Panasonic Gets Sporty

Panasonic-HS34Panasonic has introduced its new earbud-style headphones that can handle your workout. The Panasonic HS34 Sport Clip Headphones are designed with an ear-clip style with an adjustable hanger size for individual fit. These offer a lightweight design and water and sweat resistance, which make these headphones ideal for joggers, runners or anyone who enjoys listening to music while exercising or outdoors. The flexible ear hanger is both durable and comfortable and resists popping off the ear if the headphone cord is accidentally pulled.

The Panasonic RP-HS34 Headphones are available in black, yellow, red, purple, blue, and white, and are just about $20.

Panasonic HS34 Sport Clip Headphones Official Website

Audio Gets in Focus

YurbudsMusic and working out just go so well together, but having earbuds that can go the distance has often been the problem. Earbuds that fall out of the ears are worse than no headphones at all. The Yurbud Focus will still in place thanks to Twist Lock silicone ear plugs while the over-the-ear mount will let you run, jump and more without fear. These also provide freedom as they can connect wirelessly via Bluetooth to portable music players, meaning you need to worry about let cable.

These are also resistant to sweat and light rain, and have about eight-hours of battery life, while the fabric cord will help ensure they don’t get all tangled up.

Yurbud Official Website

Interbike Preview: Adventure Buds

YurBudsMusic can provide a wonderful backdrop to an outdoor adventure and yurbuds is debuting its new Adventure Line that is geared towards those who like to head off the beaten path. These made their debut at last month’s Summer Outdoor Retailer show but will be at this week’s Interbike.

The new Adventure Line features all yurbuds qualities including a sweat and water resistant design for active use, FlexSoft comfort fit and TwistLock Technology that the company notes is guaranteed to never fall out. Additionally, the Adventure Line has tangle-resistant, rubberized woven cords which increase the water resistance to the IPX 5 level. The housing design and snap fit enhancers provide premium sound quality, and the QuikClik magnets allow for easy storage and access on the go.

Yurbuds Official Website

Tunz In

TYLTTYLT has launched its TUNZ stereo headphones, which were designed to the actual contours of the human ear, while the Tunz Stereo Active Gels provide a secure yet comfortable fit for those working out or just working with some music. These gels simply snap on and fit most ear shapes and sizes.

The silicone cable is also unique in that it is flat, helping to ensure that it can remain flexible and durable, while the headphones also feature an in-line microphone with one-button controller for seamless multi-functionality during phone calls. The TUNZ are even available in five colors.

TYLT TUNZ Official Website

X-1 Has Serious Momentum

X-1X-1 Audio can’t be slowed down, as the company has some serious momentum with its new headsphones. These sport-specific earbuds are designed so that cyclists and runners (or anyone else) can still hear ambient noise while enjoying the tunes. The open ear design allows for that ambient noise from cars and other people to get through, and while maybe not ideal for those looking to escape the world it could be the difference between hearing the approaching car or getting run down.

The Momentum earbuds aren’t exactly rugged designs but do feature an Ingress Protection Rating of IP4 so these can endure sweat and rain without worry.

X-1 Audio Momentum Earbuds Official Website

Magnetic Attraction

Timbuk2 founder Rob Honeycutt has created many companies over the years, and he’s currently working on a Kickstarter effort called the Elroy Project. The idea here is to cut the cord on headphones… literally. Honeycutt has seen that in many cases long earbud cords are ungainly for running and cycling, and his solution is to get rid of about 2/3 of the length and replace it with a Bluetooth unit that can be clipped to a collar or on a cycling helmet.

We’ve seen many attempts to “cut the cord” but here is one that really does it! Moreover Elroy also includes a magnetic docking point that allows earbuds to be stored and available when needed. Music or other audio can be transmitted via Bluetooth and this unit promises about five hours of talk time and 100 hours of standby time. Video after the jump

Hoodie Offers Built-in Stereo Sound

Hoodies aren’t just for working out, but these do make good cool day apparel for running, hiking and other outdoor activities. The HoodieBuddie solves a small problem of how to wear earphones as the cables can easily get tangle. Instead of having the cord hang loose, or try to tuck it through the jacket the HoodieBuddie routes the cables within the jacket via the cords by the hood.

