500
Being able to wear what you want and not dealing with a commute are a couple of the advantages of working from home. Cell phones, computers and the Internet make it easy to stay in constant communication with your coworkers or boss. One thing lacking is interpersonal interaction with the people you work with. A collaboration between iRobot and Cisco has changed that. The two have created the iRobot Ava 500, allowing you to work from anywhere and still be seen in the office. It features a "rolling base with a 21-inch HD screen, video camera, and WiFi connectivity all controlled from anywhere using an iPad." It's an interesting concept but I find it hard to believe anyone would want to have this in their apartment. Regardless, if your interested check out the iRobot Ava 500 here.
[Via Uncrate]
Activision becomes independent, buys $8.2 billion in shares from Vivendi
The largest video game publisher just became independent. Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind the Call of Duty, Warcraft, and Guitar Hero franchises, bought back an $8.2 billion share from parent company Vivendi earlier today. Under the Activision Blizzard name, 429 million shares that equate to roughly $5.83 billion will be bought, while Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and co-chairman Brian Kelly will head a group that will purchase 172 million shares (roughly $2.34 billion). Vivendi will still have a 12% stake/82 million shares in the company following the transaction.
This comes after Vivendi was looking to offload its shares in the video game company last summer. The French company, which also owns Universal Music Group (Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, etc.) and the French TV channel/movie production company Canal+, originally merged its Vivendi Games unit with Activision Blizzard for $9.8 billion in 2009. The move made Activision Blizzard the largest video game publisher alongside Electronic Arts.
With its newfound independence, Activision is banking on its franchises' successes without a parent company funding them. Considering the most recent Call of Duty game, Black Ops 2, made $1 billion in its first 15 days of release, I think it's safe to say Activision will be able to prosper on its own.
[via New York Times]