- Utilizes internationally patented Bone Conduction Technology to transmit high-fidelity sound through the cheekbone to the inner ear
- Has a sleek design with an MP3 control panel built into the side paddle, which includes volume, shuffle, and pause controls
- Plays both MP3 and WMA files with new playlist functionality and comes with expanded 1GB memory, designed to hold approximately 240 songs
- Attaches easily to any swim goggle or snorkeling mask and comes with an 8 hr rechargeable battery
- Compatible with Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, and VISTA; Mac OS 9 and OS X. Performs best if used with an Intel Pentium II 233 Mhz or equivalent with at least 256 MB Ram and 35 MB available hard disk drive space. Requires a USB port to download files.
Product Description
Provides the same high quality sound and features as the FINIS SwiMP3 v2 Waterproof MP3 player with an upgraded processor and memory (1 GB). Unlike standard waterproof MP3 players–which transmit sound through the air or water and produce only a muffled noise when submerged–the SwiMP3.1G relies on your bones to conduct the sound. This direct transfer of sound vibrations from the cheekbone to the inner ear produces exceptional sound clarity, so you can listen to all… More >>
Thanks to this player the joy of music was added to my daily pleasure of swimming at the open sea. Moreover, I tried it yesterday at my swimming pool and it works as good as it does with sea water. This device worths every cent it costs ! Highly recommended !
Rating: 5 / 5
These are amazing. I had the H20 Audio set, which is basically an otter box that holds an iPod shuffle, I used for about 9 months when all of a sudden the music shut off in the middle of a swim. When I got to the edge of the pool and looked at the box, the rubber gasket had failed, allowing water to get into the box, which destroyed my iPod shuffle. The otter box had a warranty, so the company replaced the box, but the shuffle is ruined. Also, the ear pods were really hurting my ears on the H20 product, in fact, on a long swim, they would make my ears bleed. I hemmed and hawed about purchasing the SwiMP3 because it was expensive and because it doesn’t work with iTunes, but I’m very happy with it, I swim 3 to 4 times a week with usually a couple of 10,000 yard swims that take around 3 hours, the music really makes the time fly by. The sound on this unit is excellent, it makes the other product seem like music out of a tin can. It’s very close to the sound quality out of an iPod. I love that it sits on top and not in the ear, I don’t wear mine on the cheekbone as advertised but right over my ear, it’s way too loud when you’re out of the water, but excellent sound quality in the water. In fact, when I stop for a drink I have to move them away from my ears! I use Speedo Vanquisher goggles which have two straps, I attach them on the bottom strap and then take the other strap up over the units which keeps them in place during flip turns. The buttons are a little bit hard to get used to, but once you get a feel for them, they’re fine. The battery is very long lasting – it’s never quit on even a 4 hour swim, although I charge it in between swims. I do wish it had a little more memory, the software is a little annoying – you have to move songs from iTunes, and it’s hard to change the order of songs, they go in alphabetic order and there is no shuffle. Also, if you buy songs through iTunes you have to change the format which is a little annoying but the benefits outweigh the annoyances. Also, if you use a Mac, know that you have to empty the “trash” before you can add new songs – even though you delete a song, it still “sees” the song in the trash until you empty it – a lesson I learned spending a lot of time talking to the service rep….
Rating: 5 / 5
I have been using the Finis SwiMP3.1 G for about 3 weeks, swimming a mile 3 times per week. I find that the sound quality is very good if my head is completely submerged. Unfortunately most of my swimming is the crawl and my head bobs in and out of the water as I turn my had to breathe. It turns out (I learned after the fact) that if your head is not submerged you need to use ear plugs in order to get decent sound although still not as good as when your head is completely submerged. I would have liked to know this in advance.
The other disappointment has been with creating playlists and using the shuffle function. In iPods, the shuffle function plays all the music in a random fashion in a playlist and plays all the songs in the playlist and does not repeat any songs. In the SwiMP3.1G, when using the shuffle function songs are repeated. This is not desirable. In addition, when creating several playlists, and when using the shuffle function, I found that the same song would play over and over again. I had to get out of the shuffle mode before I could get a different song to play. I phoned customer service (since previous reviews that I read raved over the customer service ) and had a hard time getting through. Then I was disappointed with the expertise of the representative.
Finally, because all the controls are in one earpiece, ease of use could be better because the same button or buttons are used for multiple functions, depending on how long the button(s) are depressed.
To sum up, I like the music quality, I don’t like having to use earplugs, I wish Apple iPod made a waterproof MP3 player (but they don’t) , and would like simpler and more transparent controls. All that being said, I like swimming to music and do not regret making this rather pricey purchase.
Rating: 3 / 5
I got this player to help me train for a half-iron triathlon coming up in July. I can only listen to the thoughts in my head for so long before I need something – ANYTHING to distract me!
The first time I tried to use it I found out that I’d run the battery down because I had tried to turn it off with the on/off button rather than the black “reset” button. Instead I suspect it stayed in “pause” until it died. (The on/off button does not turn the unit off but just toggles between “play” and “pause.”)
Turning it off using “reset” is fine with me because I don’t mind starting each session at the top of my playlist. I can always set it to “shuffle” if I want variety. And after that first experience I’d rather KNOW it’s off rather than wonder and end up listening to my own thoughts again – LOL.
The second time I tried to use it I had trouble hearing the music over my own bubbles, the shrieking of children outside the lane, and the lifeguard’s rock music (it’s an indoor 25-yd pool in a room with echo-y acoustics). And it’s not like I was listening to A Day Without Rain or something; I’d downloaded The Fame Monster [Deluxe Edition].I hadn’t discovered the volume control and spent quite a bit of time hunched over under water trying to figure out how to best position the speaker pads in relation to the goggles and cap for the most sound. The goggle straps also required tightening because at first the change in position caused a little water leakage.
Even with the volume low I still found myself swimming harder and the laps flew by much faster than they usually do. I found myself thinking, “Gee, I only have TWO laps left?!” instead of, “wow. Five more to go. I feel like such a slug.”
I’m looking forward to my third attempt on Saturday when I plan on cranking the volume way WAY up. I’ll update this review after that session.
UPDATE:
OK, I’ve now swum with it cranked all the way up. It’s loud enough to recognize the song even through my bubbles, but not “painfully loud” out of the water the way other people have described the volume. Maybe I’m just deaf, or my unit is quieter than others? It’s OK. Definitely better than swimming without music. But it’s not like wearing regular headphones in the air.
Rating: 4 / 5
Received it for Christmas this year, and it’s already being returned. Tried it a few times while swimming, and just couldn’t make it work.
My sets are a variety – IMs, kicking, free, etc. I don’t just swim laps. With that said, the unit was more distracting than useful. First, I could not for the life of me get both sides to sit on my head properly – when I did, as soon as I pushed off the wall they flapped around causing the sound to fluctuate. Second, when swimming, when I would breath, the sound would cut in and out since my ears were not constantly in the water. Third, doing backstroke or fly, forget it – too much going on, so the unit constantly moved due to the turbulance in the water.
I think it would have worked if I used duct tape to hold it in place – or a giant rubber band in addition to my goggles.
I think the unit would work great if you swim laps in a controlled environment. Throw in some sprints, other strokes, kicking, etc., and the unit just doesn’t work.
If you are bored swimming, try swimming with friends, join a club, or print out workouts to follow. Save the MP3s for running.
Rating: 1 / 5