Wireless Wednesday for 4/20/16 - John Isner and Spring Sports Tech

Rick has had a busy week already.

In addition to being a sports tech writer and everything else he does, he's the Media and Commuications Manager for Atlanta's pro tennis tournament, the BB&T Atlanta Open.

And they had the top ranked American and world No. 15, John Isner in town this week for media obligations. Isner is the 3-time defending champion here in Atlanta and he's be going for 4 come the week of July 31 - Aug 7 at Atlantic Station.

 
Rick and Mitch take a look at some spring and summer sports and outdoors gadgets for 2016...

Have a listen to both parts:

1. Air Force One AFX Pro Series Irons - a great price for a premium set of golf irons

A premium set of irons for $399? How, when and where are going to be the next words out of most golfer's mouths. These said irons are the new AFX Pro Series irons and are part of the growing Air Force One line of golf products. There is secret sauce here in that the irons use compressed nitrogen, like the Air Force One driver that came out last year.

The AFX Pro Series replaces the forged Citation players' irons, featuring less offset and a thinner top line.  The AFX Pro Series features Nitrogen Charged technology in the 3- and 4- iron and an undercut cavity in the 5- iron thru PW.  In addition, the AFX Pro Series has matching muscle back 52-, 56- and 60- degree wedges.  The irons are soft cast which produces a soft impact feel and workability.
http://store.afogolf.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AFO-AFX-PRO-SERIES-IRONS

 

2. Thermacell Mosquito laterns

- Keep those biting insects away

I recommend Thermacell and their all encompassing line of mosquito repelling lanterns, torches and repellers. Thermacell does something no one else does and that is use their technology to put a repellant that is a copy of the insecticide produced by chrysanthemums in their products. It proves to be 98% effective and welcome relief to those looking to spend an afternoon or evening outdoors with family, friends or a good book.
"Thermacell products are 96% effective, approved by the EPA and tested by the US government for effectiveness," says a representative of Thermacell.

It's also odorless and runs on a single butane cartridge, that heats a repellent mat and releases allethrin, which is a synthetic copy of the natural repellent found in those chrysanthemum flowers that were mentioned above.

Thermacell says a latern will cover a 225-square feet area at up to four hours per mat or 12 hours for a refill kit. A Thermacell latern is not only more effective, but it is safer than using citronella candles.


 

3. Wilson Ultra 100 tennis racquet
$199.99

Easy power with the Ultra 100, as Wilson serves up an impressive combination of speed, power and spin. Like the best modern player's racquets, this stick blends an explosive feel with precise targeting, making it dangerous in the hands of those who like to dominate the court with pace and spin. Thanks to its firm Carbon Fiber layup and stiff dual tapered beam, the Ultra 100 has a crisp and lively response. The result is a racquet that has a very even feel across the entire stringbed, with less power loss on balls struck in the upper hoop (where many advanced players make contact). To boost comfort, Wilson gives this model a Cushion Foam Handle along with Parallel Drilling technology (which enables the strings to soak up extra vibration). From the baseline this racquet's maneuverable weight and 'whippy' head light balance are perfect for generating pace and spin. Our playtesters found it easy to flick sharp angles or hit running forehand winners. This stick's fast feel and lively response is definitely an asset on service returns where it comes around very fast to deliver penetrating depth. Finally, aggressive servers looking to work the entire box with pace and spin should have a blast with this one.

 

4. Tecnifibre strings, including the new Pro Red Code Wax

* Tennis players should always get their racquets restrung before the start of a new tennis season

Pro Red Code Wax.
An evolution of our Pro Red Code (1st coated polyester in the market. Played by John Isner).
The Pro Red Code Wax is softer and provides more spin (It includes Wax at the beginning of the process of fabrication. So it slides better = better snapback = more spin).
It’s an interesting string, especially as we try to exist on the market as the “softest brand of polyester”
 

5.  Piq - golf wearable

www.piq.com

A golf wearable that sensor that will be able to measure 3,000 different points per second and 13 different dimensions.
The sensore included a range finder and Mobitee will be providing maps of 35,000 golf courses around the globe using the finder. With this access users can automatically have insight on the yardage of greens and fairway of the golf course they are playing.

What you get is 18 NFC tags in the box.
15 of them are with a club name written and 3 of them are spare (with no name) to replace any loss or add specific club.

Position one tag on each of your club following the naming on each tag, you have to do it once for all.
A fixation clip should be inserted on the golf gloves. Position it on your left hand (if you are right-handed), it’s clipped on the top scratch of your glove. Insert PIQ arrow head towards your fingers, you’re ready to play!
 
 

The App of the Week:

Emoji Keyboard for Me app

(formerly known as Emoji Keypad)
New Emoji app

Emoji Keyboard for Me equips users with classic iOS emojis, hundreds of unique stickers and custom emoji combos for all their messaging needs, available right from the stylish color keyboard as well as in the app where it’s also possible to type in a variety of fonts or spell words with emojis.
The new update offers emoji lovers a redesigned app interface that allows for more intuitive navigation, improved word prediction and auto correction for all available keyboard languages and a handy search bar in both the content gallery and keyboard for finding the right emoji, sticker or combo in seconds. The app has also been optimized for the latest iOS devices including iPad Pro and 3D Touch support for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The new Emoji Keyboard for Me is on limited time sale now, it’s available on the App Store here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/emoji-keypad-new-emojis-color/id749094938?mt=8

Based on data gathered around the world from its popular Emoji Keyboard for Me app, the developer found that emojis with hand gestures dominated the rankings with “hugging face” emoji topping the list, followed by the “thinking face” with hand on chin. Other hand gesture emojis such as the (mean) spirited “middle finger” and “rock on” emojis placed fourth and tenth respectively. Rounding out the list were the “rolling eyes” face, the “slightly smiling” face (both rightside up and upside down), “bottle with popping cork,” “nerd” face, and “frowning” face.