Ever regret purchasing a hard-cover book from Amazon now that there's a cheaper e-book version available? Now you don't have to. According to a Mashable article by Samantha Murphy Kelly, Amazon has released a program called Matchbook which allows you to purchase a discounted Kindle edition of any print book you've bought on the site. Just how discounted will these e-versions be? These e-books will cost up to $2.99, but some e-versions will be free. This includes any print books you've purchased since Amazon first launched its online bookstore in 1995.
Amazon Matchbook
Matchbook was announced on Sept. 3 and was officially released today, Oct. 29. Amazon came up with Matchbook after multiple customers asked for combined digital and print content. Amazon reached out to publishers and authors to enroll in Matchbook which would bring additional revenue to the platform and to the writers. The program offers over 70,000 books, which is a massive increase from the 10,000 available books it had in September.
Some of the available Kindle Matchbooks
I believe Amazon has hit the jackpot with this idea. I am one of those hard-cover lovers, but also like the idea of my books being mobile. Now I can purchase a print book, write all over it if I want, and use my e-version when I'm on the go. Matchbook is giving its customers the best of both worlds and will spark popularity with paper book fans. The only downfall I see is having to pay extra for the e-version. Even though the digital edition will be inexpensive, I hate to hand over additional money when I just purchased a print book. Maybe an Amazon Kindle competitor will pick up on this idea and allow customers to receive digital editions free with the purchase of a print edition. What are your thoughts on Amazon Matchbook?
You're working out at the gym and about to do your last set of deadlifts. You feel your arms and thighs quivering, but you push yourself anyway resulting in a torn muscle. The next time you work out and feel your muscles burning, you decide to skip your last set because you're afraid of another injury. How can we know when our body has reached its physical limit? According to a Mashable article by Dani Frankhauser, there is now a fitness device that will let us know whether its time to push ourselves or to take a break. This innovative device, created by Indiegogo, is called PUSH.
PUSH is a wearable fitness device that measures balance, tempo, force and strength. The device is meant to be worn only during a workout. For right now, PUSH can only track 10 exercises including squats, deadlifts, kettlebell lifts, pull ups, push ups and bench presses. The device is able to determine whether you should increase your weight load if you're not showing signs of fatigue after several sets. PUSH also comes with a free app for either Android or iPhone and a web portal.
Indiegogo is using crowdfunding in order to reach its fundraising goal. After only a few days live, PUSH is halfway to their goal. A beta version of PUSH will be released to over 1,000 users in December, but devices purchased through Indiegogo will be ready to ship by April 2014. The device will cost around $149.
As a gym rat, I am ecstatic about this new technology. I believe there is a fine line between pushing yourself and overexerting yourself when working out. Instead of guessing when I should quit, PUSH will keep me alerted. PUSH is also planning on incorporating a heart rate monitor, which would increase the device's accuracy. I wish there were more exercises the device could track, but Indiegogo states PUSH will include more exercises in time.
Besides being useful to workout fanatics, I think PUSH would be valuable for fitness professionals. Personal trainers could use PUSH on their clients to know whether he or she is working at their full potential. If this technology works as Indiegogo has designed, numerous people could be kept from injuring themselves during exercise. I plan on splurging on PUSH as soon as it's available to consumers.
