14 DAY TRIAL // There are plenty of wrist-mounted fitness trackers in the world, and many more earphones and headphones, but Bragi decided that it was high time that someone combined the two, so it did just that.
Bragi has formally launched The Dash, a pair of ear buds that will also monitor your workout routine. In fact, The Dash can track various fitness metrics thanks to a 32-bit ARM processor that interprets data from various sensors.
For those who want a list, there are a three-axis accelerometer, a thermometer, capacitive sensors (mostly for controls), and optical sensors inside.
Thus, the Dash can track the heart rate, heart rate variability, calories burned, body temperature, oxygen saturation, etc.
Even steps, cadence, turns, rotation and g-force are recorded, and distance traveled is included as well, thanks to integrated GPS.
The audio capabilities are nothing to scoff at either. The ear buds, designed to fit most ear shapes, have 10 mW RMS and 16 Ohm impedance.
They also feature noise cancellation that can be turned off, in case you're out on a walk or bike ride across town and don't want to be oblivious to incoming traffic.
Controlling them is easy too, done through a smartphone app if a phone is connected (Bluetooth 4.0 technology is supported for that) or via integrated capacitive touch sensors.
Swipes can be combined to initiate different functions, which might take some learning but is necessary in order to stick to the small size of the product.
Furthermore, The Dash ear buds are water-resistant to a depth of up to one meter, or 3.3 feet. What's more, it even has 4 GB of on-board storage space, for copying songs right on it.
So we could go that extra mile and say that The Dash is not just an earphone / fitness tracker hybrid, but an earphone / fitness tracker / flash drive fusion.
If you want a Bragi The Dash, you can pledge $199 / €145 on Kickstarter, and get a set in November if the crowd-funding campaign pays off. Retail availability will probably come with a higher price, whenever that happens.
