headphon WEARABLE 0 87 0 Introducing Buttons, the new wireless headphones

The market for Bluetooth speakers and earphones has never been more competitive, but that hasn’t stopped musician turned tech entrepreneur Will.i.am from launching his own. Presented as a...

The market for Bluetooth speakers and earphones has never been more competitive, but that hasn’t stopped musician turned tech entrepreneur Will.i.am from launching his own.

Presented as a fashion accessory meets wireless in-ear headphone, the product is called Buttons, and the name suits the simple yet classy design of the device. Each unit is covered on the outside with a quarter-sized circular disc reminiscent of a vinyl record — a design touch the company deliberately made to reference the music business pedigree of its founder.

However, what makes this venture different from Will.i.am’s previous wearable tech outing is that he has pulled in two major celebrities as stakeholders in the venture: model and actress Naomi Campbell and reality-television-star-turned-model Kendall Jenner. In addition to serving as the faces of the Buttons brand, they are also financial partners — meaning they reap the benefits if the product takes off.ithubcenter

“If you care about glasses and you buy glasses to go with your wallet and your wallet to go with your watch, your headphones should be the same,” says Will.i.am, speaking of his decision to involve Jenner and Campbell to reach more style-conscious consumers. “[These aren’t] headphones that you buy and you put in your pocket.”

After meeting with Will.i.am in Tribeca to talk about the launch, I spent a few days with Buttons to see how they performed.

Puma’s self-lacing shoes were made

Nike has some competition. Though the company has gotten a lot of attention for its Back to the Future-inspired HyperAdapt sneakers, it’s not the only brand working on...

Nike has some competition. Though the company has gotten a lot of attention for its Back to the Future-inspired HyperAdapt sneakers, it’s not the only brand working on self-lacing shoes. Almost a year ago, Puma showed off its own self-lacing sneakers, called the Autodiscs, and seeded them to the likes of Usain Bolt and Rickie Fowler. Since then the company has had little to say about these rare shoes, but I recently had the chance to get an exclusive look at them and even try them on, courtesy of our friends over at Hong Kong-based Internet of Things accelerator Brinc.

In a nutshell, the Autodiscs are sneakers with built-in motors that loosen or tighten internal laces wrapped around the front part of the foot. This is done with a push of a button on the shoes or in the companion smartphone app. While some may dismiss this technology as an excuse for those who are too lazy to bend down to tie their laces, it can actually minimize hassle for sprinters who frequently have to re-tighten their laces on the track.

All told, the Autodiscs have two real advantages over Nike’s HyperAdapt. One is that the motors are embedded in the tongues instead of beneath the soles, thus allowing the Autodisc to flex more like ordinary sneakers. Second, the HyperAdapt lacks smartphone connectivity whereas the Autodisc let you jump straight to your desired tightness for each shoe (the tightness is offered in three levels) as well as monitor its battery levels. Speaking of the sort, to recharge the shoes, just place the heels on the accompanying wireless-charging mat until the indicators stop blinking.ithubcenterithubcenter

What the Autodiscs do miss out on is the HyperAdapt’s automatic self-tightening feature: As soon as you put on the HyperAdapt, the pressure sensor in the heels toggles the self-lacing mechanism, meaning you don’t have to lean down to push a button to manually tighten the shoes

These shoes feel as if they come from the future.In my time wearing the Autodiscs, they felt very much like normal sneakers but with the added ability to wrap tighter around my feet. It was always satisfying whenever the laces were active on my feet. Combined with a high-pitched mechanical noise, these shoes feel as if they come from the future.

Bay McLaughlin, the COO and co-founder of Brinc, has been following this project for over two years, though the research and development on this particular auto-lacing technology has been around for nearly a decade. According to McLaughlin, it wasn’t until the Rio Olympics earlier this year that Puma decided to focus explicitly on track and field with the Autodisc. To date, only 50 pairs have been made, many of which are apparently in the hands of renowned athletes. Puma is currently making them in two colors: black and yellow.

While McLaughlin couldn’t share more technical details or a target price point, he reckons Puma will likely commercialize the Autodisc; it’s just a matter of gauging consumer demand, which Nike has sort of been doing all of this time with the MAG.

“It’d be different if these were a prototype version sitting on the side of the factory floor or in a lab somewhere, but these two companies are going after this space, this is very apparent now,” McLaughlin said, referring to the super competitive nature of the sneaker market. “This project’s been under way for a long time, they have the top athletes in the world testing them. Nike’s now gotten public about them in the last few weeks. The game is afoot, as they would say. It’s happening.”ithub cneter

When the Autodiscs do eventually go on sale, chances are they won’t come cheap. But for serious athletes, they might be intriguing, especially if future versions can automatically tighten themselves on the fly or maybe use biometric data to help assess their performance. Just our two cents, Puma.

