Speedo Aquabeat Waterproof MP3 Player
I was, at one time, a competative sprinter, now train purely for health benefits...I swim laps in a 25 yard pool now (2-2.5 miles a day/5 days a week). I was just looking for a simple H2O proof MP3 player that was reliable and easy to use. I don't require outstanding sound quality or a bunch of bells and whistles from an MP3 player. After doing A LOT of research and reading all the reviews on all the available waterproof MP3 players out there I settled on the speedo aqua beat and ordered it from Amazon.com, here's my analysis of the product...
THE PLAYER - small, lightweight with easy to use controls and fits on most goggle straps. I swim with swedish goggs and the straps are a bit thin. This makes mounting the goggles on the back of your head kind of tricky because if you don't get it just right, the player has a tendency to pop off when pushing off the wall or doing a flip turn (VERY ANNOYING)...the drag is negligable from the device while swimming along, but with any kind of a strong push off the wall, it almost always slides down to the base of the back of your head even with VERY tight goggle straps (also VERY ANNOYING)...recommend using goggles with a wide strap if you're going to use this product. Of note, the internal, computer OSB rechargeable battery is a nice feature and the player can be used with other sets of headphone as a "dry land" MP3 as well.
THE SOFTWARE - easy to use, music can be easily drag-and-dropped into the "removable" hard drive that pops up on your computer...Note - you have to plug the player up to your computer's OSB port and allow it to charge 1 full time before you can load music to it (takes about 2 hours to charge) and the single LED on the player will turn from amber to green when it's fully charged. I was over-zealous and tried to load music on to the player within the first half hour of the first charge with no luck.
THE EARPHONES - These were the biggest let down in the whole package...they do come with 3 different sizes of triple flange rubber ear pieces, and while I have what I assume to be average size ears/ear canals, I could never really achieve a proper seal with any of the three sizes of plugs. These headphones REQUIRE a water tight seal to work properly...and even when you do get that seal, the minute you start swimming and turning your head to breath, the movement of your head or while streamlining off the wall makes the seal change and therefore VERY susceptable to water entry...BOTTOM line, they just don't fit well...ultimately your ear canal fills with water and the sound is no longer audible. This requires constant "fiddling" with the ear pieces after each lap and severly detracts from your workout. Also, in order to get a good seal the ear pieces need to fit very tightly, this causes ear canal pain over time...not being a wimp on this one, I can certainly hack the pain... and would have gladly accepted that as part of the deal if that were the only issue with the earphones! Additionally, after 1 use, my headphones developed a short in one of the wires to one side of the earphones...I'm not holding this against the product in my "number of stars" review as it may have only been a one time incident with my particular Aquabeat...but be aware that the wires from the player to the headphones are VERY thin and appear to be quite susceptible to fatigue/failure or shorting out after only a few uses. ALL in ALL this was a DISAPPOINTING PRODUCT, especially for how much it costs...I've elected to return the player to Amazon based on the defective short in the headphones. By the way, Amazon is great with their return policy and it's quite easy to do with a few clicks online. I've decided on trying the "bone conduction system" of the Fini-swiMP3-V2, and will order that from Amazon when my aquabeat is refunded.
In short, I would not recommend wasting your time and money on the Speedo Aquabeat MP3 player.
I'll write a Fini-SwiMP3 review in a couple weeks when I've had the chance to fully test that one out! Speedo AquaBeat 1GB MP3 Player - Black
This product is great. I had read some of the reviews prior to purchasing and it was really hit or miss. Perhaps it really just depends on what you are expecting. My expectations were for soley to have music while I worked out. I bought this to wear for my morning lap swimming. This was my first mp3 player of any kind.
It was very easy to set-up and I've even taken to wearing it during my runs as well with a regular pair of headphones. The sound quality to me is great; I have not noticed any difference between regular headphones and the waterproof ones provided while I am swimming.
The unit is very light and easy to attach to a pair of goggles. It doesn't affect my swimming, I hardly notice it at all. Every once in a while the wire will lay against the side of my neck but after a couple of strokes it will correct itself and go back to where you don't even notice it.
I did have an issue with my first pair of headphones having different volumes and then the right side completely giving out randomly with sound. Speedo was very efficient and sent me a new pair that arrived in a couple of days at no cost. These second headphones have not caused me any problems. I don't know if it is because I wear a swimcap so the cap is pushing the headphones against my head but I will have to say they are not the most comfortable headhphones I've ever worn. Once I've started swimming they don't bother me, but afterwards my ears are sore for a couple of moments after I take them out. Does it bother me enough to stop using them? No. Would they make me consider giving up on using the Aquabeat? Not a chance.
I purchased the Aquabeat so I could listen to audio books while swimming.
This player does meet my minimum requirements. The sound quality is good and the earplugs effectively block out pool noise. Speedo provides several different plug sizes to ensure a good fit and I can hear the words clearly and follow the lecture or story I am listening to. Also, the player fits securely to my goggles strap and has coiled earbud wires that do not get in the way.
However, there are some features that are missing or were badly implemented, including:
1. No battery indicator - can t tell if the battery is low.
2. No way to sort the MP3s numerically or alphabetically. I had to merge the mp3 files to ensure I was listening to the chapters sequentially.
3. Unable to fast-forward within a file -- just between files.
4. The reverse and forward buttons double as on and off. It is easy to accidentally shut of the player -- or forward to a different file when you just want to shut it off.
5. No LED display.
6. Slow USB transfer rate - takes about 8-10 minutes to copy 250MB.
Overall, I am satisfied but not impressed. - Swimming - Waterproof Player - Waterproof Mp3 - Aquatic Mp3 Player'
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