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Wii Video Games Offer Real Exercise |
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Active Wii sports video games and some Wii fit activities may increase adults' energy expenditure as much as moderately intense exercise, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions.
The study funded by Nintendo, found that about one-third of the virtual physical activities require an energy expenditure of 3.0 METs or above, considered moderate-intensity exercise. METs are metabolic equivalent values, a standard method of estimating energy expenditure, researchers said.
"Energy expenditure is the most important information to measure the effect of video games," said Motohiko Miyachi, Ph.D., lead author of the study and head of a physical activity program at the National Institute of Health and Nutrition in Tokyo.
Researchers found:
Nine activities had less than 2 METs.
Twenty-three activities had 2-3 METs.
Nine activities had 3-4 METs.
Five activities had more than 4 METs.
"The range of energy expenditure in these active games is sufficient to prevent or to improve obesity and lifestyle-related disease, from heart disease and diabetes to metabolic diseases," Miyachi said.
Boxing was found to be the most effective Wii sports game with an energy expenditure of about 4.5 METs. Golf, bowling, tennis and baseball are 2.0, 2.6, 3.0 and 3.0 METs, respectively.
The most effective exercise on the Wii fit is the single arm stand, with 5.6 METs. Yoga and balance exercises were significantly lower than those of resistance and aerobic exercise, but these exercises work well in improving flexibility and fall prevention.
Americans and Japanese are increasingly overweight. About one-third of adults in the United States are overweight and almost one-third are obese, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
"Obesity and overweight is increasing in Japanese men," Miyachi said. "Twenty years ago, only 20 percent Japanese middle-aged men were obese and overweight, now it is more than 30 percent."
Miyachi, who also plays active video games, recommends these active games rather than sedentary video games.
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Mobile Phone Market Shows Signs Of Improvement |
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The global mobile phone market saw slight growth in the third quarter, according to IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker.
Year-on-year growth remained negative, but improved from the first half of 2009. Mobile shipments totaled 287.1 million units worldwide in Q3, down from 6 percent from the previous year, but up 5.6 percent from the second quarter.
"The mobile phone market is showing the first signs of improvement since the onset of the economic crisis," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team.
"During the third quarter, we saw a number of channels promoting older devices at significantly lower prices. For many, this was enough to spur demand and push volumes higher. Now that we have moved into the fourth quarter, vendors are setting the stage for further gains by launching their flagship devices to meet pent-up demand."
The North American market posted mixed results for Q3. The United States posted positive results, with mobile devices and prepaid handsets once again driving growth. The Canadian mobile phone market declined for the third straight despite double-digit mobile device growth.
Nokia took the top spot in market share with 37.8 percent, but its year-on year growth dipped 8 percent. Samsung landed in the second spot with 21 percent market share and positive year-on-year growth of 15.9 percent.
"Although some regions are still reeling from problems associated with the economic crisis, the third quarter served to cleanse the channel while providing the signs of stability necessary for additional improvement in the fourth quarter," said Will Stofega, research manager of IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team
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ICANN Approves International Domains |
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The first Internet addresses with non-Latin characters will soon be online after today's approval of the new Internationalized Domain Name Fast Track Process by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
"The coming introduction of non-Latin characters represents the biggest technical change to the Internet since it was created four decades ago," said ICANN chairman Peter Dengate Thrush.
"Right now Internet address endings are limited to Latin characters - A to Z. But the Fast Track Process is the first step in bringing the 100,000 characters of the languages of the world online for domain names."
ICANN said starting November 16 nations and territories will be able to apply for internationalized domain names (IDNs) made up of characters from their national language.
"This is only the first step, but it is an incredibly big one and an historic move toward the internationalization of the Internet," said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's President and CEO.
"The first countries that participate will not only be providing valuable information of the operation of IDNs in the domain name system, they are also going to help to bring the first of billions more people online - people who never use Roman characters in their daily lives."
IDNs have been an issue since before ICANN was created. ICANN said its taken years of technical testing, policy development, and global co-operation to prepare for the launch of the Fast Track process.
"Our work on IDNs has gone through numerous drafts, dozens of tests, and an incredible amount of development by volunteers since we started this project. Today is the first step in moving from planning and implementation to the real launch," said Tina Dam, ICANN's Senior Director for IDNs.
"The launch of the Fast Track Process will be an amazing change to make the Internet an even more valuable tool, and for even more people around the globe."
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More People Relying On The Internet To Buy Vehicles |
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Searching online for used vehicles has become the primary way for consumers to locate used automobiles, according to new a report by J.D. Power and Associates.
The report found the percentage of used-vehicle buyers who rely on the Internet as a way for locating vehicles for sale has increased from 40 percent in 2008 to 46 percent in 2009, equal to the percentage of buyers who visit dealer lots as their main shopping method. In addition, 31 percent of buyers found the vehicle they eventually purchased on the Internet, compared with 28 percent of buyers who found their vehicle by visiting dealerships.
"Internet shopping provides prospective buyers with the opportunity to search through enormous amounts of specific vehicle information without ever leaving home, allowing for a more efficient medium of matching buyers with unique used vehicles in the market," said Arianne Walker, director of marketing and media research at J.D. Power and Associates.
"In light of this, dealers should expect the Internet to continue to increase in importance among used-vehicle shoppers and adjust their online presence accordingly."
The report also found that awareness of certified pre-owned (CPO vehicle programs is strong, with more than 60 percent of used-vehicle buyers indicating they intend to purchase certified pre-owned vehicles at the start of their shopping process.
One-half of all buyers of CPO vehicles say they used the Internet to locate used vehicles, while a slightly lower percentage (45%) shopped primarily by driving to dealer lots. The percentage of buyers who visited dealer Web sites specifically for CPO vehicle information has increased considerably to 29 percent in 2009, compared with 19 percent in 2008.
Among used vehicle buyers who use the Internet in their shopping process, third party sites are visited during the shopping process more frequently than other types of sites, including dealer websites. The majority (91%) of buyers say they visited at least one third-party websites during the shopping process.
"Not only has visitation increased for third-party sites, but they also continue to be viewed as the most useful sites during the shopping process," said Walker. "Overall, users rate sites such as AutoTrader, Cars.com, and Edmunds highly for overall usefulness. In addition, certain third-party sites are also well regarded for usefulness in specific areas.
"For example, sites like AutoTrader and eBay Motors are perceived as particularly useful for inventory information, while buyers report that ConsumerReports.org and Edmunds are useful for vehicle appraisals and reviews. Sites such as Kelley Blue Book are perceived as being particularly useful for pricing information."
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