I took up swimming about a year and a half ago. I’m not very good, or fast. But the water is a place where I can get away from electronics, at least for an hour or so.
Then I found out about underwater MP3 players.
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been testing the Neptune MP3 player, made by a swim-equipment company called Finis, and a waterproofed iPod Shuffle, sold by Underwater Audio.
Lauren Goode\AllThingsD
Finis Neptune MP3 Player
The $ 160 Neptune is aimed at competitive or serious swimmers in need of some motivational music. Interestingly, the Neptune doesn’t use headphones: The music is transmitted to your inner ear through speakers strapped to your cheekbones. I doubt many people will want to go running with the Finis.
The Underwater Audio iPod can be used for lap swimming and, because it works like a regular iPod with earbuds, lounging around the pool. Underwater Audio sells the fourth-generation waterproof iPod Shuffle for $ 149 as a stand-alone device and for $ 165 with waterproof headphones.
This product isn’t sold by Apple, though the device is a legitimate iPod. Co-founder Scott Walker says Underwater Audio buys a bunch of iPod Shuffles, fills them with a proprietary waterproof sealant and resells them. There’s no external waterproof casing or cover.
Both players come with one-year warranties.
Sony also makes a nifty waterproof, Walkman-branded sports MP3 player, and couple of other companies sell waterproofed iPods.
Of the two I tested, I prefer the Underwater Audio iPod. If you’ve used an iPod Shuffle before, the tiny, square device feels familiar. It’s less bulky than the Neptune, and with the iPod, I didn’t worry that other people at the pool could hear my music.
Transferring songs to the iPod was easy. That process hasn’t changed: You attach it to your computer and transfer songs over to the device through iTunes. Depending on the files, the two-gigabyte device can hold up to 500 songs.
I clipped the iPod to the strap of my bathing suit; men can clip it to their goggle straps since the headphone cord is short.
The iPod felt unobtrusive in the pool. I was hooked.
The sound isn’t amazing. The music sounds better when you’re fully submerged than when you’re popping up for air. But the point of these devices isn’t to offer high-fidelity audio.
The only noticeable difference between the Underwater Audio iPod and an unaltered iPod is that you don’t feel a click when you press the play button. This is because the waterproof sealant leaves no room for the button to press in.
As much as I liked using the Underwater Audio iPod, the over-the-ear Swimbud headphones that came with the device hurt my ears after a while. Fortunately, the package includes interchangeable earbuds. Switching to the smallest buds alleviated some of the irritation.
Underwater Audio claims the iPod’s battery can last up to 24 continuous hours. I started getting audible low-battery warnings after about a week of use, which included four swim sessions, some dry-land use and a couple of irresponsible moments where I left the thing on in my backpack.
As for the Finis Neptune, it wasn’t my style, but for swimmers who wear earplugs to keep the water out and don’t want an in-ear music device, it works as promised.
The four-gigabyte Neptune also works with iTunes. Transferring the files from a computer was simple, but the Neptune kept freezing up on M4A music files. Removing all of the non-MP3 song files from the device fixed this.
The Neptune body is about the size of a matchbox. It includes a small screen, a power button, volume buttons and a back button. This part fastens to your goggle strap on the back of your head.
I’m not going to lie: The Neptune looks sort of geeky. There are two wires extending from either side that connect to the “bone-conducting speakers.” These clip to your goggles and rest on each side of your face. The left speaker has a play/pause button so you don’t have to reach to the back of your head to control the music.
The Neptune also sounds best when you’re completely underwater. If the music is cranked up enough, people nearby can hear it when you’re above water.
The bone-conducting speakers take a little getting used to. If I positioned the speakers at the wrong angles, there were gaps in my goggle straps, allowing water to come in.
Finis says the Neptune should last eight hours before needing to be recharged. I used it for a handful of swim sessions, and the battery never died.
I still like the idea of the water being a respite from technology, but if there’s one device that could be the exception for me, it might just be the waterproof iPod.
No comments:
Post a Comment