iPosture: ShinyShiny reviews the posture-correcting gadget and sits up straight

As I type, a small plastic circle attached to my brastrap is buzzing. No it’s not the latest kooky sex toy – it’s the iPosture device. And it’s buzzing me because I’m slouching. We reported on this little posture-improving gadget once before and now – ladies and gents, it’s launching in the UK.

Follow on after the jump

Like your mum yelling at you when you slouch, the iPosture gadget buzzes once when you “deviate” from your “desired posture” by 3 degrees for over 60 seconds. It buzzes you twice when you’ve kept doing it despite being warned. If you keep slouching after the second warning, it just shuts itself off in exasperation for 15 minutes. It has done that to me twice in the past hour.

The little 3cm wide device is easy to use – attach, stand up straight and set it to recognise your optimal position by pushing the button. It attaches to necklaces, bra straps or you can just glue it to your chest. (I’m not testing that out.) Because it waits for a minute before vibrating on you, it doesn’t pick up on you bending over or jiggling around.

It’s good for work when you’re hunched in front of the computer and it’s good for times when you’re by yourself and “are willing to work on your posture” as they put it. I haven’t tried this in social situations – but my gut instinct is – don’t. People aren’t going to think – oh my that woman has such great posture; they’re more likely to think – why does that woman have strange vibrating bump on her chest?

However, I’ve discovered my posture gets worse when I’m concentrating properly on something – in which case it’s slightly distracting getting a vibration on my collarbone, though of course in an ideal world, I would able to concentrate without making like the hunchback of Notre Dame.

So… is it worth £54.99 for a intelligent nano-sensor with a buzzer? Um, well, you’re not just buying a device with the iPosture, you seem to buy a whole posture philosophy. It comes with the book: “Young, Sexy and Healthy! The Ten Best Exercises for Your Posture”. (Strap line – “Get it Straight!”) and there’s an associated iPhone app with training exercises. Plus two spare lithium 3v batteries.

So… if posture is a major concern to you, and you would be prepared to take the raised eyebrows and spend time at night practising Kneeling Ball Rotation with a giant squishy exercise ball, then this is the posture-correcting device for you.

And yes: apparently good posture makes you more attractive (women) look more successful (men) and takes 2 inches off your waistline (everyone). Look at the picture of the slouchy woman for goodness sake! Do you want to end up with a belly pooch?!

The iPosture: £54.99 from www.iPostureDirect.co.uk