Endomondo Sports Tracker; Yoga at Work – review

Two new BlackBerry apps should make your heart beat faster, whether outside or in the office
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Endomondo Sports Tracker, apps
'Allows users to challenge friends': Endomondo Sports Tracker.

BlackBerrys have been having a hard time of late. Once everybody's favourite fruit-based smartphone, Apple came along and knocked them off their perch. With the launch of the new touchscreen Z10 handset, and the accompanying BB10 operating system, RIM is hoping it can make the BlackBerry brand relevant again. A key part of this is expanding its app offerings beyond the stuffy business-based downloads it's known for.

Endomondo Sports Tracker (free) is a handy pocket personal trainer that tracks various outdoor exercises, from running to skiing. Using the phone's GPS it monitors distance, speed and duration to calculate calories burnt and provide an accurate record of your workouts. It also allows users to challenge friends and give peptalks as they train. It's a far cry from the constant blinking red light of another work email with which BlackBerrys are more commonly associated.

Yoga at Work (Stress Reliever) (Dawnsun, £1.50) offers a more sedate form of exercise. With a combination of videos and written instructions, it guides the user through a series of exercises which can be done in your office chair. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide an automated service to explain to those around you why you're twisting around in front of the computer like a T rex trying to put on a rucksack.

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