LG's Heart Rate Earphones and Lifeband Touch Launching This Month

WinstonRumfoord said:

I love exercising but I have never felt the need to know my heart rate or anything like that. I'm not a dolt, I can tell when my heart is getting a workout.

/getoffmylawn

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im not what you call average but i keep track of my heart rate for hiit. Not for weights. id like having something that can keep track easier then me checking my pulse for 10 seconds and adding it up or using the heart rate monitors on the machine. MOST people in the gym are half assing it and never seeing changes year after year.

Chupa Chupa said:

So is BMW's M cars, coconut water, vegan restaurants, baseball double headers, Cape Cod in the winter.

Personally, (and I guess I fall in this niche market being one of 30m casual joggers in the U.S.) I think this is a very cool concept. When I workout on my elliptical I always monitor my heart rate to make sure I'm in range. Wearing a strap while running is to much of a PITA. Headphones make it viable.

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I inhabit the niche as well. I use a strap and once I got into the habit, it's not really that much of a pain. And when I look at the prices for these things and compare it to a Garmin setup, I think I'd rather have the Garmin and choose my own headphones.

Looks great, if its 1985.

This is fugly. Who would want to wear that?

This is a ****-for-brains acquisition triggered by the need to over-compensate for missing out on buying Nest -- you know that company that actually has innovative products and a company culture that's a perfect match for Apple. To say nothing of bringing Tony Fadel back to Apple.

So are we getting another iPhone 6 mock-up "news" before the end of day or what?

they look a bit on the big side to me. Can't they be smaller ?

Four oF NINE said:

Health applications are a niche market of limited interest

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Lol, that's what people said about iXxx before and were forced to eat their words later. I predict your statement will join those in a year or two. we shall see.

Wires? bleh, fail right out of the door.

dec. said:

I agree and it could be one of several potential deal breakers for a possible "iWatch" for me, I'm not interested in a health gadget.

(Note the use of "I", "for me" and "I'm")

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Logged in to acknowledge the WatchTower avatar!!!!

WinstonRumfoord said:

I beg to differ.

Some people can benefit from this product, sure. Not every product can be for everyone

It just seems like a flash in the pan. In 10 years tops everyone will be eating gluten again and not giving a rip about what their specific heartrate is.

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Beg to differ what? I never said this product was for everyone; few are. Heart rate monitoring is decades old, so flash in the pan how? Gluten-free is for people with celiac disease who are allergic to gluten. Maybe in 10 years there will be a cure for it and no need for gluten-free, but I'm guessing athletes will still be monitoring their heart rate.

Chupa Chupa said:

Beg to differ what? I never said this product was for everyone; few are. Heart rate monitoring is decades old, so flash in the pan how? Gluten-free is for people with celiac disease who are allergic to gluten. Maybe in 10 years there will be a cure for it and no need for gluten-free, but I'm guessing athletes will still be monitoring their heart rate.

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On this you make a great point. You also do not need to be a "professional" athlete to want to know your heartbeat while working out. Many types of conditioning, whether HIIT or traditional cardio require two general pieces of information: time and heart rate. I can't count the times when I've been "tired" in cardio, thinking I was doing fine, only to find my heart rate had dropped too low. An easy to use and accurate heart rate monitor would be great, especially if it were inexpensive.

mangonights said:

This is a ****-for-brains acquisition triggered by the need to over-compensate for missing out on buying Nest -- you know that company that actually has innovative products and a company culture that's a perfect match for Apple. To say nothing of bringing Tony Fadel back to Apple.

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Um, a lot of us are not thrilled with the nature of the Beats acquisition, but this is a different thread.

r-m said:

I think I prefer the ones that Bragi (http://www.bragi.com) are working on - The Dash.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hellobragi/the-dash-wireless-smart-in-ear-headphones

They measure heart rate and oxygen level, have the gyroscope for tracking (and gesture macros!), Bluetooth, not tethered. Also has pass-thru or noise isolation, so you can listen to external sounds mixed with your music, or filter it out, or just turn it down a little.
Not out yet, still in development, due to ship end of this/start of next year

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That is actually really cool, thanks for sharing!

Chupa Chupa said:

It's not that we care how many steps we take, but how far we walked or ran. If it presented the info in miles it would be just as good. The now discontinued Fitbit Force did both. If you work out analytics help you find out where you are, where your weak point is, and to monitor improvement. It's not silly.

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I was a competitive/varsity high school and college track and XC runner, and I still run with a gps watch. As I read it, these do not have gps, just step counting. Therefore, they horribly fail at telling you how far you actually ran, just as every pedometer ever has failed because step counting is not and never has been a reliable way to measure distance. From your comment, I'm guessing you'd be a lot better served with a proper gps watch. I'd recommend the garmin forerunner 10 or 220.

These "fitness wearables" are trying to be something else entirely, and I don't think it's something helpful.

Wow! Such product! Many awesome!

Dave.UK said:

You couldnt make up the hypocrisy on this site!

When the "fake Apple rumour" was published, nearly every comment was saying how great the idea was and patting Apple on the back.

Obviously that turned out to be a giant hoax.

Now this LG product has been published, look at all the negative comments so far!

The cynical side of me wonders why MacRumors decided to post this article

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It's only hypocritical if the same people who praised the Apple story are posting negative comments here. Are they the same people?

Dave.UK said:

You couldnt make up the hypocrisy on this site!

