US$300 Freewavz Earphones by Dr. Hensen - Bluetooth Hands-Free Headset that's a Fitness Trackers as you Nod Your Head to Music

“In the operating room, I can’t have errors when my patients are asleep. “I need to know what they’re doing all the time. So I took this particular technology, and applied it to what we’re doing. A through-the-tissue Approach is more accurate. This is the same way we do it in the OR. We’re measuring blood flow and oxygen that’s bound—or, in this case, not bound—to hemoglobin.”

Dr. Eric Hensen, ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) and Freewavz Inventor in a conversation with TechHive Writer, Jon Phillips on Tuesday June 24^th 2014

Wearables seem to want to take over all of your senses! Their earlier incarnations were mostly in the form of Fitness Trackers such as the Fitbit Force, the Jawbone Up24 and the Nike Fuelband SE as described in my Geezam blog article entitled “Caribbean rides the Fitness Craze as Nike Fuelband SE making Apple iPhone users healthier”.

Worn mainly on the wrist, they were fairly standard in both their wireless interface via Bluetooth 4.0 with smartphones and Tablets (mainly Apple) to communicate the various Health Metrics they collected on your every activity from running to even Yoga! 

Now, they've slowly crawling up your elbows and straight to your brain. at least, that what seems to be happening with the latest Kickstarter project, Freewavz Earphones, which double as both Music to your Ears and Fitness Tracker as stated in “FreeWavz wireless Earphones use medical-style sensors to record heart rate data”, published Jun 24, 2014 3:15 AM by Jon Phillips, Techhive.

Started Monday June 23^rd 2014, this kickstarter as of Wednesday June 25^th 2014 has 141 backers who've so far pledged US$$25,021. Their ambition goal is a lofty US$300,000 and has to be achieved in the next 42 days as this kickstarter ends on Thursday, August 7^th 2014 7:05 AM EST. The US$300 Freewavz Earphones is expected to start delivering pairs of their nifty earbuds by October 2014.

So far, with only two (2) days gone, they've already reached a little under 10% of that target, suggesting that at this pace, they'll hit their goal in the next twenty (20) days. Thus it's not a blockbuster like other kickstarters I've written about, such as my most recent article on the US$149 PocketScan Document Scanner as stated in my blog article entitled “The PocketScan surpasses US$50,000 on Kickstarter – Scanning the World of Images on Sweep at a Time”, but it’s headed in the right direction, one US$1 at a time!

So what makes the Freewavz Earphones stand out so much that I’d write about it? After all, it isn’t unique as there’s the LG Heart Rate Headphones that sports similar features as described in “LG Heart Rate Earphones review: a fitness wearable with good sound and accurate data”, published Jun 2, 2014 4:30 AM by Jon Phillips, Techhive.

For one, the Inventor himself, Dr. Eric Hensen, is an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat), someone who you'd think would be loaded with cash and thus have the wherewithal to make this project on his own or even get a loan from his bank to fund this project. That leads to the next reason, being as much of the technology that the Freewavz Earphones is also found in the very same medical equiptment that this doctor works with on a daily basis.

Counting Blood Cells as you Nod Your Head with this Bluetooth Hands-Free Headset

The Freewavz Earphones which weighs less than 1.5 oz each has enough battery charge for 6 to 8 hours of continuous usage. At that weight, it'll be as unnoticeable as a pair of Sunglasses and they won't fall off, no matter how strenuous your workout gets. The Freewavz Earphones incorporates a 3-axis accelerometer in each pair of Freewavz Earphones combined with your phone's GPS to sense how fast you’re going.

Combined with the Pulse Oximeter Sensor, also in each Freewavz Earphones, to count heartbeats by counting the change in luminosity of a small LED Laser light shone through the earlobe, the Freewavz Earphones tracks the following metrics:

1.      Calories (subject to movement)

2.      Current time

3.      Distance

4.      Duration of Exercise

5.      Heart rate

6.      O2 saturation

According to Dr. Eric Hensen, the Pulse Oximeter Sensor is the same standard device used in hospitals to keep track of the heart-rate of patients when they're sleeping and is tried and tested technology. In fact, it's as accurate as an EEG (Electro-Encephalo Graph) monitor placed on your chest.

These Fitness Metrics are being constantly relayed to your smartphone which most likely will be strapped to your arm or within 30 m while you exercise. Even better, as your exercise, the Freewavz Earphones will echo your Fitness Metrics through your Earphones, making reaching for your smartphone to check your Freewavz App unnecessary.

The Freewavz Earphones work like any high-fidelity Earphones, sporting some neat add-on only an ENT would cook up in his spare time. For one, it has a feature called Environmental Listen-Through that allows you to keep an Ear on the road while you focus on your exercise routine. Basically what this is really two (2) sets of microphones that are oriented to listen to ambient noise from your surroundings.

The first set are positioned just below the Ear closer to the mouth and are main for the user to issue hands-free Voice Commands to their Bluetooth connected smartphones. The second set of microphones is just above the Ear buds and is positioned to hear the surrounding environment and come into play if you’re jogging or exercising outdoors. Using your smartphone, you can adjust the ratio of Music to Environmental Listen Through for each Freewavz Earphones separately as follows:

1.      75% music, 25% listen-through

2.      50% music, 50% listen-through

3.      25% music, 75% listen-through

4.      0% music, 100% listen-through

In fact they're so independent, that if you and a friend are working out, you can listen to your music on one Earphone while the friend, once they're within 30m, can listen on the other Earphone. In fact, each fitness fanatic can use each Freewavz Earphones separately on their own smartphones, once they've downloaded the App and programmed it with their unique profiles. Why would you share an Earphone with ANY friend, I have no idea, but this is a great way for husbands and wives to work together or separately while still maintaining the team vibe!

Aside from sporting Independent Left/Right Volume Control & Equalizers (like any pair of Headphones!), it also has built in Ear Safeguards that prevent your ears being exposed to sound above a certain level, thus preventing damage to the Inner Ear. Additionally, you can have the Freewavz Earphones voice your Fitness Metrics through your Earphones, removing the need to reach for your smartphone to tap that App and pull up the data.

Even more interesting, it doubles as a Bluetooth Hands-Free Headset, allowing you to make and receive phone calls even while your music is on full blast and you're jogging or doing other strenuous exercise that you normal make you miss those important calls. This combined with their snug hard-to-shake-off fit makes the Freewavz Earphones have near perfect sound delivery for a pair of US$300 Earphones that just a little cheaper than $449 high-end Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones.

So, got US$300 burning a hole in your pocket? If you order one now from the Freewavz Earphones Kickstarter , you can end up giving the Freewavz Earphones by Dr. Hensen as a unique gift to the Fitness Fanatic in your Life.

Check the Link below to join

Freewavz Website

Freewavz Earphones