Jabra’s Sport Coach headphones count my reps so

Whenever I go to the gym, I immediately plug in my headphones. Last year, I graduated to wireless headphones, and while I’m happy with my current Bluetooth buds...
Whenever I go to the gym, I immediately plug in my headphones. Last year, I graduated to wireless headphones, and while I’m happy with my current Bluetooth buds (more on those later), I was intrigued by Jabra’s latest refresh of its Sports Coach series, which promises to gauge and coach not only your running (I don’t do that), but also cross-training style bodyweight and dumbbell-based exercises, counting reps using built-in movement sensors so that you can concentrate on your form — and then crank out even more.

Jabra’s Sports Coach Special Edition ($120) counts your reps through the company’s TrackFit motion sensor embedded in the left ear piece. (You’ll find the micro-USB charging port on the right side.) Your movements are then sent to the companion iOS/Android app. Unlike Jabra’s most recent headphones, these Bluetooth-connected earbuds are still wired together, with an inline remote and a button on the left earpiece to launch the sports app and move between exercises.

As you’d expect from fitness headphones, the Sports Coach Special Editions are IP55-rated for dust and water resistance. As a bonus, they come with a three-year extended warranty for additional peace of mind.

The earphones ship with in-ear tips and gels, in three sizes to ensure they fit most ears. Those gels are soft plastic protrusions that wedge in against the inside of your ear. Thanks to those, the headphones are light, comfortable and secure. I currently use JLab’s Epic2 Bluetooth headphones (as recommended here) for my sweaty music-listening needs.

While the JLab model uses an over-ear hook, I prefer Jabra’s internal solution, which makes it easier to remove while still allowing for a snug fit. The Sports Coach pair also formed a tighter seal on my ear, but your experience may differ.

Of course, sound quality is important, but I find comfort is just as critical with headphones meant for exercise. These feel great and sound just as good as my Epic2s, with the addition of passive noise cancellation. The Sports Coach only comes in one color option, but it’s a reassuringly sporty combination of grey and cyan —it hub center

The in-line controller includes a mic for mid-gym phone calls (rude!). Next to that, there are volume controls (a long press will skip tracks) and a multi-function button that pauses music, answers calls and powers the whole thing down. The left earphone also houses a “Sport” button on the side; this launches the companion fitness tracking app on your phone and is also used for progressing and finishing your workout — no need to tap your phone until you’re done. Holding the button will also mute the audio coaching and updates.



The Sports Life app is necessary for all the tracking features though if you’re just looking for comfortable wireless headphones, you can pair the fitness earbuds to your phone and sweat away. Jabra has also ensured that the app plays its coaching narration on top of either iTunes music or any audio source currently playing.

Fortunately, the app is easy to set up. First it shows you how to fit the headphones and uses a sound test to make sure you have the right sized buds. You can then choose the type of exercise you’re planning to do. For automatic repetition counting, the compatible workouts are all found under cross-training, with several of them already programmed, offering a mix of exercises.

You can also make your own, choosing from just under 60 different exercises that are a mix of weight and calisthenic movements. Like the previous-gen version, you can use the headphones to simply track your movement and time your runs. When it comes to running, distance, pace, steps and cadence are all measured by the sensor, but I have glasses for that. And I still hate running.ithubcenter

The rep counter sounded like it was made for me, as I regularly zone out while working out. For me, counting in the midst of push-ups goes something like: “1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 7, 8, 7.” Some kind of robotic unbiased tracking would be pretty useful then. Indeed, for many exercises the rep detection works exactly as promised.

But, not all of my exercises were detected. Push-ups are the worst: While my demonstration made for a great gif, when it came to shooting that clip, the sensor only picked up two reps out of 10. Another time, it detected all of them. The app (or the sensor) is frustratingly erratic. Squats and other exercises requiring vertical head movements are where the earphones works best. You can leave your phone to the side as the audio narration notifies you when you’re done with your rep numbers. One tap of the Sports button on the side moves the app on to your next exercise.

For me, counting in the midst of push-ups goes something like: “1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 7, 8, 7.”
When it does screw up, the headphones are kind enough to tell you it’s not detecting any movement. But that’s often around 10 seconds in, and I’ve already done nine push-ups by then. (Roughly. I zone out, remember?) Conversely, I try to be meticulous in logging what I do at the gym (my current app of choice is Fitocracy), making this mixed performance is just as frustrating as my own estimates.

You’re also stuck with Jabra’s mediocre fitness app, and this is where the system falls short for me. It’s a common drawback with fitness gadgets — they’re typically tied to a specific app built by the same company. You’re buying into their proprietary software, even if you have better options elsewhere.

Although you can custom-build circuits of squats, crunches and what-have-you, automatic rep counting only works for 10 exercises: back extensions, crunches, dips, burpees, kettlebell swings, lunges, pull-ups, push-ups, squats and thrusters. (I had to look up the last one: It’s a combination squat and shoulder press. It looks hard.)

Jabra says that the number of detectable exercises will increase with future updates — but those are the options if you buy the device now. You’re also constrained to that current list of exercises (auto rep-counting or not) if you’re looking to record your full workout… and it’s not an exhaustive list. This is because Jabra’s headphones can only detect movements related to your head and due to that, there’s a limit as to how much a gadget can track when it comes to weight training. I guess one solution is to move the tracker into the weights themselves — but then, I’d still need a pair of headphones. source:Engadget