NY Times review and slide show of waterproof MP3 players
Former Member
Full article:
www.nytimes.com/.../20080403_PHYS_SLIDESHOW_index.html
By SARAH BOWEN SHEA
The New York Times
"SOME swimmers joke that the only way to fight the boredom of laps is to get a good song stuck in their heads. The first generation of waterproof MP3 players didn’t always offer sweet distraction, because the devices held too few songs and sometimes shorted out in water.
Now that second-generation MP3 players offer better technology, fitness swimmers can listen to Maroon 5 and the Bravery instead of recreating a song in their heads....
.....To gauge the feasibility of listening to music in the pool, Katie McClelland, 31, a swimmer with Dallas Aquatics Masters who has broken two FINA world records for amateur adults in *** stroke, tried four waterproof players and one case-headphone combo. “When I swim by myself,” she said, 'I could use the entertainment.'”
Slideshow:
#1: AQUAPAC MP3 CASE AND WATERPROOF HEADPHONES
#2: FINIS SWIMP3 V.2
#3: SPEEDO AQUABEAT
#4: NU TECHNOLOGY DOLPHIN 1GB WATERPROOF MP3 PLAYER
#5: INTOVA 256MB WATERPROOF MP3 PLAYER
At the risk of exposing my geekyness, has anyone tried using an mp3 player as a pacing device? I'm thinking in terms of recording the desired stroke rate and splits or the send off times and turn times with maybe the time read out, so you could get a good idea of your time and stay on your intervals without straining to make out the clock through foggy goggles etc. It might make it easier to do interval sets without a coach too.
I'm really surprised that Nike hasn't come out with something that does this yet. I use the iPod Nano w/Nike+ for running, and it was almost overwhelming at first the amount of information it provided to me, at the push of a button (and a ton more when I upload my workout to my computer). After each run, I'll spend sometimes 30 min or more going over my pacing throughout, matching the places it slowed/picked up to what I was doing at the time.
I know that Nike is working with some equipment manufacturers (for rowing machine and exercise bikes) on expanding the Nike+, so I wouldn't be surprised if they are working on something for swimming. Strangely, once you buy the equipment (the iPod or Nike wristband, the Nike+ stuff), there is no fee to use any of it.
At the risk of exposing my geekyness, has anyone tried using an mp3 player as a pacing device? I'm thinking in terms of recording the desired stroke rate and splits or the send off times and turn times with maybe the time read out, so you could get a good idea of your time and stay on your intervals without straining to make out the clock through foggy goggles etc. It might make it easier to do interval sets without a coach too.
I'm really surprised that Nike hasn't come out with something that does this yet. I use the iPod Nano w/Nike+ for running, and it was almost overwhelming at first the amount of information it provided to me, at the push of a button (and a ton more when I upload my workout to my computer). After each run, I'll spend sometimes 30 min or more going over my pacing throughout, matching the places it slowed/picked up to what I was doing at the time.
I know that Nike is working with some equipment manufacturers (for rowing machine and exercise bikes) on expanding the Nike+, so I wouldn't be surprised if they are working on something for swimming. Strangely, once you buy the equipment (the iPod or Nike wristband, the Nike+ stuff), there is no fee to use any of it.