This way you can take out the earbuds when necessary and now worry about it dragging or having to coil it up. The company has the basic black hoddie but there are plenty of other designs to show your own sense of style.

HoodBuddie Official Website

Earbud Mounts Bring Music to Brain Buckets

Riding a bicycle with earbuds isn’t a good idea as it can drown out all the noise around you, which can be a problem especially in traffic. But for those long rides when a little music can help motivate there are some solutions. The Bipo is a bicycle helmet mount that holds earbuds in place but more importantly delivers music to the wearer without blocking outside noise.

The developers have brought the Bipo concept to Kickstarter. The concept is a novel one, where the music from Apple earbuds – the company specifically was designed for Apple products but could probably work with other models – is set into the air vent. The idea is that the sound disperses and loses its directionality thus can be heard in the background, which should be perfect for riding where you want to hear the world as well as the music. Video after the jump

Yurbuds Makes Inspire for Women Sport Earphones

Earbuds and me have never been friends. They hurt my ears and never stay in place. Newer models with silicone caps do a better job of staying in my ears and staying pain free. But now yurbuds is making a special version of its Inspire sport earphones specifically for women, which will be available exclusively at Target.

The sport earphones were designed by Annie Karayiannis, creative director for yurbuds. To make the women-specific model, Karayiannis spent time researching female athletes to determine the best earphone size, shape and colors needed. The colors are just aesthetic, but still make the earbuds for many of us. Continue reading Yurbuds Makes Inspire for Women Sport Earphones

Cord Crunching Headphones

Music fuels workouts. But sometimes the cord from headphones gets in the way. On a run your arms swing and often come in contact with the cord and rip it out of your ear. The reason for this is too much slack in the cord, though shorter cords aren’t necessarily the answer, then you risk not having enough cord to accommodate your needs. videos after the jump

Hands On: Jabra Sport Bluetooth Headset

The Jabra Sport is the first Bluetooth headset to unshackle runners from the constraints of their wired headphones. But can Jabra – a company who’s known for making Bluetooth headsets for the home and office – make a smooth transition into the sports world? In a word; yes. The Jabra Sport is comfortable, reliable, and as rugged as any other pair of sports headphones we’ve seen. It’s not perfect, but it’s a solid first attempt at a wireless headset for runners.

The $99 headphones are light and sit comfortably over the top of each ear. The buds themselves rest by your ear canal opening (not inside it), meaning they don’t provide any noise isolation. As a runner, that’s a good thing, since you should always be aware of your surroundings when running outdoors.  But for use at the gym, that means you’ll have to crank the volume up high to cancel out any noise from the treadmill or your fellow gym goers. Continue reading Hands On: Jabra Sport Bluetooth Headset

SIA: The Fusing of Sight and Sound

People can have an eye for art and an ear for music, but at the SIA Snow Show in Denver Fuse Optics will introduce its new line of audio adaptable glasses. These are designed for those looking for stylish eyewear and a bit of music to accompany their workouts.

The Fuse Optics provide a new solution for communications, streaming music or cancelling noise, where built-in earbuds are held in place by the frames of the glasses. We think this could be the fusing of sight and sound in a sleek package.

Fuse Optics Official Website
Press Release after the jump

Washable Earbuds for Sweaty Runners

We’ve seen sweat-proof earbuds before, but Pioneer’s take on sweat-proofing brings things to a whole new level. The SE-CL331 earbuds are IPx5 and IPx7 certified (the “IP” stands for International Protection). The former means they can withstand the occasional splash of liquid such as rain and sweat while the latter, more stringent certification means these earbuds can withstand immersion in up to 39″ of water for up to 30 minutes.

In other words, in addition to withstanding your sweaty cardio sessions, these earbuds can actually be washed after each use, keeping them clean and gunk free. The headphones come with four interchangeable ear tips (in sizes XS through L) and include a carrying pouch. They’re available in yellow, blue, pink, or white for $59. Who is you can’t have form and function?

Pioneer Official Website
[Via Coolest Gadgets: Pioneer SE-CL331-Y Water-resistant Earbud Headphones]