September 5th, 2006
Dumbest Gadget Ever: The HydraCoach Nagging Water Bottle
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
Let’s face it, sometimes you do not need technology to solve your problems. Case in point: remembering to drink water. Most people keep a water bottle on their desk, or try and stay hydrated, but the brains at Sportline have come up with a digital water bottle that essentially nags you when you have slid past optimal hydration into…well, into sub-optimal hydration.
Based on beyond-obvious claims (water is good for you) and a panel of “their own doctors” the gang at HydraCoach has decided that you need to park your Perrier in this costly smart bottle in order to maintain your own “personal hydration goals.” Goes on sale December 2006 for $29.95
The HydraCoach® is the worlds first Interactive Water Bottle. It calculates your personal hydration needs, tracks your real-time fluid consumption, paces you throughout the day and motivates you to achieve and maintain optimal hydration. Our Doctors, Nutritionists and Fitness Trainers all recommend that we drink more water yet there has never been a device to help us adhere to the experts recommendations. The HydraCoach® is the only product of its kind and a breakthrough in personal hydration monitoring. Source: Sportline via The RawFeed
We Say: Sub-Optional hydration? Oh noes…….Make it a BeerCoach with a built in breathalyzer and now you’re talking. The water we can handle just fine on our own.
Alice Adds: We thought last week’s Hipster Personal Trailer was the worst use of technology ever, but at least it didn’t involve chips and an LCD read-out. This is just plain wrong. And can you picture mastering the user interface? There are more buttons on the thing than taps on a faucet. I’ll take this instead. Or maybe this!
Laz says:
Great, just want I want to hear after a long jog around the block, a water bottle nagging me to do something. When will it all end?!?!?
September 5th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
smithy says:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp
September 5th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
Awol says:
Some people do need a reminder, but I think this much nagging would soon cause the bottle to be relegated to a soundproof box (or hole in the ground).
However, my 92-yr-old mother needs something to remind her to drink water more often. Who knows, this might work….
For myself, I’ll take the BeerCoach.
September 5th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
sara says:
How do it know?
September 26th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
B squared says:
I think this is a great idea. I know I should drink water when I backpack but often forget. Last year I failed to reach a peak because I got dehydrated.
November 25th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
MWC says:
Active people are advised to drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day…. Trying to keep a little count of those glasses is the objective with this device… The look of the device is peculiar and could be done with low tech but who cares… I imagine those who would complain about this device hardly drink any water at all and drink sodas or stupid energy drinks. If you feel the need to complain then you are possibly just a born winer like the author of the article (at least he gets paid for it!) … :0)
Like any handheld gadget, don’t knock it till you have tried it… You can still laugh… just don’t go overboard on your opinion until you have tried it. Remember, sodas are just good tasting expensive sugar water that some billion dollar companies have been making huge profits off caffeine addicts for close to 100 years. Now who’s stupid, the caffiene/sugarwater addicts that spend hundreds of $$$ during their lifetime or a person who spends $30 on a Hydracoach?
February 23rd, 2007 at 3:58 pm
MWC says:
Sorry Alice… I meant she, not he!!!!
) I must be such a bigot in your eyes 
)
February 23rd, 2007 at 4:01 pm
MWC says:
I forgot to say (noticed someone said that someone said that the device makes a sound and would be annoying)… I have used one and it doesn’t make any sounds. It looks like the manufacturer made the final device without any alarm (unlike what their website says).
February 23rd, 2007 at 4:05 pm