back to article Speedo Aquabeat

If you fancy some music while you work out at the gym or go jogging then the options are endless. Apple, Sanza, Samsung or Sony will all sell you something small and robust so you can fight the flab to Lady Gaga or Rage Against The Machine. Jump into the pool for a dozen lengths with any of them though and you will soon be …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "logo as Play button" idea, that's cute

    and it's good to see Speedo sticking to their design strengths of unsightly bulges all over the place

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Megaphone

    £75?

    That price doesn't float for me...

    Megaphone. Because there are better ways to get music across at a beach.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Is anyway quiet these days...

    ....go for a nice quiet, relaxing swim (no kid sessions) and get to listen to self cented ****'s tinny music. Oh f**king joy....

  4. Sampler
    Thumb Down

    No Shuffle :(

    Even though it's atrociously overpriced I was tempted by it being a keen swimmer and planning a kayak around the greek islands holiday but without a shuffle feature it's a waste of time - let me know when they've made the next one...

    And really - £80 for a GB? What's the mark-up on these things? 400!?!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    All reviews..

    ..should include consideration of larcenous crabs. Chapeau!

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    For some obscure reason...

    ... "Yellow Submarine" came to mind...

    And I concur about the bulge thing. It's not speedo if it's not bulgy.

    Why not blue/dark grey gill shaped headphones?

  7. AlistairJ
    Go

    Nice

    But what they seem to have missed out is a stroke pace beeper function. And it looks decidedly un-streamlined.

  8. spegru
    Thumb Up

    Tempted

    I reckon, esp in the post-festive period this could be pretty good.

    Main reason being (in my case in the local pool anyway) is that when swimming, boredom often sets in before fatigue.

    Pricey yes - but set that off against gym fees!

  9. Rikkeh
    Thumb Up

    I've got one of these...

    ....and I didn't pay nearly anywhere near £80 for it- it's much cheaper elsewhere

    While it's really good for fighting off boredom while you do lengths, I've found that it's not good when your ears are under water (say, during front crawl) for listening to podcasts and the like where you need to make out words - the sound of the water going past drowns out the detail.

    So no Mark Kermode film reviews in the pool.

  10. thielj
    Thumb Up

    Nu Dolphin

    Haven't tried the Speedo, but I'm using the Nu Dolphin since a few months for lap swimming. The 1GB version is around 40 quid. It works very well for me and I tend to do swim more often and longer since I have music.

    A few general hints to consider regarding these devices: As you fix the player to the straps of your goggles, navigation is "blind". Also, typically swimming action doesn't allow for using a display or complex navigation. I have a fixed playlist with a couple of hours music. It's all selected tracks, no albums or junk. Except for an occasional skip forward, I switch this on when I get into the pool and off when I get out.

    I'm using competitive swimmer goggles that come with a double rubber band. You normally twist the band to adjust the space between the eye pieces, which gives any unneeded cable length a good fix. I never remove the player from my goggles, making this a dedicated swimming-only player.

    Considering all the above (dedicate swimming, limited navigation), 1 GB of space is more than plenty. Just shuffle your playlist before loading it onto the player if this is what you need.

    The ear buds provided with the Nu keep the water out and I don't see the need for the ear clips the speedo has. In fact, I would be worried that these create too much turbulence.

    Never tried podcasts or audio books yet so YMMV.

  11. pith

    Overboard

    Bit pricey as well as it being a pain to have multiple mp3 devices. http://over-board.co.uk/ do some great cases so you can use your existing player in the pool etc...

  12. Smiffy
    Thumb Up

    Apple ipod shuffle - now waterproofed

    If I had more pocket-money, I'd get one of these. Its not often that my twin passions of technology and swimming can combine safely. Not since the disastrous toaster-in-the-bathtub incident as a kid have I been able to indulge both.

    The best news is that everyone here looking for a smaller gadget with a shuffle function can purchase a waterproofed ipod shuffle from SwimMan (http://www.swimman.com/main.html). Problem solved. Except, er.. that its still quite expensive. And it has to be posted from the USA. And apple has stopped making that design of shuffle. I think.

    Another alternative is the Finis waterproof MP3 that is worn on the goggles and transmits sound directly through your skull. A swimming pal of mine says it works OK, but prefers waterproof earplugs.

  13. Barbara in Austin
    Paris Hilton

    MUZAK MUZAK Everywhere

    Again, I laugh.

    This article took me so far down memory lane that I gasped just a little when I thought of how much cash I burned "just to listen to muzak"...

    It began with ASTRALTUNES. The first "portable" cassette deck for personal listening and skiing. Astraltunes was essentially, a car tape deck ensconced in foam and harnessed to the front of one's chest. It was huge... and hugely popular... hence Sony emerges with the Walkman.

    There were all kinds of personal players in between and one extraordinary device called "Aqua Tunes" which was essentially, a ziplock bag for your Walkman and waterproof earplugs. Never did seal right, but that doesn't mean I threw it away... in fact, it's right over...there!

    Then the mp3 player phenomena... I bought one with an amazing 250 MB memory. Wow.

    Now my Blackberry plays everything better than anything ever did before vinyl was eliminated... but you know what?? .... I CRAVE SILENCE.

    SILENCE IS GOLDEN ... was no doubt, spoken by a musician.

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