When the "fake Apple rumour" was published, nearly every comment was saying how great the idea was and patting Apple on the back.

Obviously that turned out to be a giant hoax.

Now this LG product has been published, look at all the negative comments so far!

The cynical side of me wonders why MacRumors decided to post this article

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Hypocrisy is deeply embedded in Apple and a large segment of its worshippers. Yet missing their God who validated and continued to push the narrative, the ship is adrift at sea. Just what it will take to restore them to their former strength is the great unknown at this point.

Monitoring your heart rate is not just for athletes. I took up running 3 years ago ( I am far from what you would call athletic) and I found a heart rate monitor to be very useful. When I started I had a real problem with pacing myself, using my heart rate I was able to pace myself so much better. It was also a good way to track improvement, rather that being fixated on time, I could see my average pace picking up at a fixed HR. This is still a niche market, but I'm conviced it has massive potential for growth.

I'm a bit confused by people that are questioning what we will do with that data. How many of us really need instand stock quotes, weather forecasts by the hour and all the other plethora of data we can and in some cases do access constantly (including 24hour rolling news). In reality we don't need it , but for some reason we like it. Hearth rate monitors I suspect fall in to the same catergory. Only 5-10% of people will actually make real use of the info, with the other 90% just fannying around with it. But hey, thats still equates to growth.

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sixrom said:

....missing their God who validated and continued to push the narrative, the ship is adrift at sea.

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I found that quite poetic.

I see another failure in motion.

Healthbands are all well and good but we all know what happens, the few who actually work out use them regularly, the majority buy them on an impulse or a new year resolution promising they will get fit and within a week they are sitting in a draw gathering dust.

But I see a use for them

The earphones I see no use for, they are bulky, too heavy and look ugly. Plus they are really really expensive. If I am buying earphones I want sound quality.

Nevaborn said:

I see another failure in motion.

Healthbands are all well and good but we all know what happens, the few who actually work out use them regularly, the majority buy them on an impulse or a new year resolution promising they will get fit and within a week they are sitting in a draw gathering dust.

But I see a use for them

The earphones I see no use for, they are bulky, too heavy and look ugly. Plus they are really really expensive. If I am buying earphones I want sound quality.

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You're right.

I'm a hard core fitness enthusiast that_already has_the chest strap and related wrist monitor which in turn easily and swiftly downloads to my computer. Then playing devils advocate, if I didn't I would still go out and purchase the same proven gear since I don't want my phone exposed to sweat, jarring conditions, rain... Yes I run in the rain, etc.

The other big concern is privacy. I have great health, but what about those who do not, they're getting in shape and may be very overweight. The insurance company gets ahold of that data and suddenly they're facing larger premiums. It's a big risk.

sixrom said:

The other big concern is privacy. I have great health, but what about those who do not, they're getting in shape and may be very overweight. The insurance company gets ahold of that data and suddenly they're facing larger premiums. It's a big risk.

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Long live the NHS

Dave.UK said:

Long live the NHS

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Sure, but can you say the same about their patients?

Sorry, somebody had to ask, and I was appointed.

QCassidy352 said:

These "fitness wearables" are trying to be something else entirely, and I don't think it's something helpful.

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Agree fitness bands are no substitute for a GPS tracker. But that's not really the point of them either. For those just starting out fitness bands can help to keep one motivated and involved. In this instance, any amount of information, even if not 100% accurate is better than none.

Why is it you think they are not helpful to anyone?

sixrom said:

Then playing devils advocate, if I didn't I would still go out and purchase the same proven gear since I don't want my phone exposed to sweat, jarring conditions, rain... Yes I run in the rain, etc.

The other big concern is privacy. I have great health, but what about those who do not, they're getting in shape and may be very overweight. The insurance company gets ahold of that data and suddenly they're facing larger premiums. It's a big risk.

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Let me play devil's advocate on you then:

I run regularly, and with my iPhone. I can't be alone in this because I see other runners with them strapped on their arm and also there's a TON of GPS and running apps in the iTunes store, many of them which can communicate with various running gadgets. So there is a proven market for iPhone compatible running gear.

As as for the insurance risk that is a huge red herring.

1) Insurance companies would love its customers to exercise. They are not going to penalize customers for working out. Some even offer discounts to gyms.
2) Exercise is going to improve their cardio, not make it worse unless they have some chronic issue. And that is likely to REDUCE their rate, not increase it.
3) Insurance companies do not need to hack into your computer to get your health information; they can go right to your doctor.

Stella said:

Heart Rate ear phones. I'd be disappointed if Apple did come out with such a product, but looks like others are.

Sounds like a gimmick - you have to be wearing your ear phones in order to get heart rate stats. Assumes you always want to wear ear phones when doing an activity - and which limits the target. Sure, in a gym or running, may be fine, but other outdoor activities such as - skiing, cycling, types of boating, you probably wouldn't to - when you need to be aware of your surroundings.

Having a heart rate strap, or band is much more practical.

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I definitely wear headphones when I snowboard and bike. You either get headphones with good pass-through qualities, leave the volume down quite a bit, or only put one ear in.

Did my own review of these products here:
http://arijaycomet.com/2014/05/22/b...ate-monitor-earphones-versus-the-competition/

Overall I was really pleased with the devices, but was sad to see the iOS lack of text/phone data on the wrist band, and the device didn't fit my wrist. Check out the link above for full details!