massage

The never-ending foot massage

If there's one thing American consumers are obsessed with, it's vibrating chairs and other massage equipment. The problem, of course, is that the experience lasts only as long as the salesperson at Sharper Image will let you use them.

But the "Good Vibrations Therapeutic Vibrating Shoes" allow you to get an all-day foot massage with a built-in high-frequency vibrating mechanism, according to the Raw Feed. They even have in-sole toggle switches and rechargeable batteries.

These have got to be some of the geekier products we've seen in awhile, but we might still be willing to … Read more

iJoy Ride: A saucy in-home rodeo

Although it's very aptly named, we're not sure Interactive Health's iJoy Ride will primarily be used for physical fitness.

The idea is simple: You sit on it, and the $479 iJoy Ride gyrates willy-nilly like one of those mechanical coin-operated horses in front of the grocery store. Through its "pitching," "rolling," and "yawing" motions, it promises to strengthen your core muscles.

That may be true, but it's hard to believe it will strengthen your core muscles as much as laughing hysterically at the demo video will. Yes, the iJoy Ride demo video … Read more

Sanyo's lie-detecting massage chair

We have a theory (yes, another one). We've often wondered why shopping malls continue to thrive, despite the convenience of online commerce, but then it dawned on us: massage chairs. So we suspect that there's a secret cartel among all retailers to develop them in new forms all the time.

The latest conspirator to surface is Sanyo, with its "Zero Gravity" model. Language from its press release sounds like it came straight from NASA's R&D labs: Using its "Stiffness Detection Sensor" technology, the chair "diagnoses stress areas by measuring changes … Read more

New Year's Resolution: Stop caring about pointless USB devices

In the end-of-'06 wrap-up madness, there are a whole lot of people talking about Web 2.0, YouTube, social media, connected-home technology, the Wii and its corresponding Wiinjuries...the list goes on. But there's been almost no mention of the rash of completely useless USB-powered devices that infested the gadget market in 2006 with a viciousness that can only be compared to bubonic plague in a medieval village or head lice in a kindergarten classroom. I mean, they were everywhere. They're so ubiquitous, in fact, that I've decided I'm not going to touch 'em in '… Read more

Forget the chairs--get a massage bed

Anyone who's been to a mall in the last decade or so knows that massage chairs are a dime a dozen (well, maybe a few grand a dozen). But what about a massage bed? Now we're talking.

The "Heated Shiatsu MassageBed" from Relax The Back isn't just one of those vibrating quarter-operated motel beds, as its $1,995 price tag indicates. Not only does it have all the features of a fully loaded massage chair, but it also has 14 rollers made of jade. That's right, as in the jewelry.

"Since jade is … Read more

That's right, an eye massager

A USB eye warmer has gotten a fair amount of virtual ink lately for reasons we can't quite fathom, but here's something that we think can top it: The "Eyezone Eye Massager."

According to the product literature: "The vibrating foam pads of the electronic Eyezone Eye Massager work on the pressure points at the temples, across the cheekbones and the bridge of the nose to improve blood circulation, release tension and aid stress management for a drug-free headache cure." Right.

And it "can help delay the coming of presbyopia--age-related vision loss caused by … Read more