The stand is bundled with a special, contact-charging battery that replaces the standard AAs. You load the battery into the board, the board into the stand, and ZAMMO! Your Balance Board recharges. Mad Catz also used some of the stand's body to integrate two USB ports, in case you'd like to recharge any of your other gear. And a foot pedal makes for an easy board release.

Look for the Power Up Charging Stand this August for $40. [Mad Catz]

A quick look at the measurements reveals that this generic board is roughly 2 1/2 inches narrower than Nintendo's board and almost an inch shallower front to back. I can't speak for everyone here, but my size 12s are already poking their way off Nintendo's board. I can't imagine using an even more cramped peripheral for Wii Fit.

But should you be a Lilliputian, you may benefit from the electric blue non-slip surface. Like Lam. That guy might love this thing. (I squish your head, Brian Lam. I squi- OK, please don't fire me...I swear your head will be fine with a little rehab.) [Chinavasion via CrunchGear]

The WiSkab has the size of a full skate deck. It works with different skate and snowboarding games for the Wii, like Skate it or Shaun White's Snowboarding. [TechDigest]

The acupressure dots that cover the top of the pad act as a massaging agent for your feet—plus it should provide extra traction when you are dizzy with effort and sliding on your own slippery sweat. The only problem is that I don't think that Wii Fit is all that it is cracked up to be in the first place. [Amazon via Technabob]

I wondered about a way to get fitter, work out without having to go running outside (although that is very healthy). I didn't think the Wii balance board would do the trick, as the Wii games where reported not to be very intense, and the board itself is to hard for running on it. So what is different about the Swiiboard is that can absorb running effort, measure the effort and perhaps that it can use those measurements to control a virtual environment. It turned out this can be achieved using a Wiimote controller.

For sure, it looks like he's suffering a lot doing that. However, instead of going through that forest of cylinders, this invention calls for EA's Fred & Ginger Sim.

Here is how the board is "built".

[Swiitboard via Hackaday]

Just like in its Wii progenitor, this program follows a simple pattern: feet control bass drums, while the swinging hands take care of each other components, depending on which button is depressed during movement. For such a simple hack it's kind of impressive how accurately the sounds are matched to movements, and the possibility of endless drum sample customization means that with some refining, this could actually serve as a passable—if minimal—electronic drum kit. [He Zhao]

Playing Wii Fit by yourself is lonely. But here, playing along with a maid makes exercising enjoyable.

He is right. And yes, I love French maid dresses. Not to wear them, though. Too bad Brian has left Japan already, because this called for a hands-on. [Refresh Club (NSFW) via Kotaku]

Now, this post is similar to Juan González did back in June with his robot, but we'd argue it lacks the personality of Tajima's cleaning creation, which combines vacuuming with limited physical fitness.

And, let's face it, stumbling around Azeroth and Google Earth has nothing on a Roomba. [Wii Balance Board Blog via Kotaku]

-The Balance Board features a pressure sensor which detects your weight shifts and predicts the movement for the rest of your body.

-There are a number of standard fitness activities included such as balancing exercises, pushups, yoga, BMI calculation and other calisthenics.

-Also included are a number of mini games such as hula hoop, soccer and a marble madness-type game which use the Balance Board in interesting ways.

-What's bound to become a favorite is the rhythm game that looks like a bastard mix between DDR and a Richard Simmons video (red tank top and short shorts not required).

Wii Fit(TM): This experience builds on the active-play phenomenon
started by Wii Sports(TM). It comes packed with the pressure-sensitive
Wii Balance Board (name not final) that measures users' actions in fun
aerobic, toning and balance activities. Wii Fit also promotes
communication about health among family members, as everyone can review
one another's progress on a new channel on the Wii Menu. Coming in the
first half of 2008.

Jason Chen: First demoed is one leg stretch, where you stand on one leg and stretch. Maintain balance to strengthen your legs. 10:04

Jason Chen: "We thought the Wii was a device to be placed in the living room", and should be accessible to everyone in the home. And the one application they need is health.
10:03

Jason Chen: Miyamoto says: "The one game I wanted to introduce to you at E3 was WiiFit (not Mario Galaxy)."
10:02

Jason Chen: Videos' over, and three fit-looking people are on stage, along with Shiggy Miyamoto.
10:01

Jason Chen: Other games, pushups, Yoga, soccer games, dancing games, all look like they use the pad/mat/whatever this thing is called. Name will show up shortly.
10:00

Jason Chen: The last game they're revealing, Wii Fit, features a new accessory: a scale-like device you stand on. There's some workout demos on screen now.