|
Speedo Aquabeat Waterproof MP3 Player | 
 enlarge
| Brand: Speedo
Category: Sports
Buy New: $112.07 - $139.99 (On sale from $149.99)
Amazon.com - Usually ships in 24 hours
Swim2000  2001 reviews - Usually ships in 24 hours
Lane Four Swim Shop 566 reviews - Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Rating:  11 reviews
| |
| Features:
| • | 1 GB MP3 player with waterproof housing for water sports | | • | Floating chassis is waterproof to depths of up to 3 meters | | • | Built-in memory stores up to 250 MP3 or 500 WMA files | | • | Attaches to swimsuits, goggles, board shorts, and other clothing | | • | Charges via USB cord; weighs 35 grams, 1-year warranty |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Lap to Lap. Punk to Pop- Waterproof, compact design- Floats in the water, enabling quick and easy recovery- Ergonomically designed for aquatic athletes and active people- Aquabeat can conveniently attach to any goggle strap- Supports MP3 & WMA files- 1GB internal memory stores up to 500 songs- Fully compatible with both iTunes & Windows Media Player- Compatible with Win 2000/ME/XP/Vista & Mac OS 9.x or higher- Continuous playtime of up to 9 hours- Built-in Li-Polymer rechargeable battery- 1 year manufacturers warranty- Comes with headphones and mesh carrying bag
Amazon.com Product Description
Want to listen to your favorite music while swimming laps? Turn to the Speedo Aquabeat MP3 player, which is outfitted with a waterproof housing that's safe at depths of up to 3 meters. The Aquabeat--which includes ergonomic, easy-to-navigate buttons and multiple sizes of ear buds for a comfortable, custom fit--holds up to 1 GB of music, enough for 250 MP3 or 500 WMA files. The device's playlist editing software, meanwhile, makes it easy to sort songs and add new files. Best of all, the chassis attaches easily to swimsuits, goggles, board shorts, bikinis, wetsuits, and just about anything else. Other details include a short earphone cord for easy wear, a USB cord for charging through a PC or laptop, and a playtime of up to nine hours per charge. The Aquabeat, which weighs only 35 grams, carries a one-year warranty. About Speedo
In 1914, Speedo was founded in Australia by Alexander MacRae, a 22-year-old Scottish immigrant who arrived in the country in 1910. The company began when MacRae Hosiery manufacturers, established by Alexander in 1914, extended the manufacture of underwear to swimwear and became MacRae Knitting Mills. A naming competition was held by the staff in 1928 and won by a Captain Parsonson, who coined the slogan, "Speed on in your Speedos." In 1929, the first swimsuits were in production and it didn't take long for Speedo to successfully establish itself. World War II caused the brand turn over 90% of it's manufacturing to war production, providing the armed services with vital equipment such as mosquito nets. After the war, Speedo opened a new factory and was able to re-establish itself, due to increased demand for swimsuits. In 1951, Speedo Knitting Mills (Holdings) Ltd, was incorporated and became a publicly traded company on the Sydney Stock exchange. Speedo hit the international stage in earnest, at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and a few years later the brand grew on a more global scale. Export sales to the USA began and an international division was set up to monitor trade in New Zealand, Japan and South Africa. The expansion of the brand continued, and in 1976, Speedo was appointed as the official swimwear for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where 52 out of 54 countries wore their swimsuits. Speedo continues to make its mark in the pool and on the beach today. Many world class athletes who wear Speedo include U.S. phenomenon Michael Phelps, legendary Australian swimmer Grant Hackett, world record holder Kosuke Kitajima from Japan, and Holland's Inge de Bruijn.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Well worth it November 13, 2008
Fitness Swimmer (Texas)
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.
Works pretty good...room for improvement November 12, 2008
B. Richardson (Atlanta, GA, USA)
The interface to load playlists is pretty elementary for Mac. If you want music to play in a certain order, it requires adding numbers to the song files. Otherwise, it will line them up in alphabetical order when you drag them into the folder that loads on to the device itself.
I purchased this to use for swimming laps and for that it works like a charm. It comes with two sizes of ear buds. They are not the most comfortable, but they stay in your ear pretty well. The sound is comparable to any mp3 player. Once water creeps in to the ear in between the speakers and your ear drum the music can become a little muffled.
However, its much better than nothing and the experience of swimming with music can be an exhilarating experience.
Great Product - I love this device!! October 30, 2008
M. Carey (State College, PA)
I swim laps at lunch and this device helps get me into the flow and complete my workouts. Earplugs fit snug in your ear and it easily attaches to your googles. You can't feel the device on your head/googles, other than the earpieces that you use. The sound is good too.
 Average Performance - many limitations! October 22, 2008
Steve (Yortown, VA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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!
Works well like what it's supposed to be September 9, 2008
Jelantik (Boulder, CO USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
First of all, this product is great. The sound is nice and clear under water. But for the audio snob out there, this is definitely not a Bose headphone with good bass and treble. But for a small device that you use underwater, the sound is nice. The headphone ear bud's can act as earplug, so I don't need my earplug anymore. The headphone is comfortable to wear, so after a while you forget that you are wearing it.
The device itself is light and floats, so if you happen to knock it out, it'll float. You got enough music around 250 songs. So that should take you at least more than a week if you swim 3 times a day, for the play list to go back to the first song.
According to the manual, the battery last for 9hrs when you charge it fully. One note, charge the battery first before you use it for the first time. On the side where the control button is located, you'll see a light indicator.(You have to plug the device to your computer to see it). If it's fully charge the light will be green, if it's not the light will be red. So charge it first and make sure it's full, before you use it for the first time. I missed that part when I use it the first time, and it just happened I read the manual again and I saw the note. After the first use, I usually charge the battery after 3 swims (depending on how long I swim). Just to make sure I will always have a tune while I'm doing my lap swim.
Overall, this device is really a neat companion, especially if you are alone in the pool at 6.AM. Your lap swim will fly so fast. Definitely recommended for anyone who wants to listen to music while exercising.
|
|
|
Thanks for shopping with us! | |
