Review: Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Earbuds (Holiday Gift Guide)

With the popularity of smart watches with an integrated fitness and health application, Jabra has put its unique spin in wearable technology. Courtesy of Jabra, I’m reviewing the Sport Pulse Wireless Earbuds. Jabra Sport Pulse is the first ever earphones with a built-in biometric heart rate monitor and real-time voice coaching to help you track your fitness goals. Whether you’re an avid runner, cyclists or a weekend warrior like myself, this product eliminates the need for one those uncomfortable, chest strap-based or wrist-based heart rate sensors. The bio-metric sensor shines a light against the skin inside your ear to detect your pulse to generate a reading. Jabra claimed that the heart rate monitor is as accurate as the ECG machines used in hospitals.

Sound

Listening to music is a big part of most people exercise routine as it improve your workout. A 2010 study by the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences found that cyclists actually worked harder when listening to faster music as compared to music at a slower tempo. Songs between 120 and 140 beats per minute (bpm) have the maximum effect on moderate exercisers.

The Sport Pulse is designed to fire you up with a customizable sound experience & personalize audio coaching to ensure you always train in the correct workout zone. The Jabra Sound app let you play your favourite tracks and streamed YouTube videos in full Dolby sound. These earbuds sound amazing with rich high and deep bass.

What’s in the box?

• 4 sets of eargels
• 3 sets of EarWings
• Protective Pouch
• FitClip
• USB Cable

Comfort and Fit

Comfort and fit are key when it comes to choosing the right pair of running headphones. You can customize your Sport Pulse fit by combining the different ear gel and different ear wing sizes. Once you’ve identified which gel and wing combo is best for your ears, the Pulse buds fit pretty snugly. The ergonomic fit locks into place and did not fall out during both indoor and outdoor workouts. Overall I like the way they fit and they are very comfortable.

The bio-metric in-ear heart rate monitor is on the left earbud. While right earbud double as a headset with a built-in microphone for answering and making phone calls on the go.

The Sport Pulse is built like a tank! It is certified drop, strength, dirt, temperature & humidity tested to US Military Weather & Shock Standards. The earbuds are encased in carbon fibre with reinforced cables and housing.

You can pair the Sport Pulse to any smart phones, computers and tablets via NFC and Bluetooth. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to 5 hours of talk time or music play time or up to 240 hours of standby time.

Jabra Sport Life is an all in one training management system. The app displays your real-time heart rate, track and evaluate your workout goal and offer real-time audio coaching. For instance, if you set a running pace of 7 minutes per kilometre as your goal, the app will monitor and advise if you are too slow or too fast. If you set distance to 5 kilometre as your goal, the app will announce the distance covered at intervals. You can also get on-demand voice updates by pressing the button on the left earbud.

In addition, the Sport Pulse is fully compatible with your favourite third party running app such as Run Keeper, Endmondo and Strava.

Conclusion

The Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless is one of the most innovative heart-rate monitor & training solution I have tried. Jabra delivered a superb pair of earphones with high quality Dolby sound. The addition of the heart-rate monitoring makes them great for runners and cyclists. The integrated hardware and software experience work seamlessly. I enjoy using the Jabra Sport Life, all-in-one training solution, to setup my fitness goals and the voice coaching motivate me to push harder.

Website: www.jabra.ca
Twitter: @jabra_us
Instagram: @jabra
Retail Price: $199.99
Available at Best Buy and Future Shop