Dubai
Jabra is not new to the Bluetooth earphones, but the company is adding new features to every product it comes out and the latest — Jabra Sport Pulse — is a good example.
The wireless sports earphones, which are sweat and weatherproof, offer advanced personal trainer with real-time voice coaching that also tracks heart rate and blood oxygen levels. It weighs just 16 grams.
To activate it, the Jabra Sport Life app has to be downloaded from the Android or Apple play stores to the smartphone. The pairing is simple and straightforward.
The app is also a music player which gives full Dolby digital sound to play/pause music, skip tracks, control volume, and take calls by using the inline controls built on the short and tangle-free cord.
The box comes with a USB cable, three pairs of ear gels (small, medium and large) with three pairs of earwings and a pouch.
The charging micro USB port is on the underneath of the right earbud and is covered by a rubber silicone cover.
The Sport button on the outside of the left earbud will give an update on the progress, including distance, time, heart rate and other useful tracking data, when running or walking.
The interesting feature is the heart rate tracking. It uses an optomechanical sensor that uses light inside your ear against the skin to detect pulse and oxygen consumption. For the device to track the information, the earbud has to be properly fitted into the ear. Finding the appropriate fit is very important otherwise it does not detect.
The device connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth or NFC. Users need to specify in the app what they are planning to do like walking, running, cycling, hiking, skating and skiing. There is a treadmill support if you work out in the gym.
Users need to choose the activity, the type of workout and the style to view the data before starting a workout. They can set targets like distance, time, fat and calorie burn. The voice prompt will let users know when the heart-rate sensor is tracking and tells them when overworked or underworked.
If GPS is turned on, it shows the distance covered and maps the data. The results of the workout like heart rate, pace, elevation, cadence and heart rate zones can be seen on a graph. The history and personal achievements are also stored. Fitness tests like the Rockport, Orthostatic and Resting heart rates give a better measure of fitness levels.
The earbuds, once intact, does not fall off when running and the audio quality is rich but not high and the headphone’s bass is a bit underwhelming and almost non-existent at lower volume levels.
The microphone, with noise cancellation technology, is quite good and convenient for phone calls and can also be used as a normal headset.
Officially, the Pulse’s battery gives a talk time or music playback of up to five hours, and I easily hit that, even with high volume levels. The standby time is 240 hours. It is priced at Dh799.