Rab’s World

Take your iPod into the water with you! Hmmm! This seems like a novel idea. Why should people who flex and exercise their muscles while jamming to that motivating song be limited to air and earth? Just check the specs. Hang Gliders in the air mellow out or jam out while fantasizing about being a Condor. Bicyclist and Joggers feel the same musical pulse in their ears. Well what about the Snorkelers and Swimmers of the world? Someone has heard them.

* “SWIMMAN, Inc., the originator of waterproof audio players and waterproof headphones, has created the first waterproofed 2nd Generation iPod Shuffle from the inside out.” According to their site.

SwimMan has seemed to perfect the art of waterproofing a 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation Apple iPod Shuffle. The process was perfected waterproofing headpones previously. Their process is not disclosed on their website but seems to involve a polymer coating process on the internal parts [read: circuit board] of the Shuffle. This eliminates a bulky outer hull normally seen on cameras used to grab snaps of those colorful fish on a snorkeling trip.

Wait..what about my glorious prophetic sibling to the Jesus ‘iPhone’ which we call the iPod Touch? Or that heavy-holder; the iPod Classic? Well, SWIMMAN has been making H20-friendly music possible for over 10 years. But… their technology is limited to the the design asthetics of the product intending to join it’s owner under water. Apparently, the components and mechanisms of these are far more complex to coat and protect from H20 + other molecules (salts).

SwimMan is smart in that they know just an Apple Shuffle is not enough to get that energy rush in the water. You need headphones. Precisely … waterproof headphones also. Like any business; they pimp their own creation since they do not manufacture the iPod Shuffle.

Customers may choose to buy the waterproofed shuffle on its own ($150), or bundled with SWIMMAN’s acclaimed Waterproof Headset II ($100). A normal Apple iPod Shuffle costs between $49-$69 USD. SWIMMAN’s Headset sound quality is comparable to other top brand-name sound isolating headphones (Etymotics, Shure, Bose) that are priced higher than SWIMMAN’s, but unlike SWIMMAN, are not water-friendly. SWIMMAN’s high-fidelity headset is 100% waterproof, featuring sound-isolating design. The shuffle/headset duo is priced at $250 at swimman.com.

In their website FAQ this answer is reflectd toward “Is it really waterproof’? This is part of the answer. “Please note that due to the waterproofing process, the on/off button and the shuffle button will be stationary. The functions of these two buttons are controlled either by iTunes on your computer (shuffle feature), by simply disconnecting your waterproof headset (Off), or pushing the center button of the wheel for On.

The on/off button can be used for the ‘Reset’ process of troubleshooting - use of this button for troubleshooting purposes will not harm the integrity of the waterproofing technology.

So you lose a button for the sake of getting the adrenaline pumping on the Shark spear gun hunt. Hmmm. I like it! also; there is a limit to depth obviously. The pressure will definitely affect the headphones but not the  Shuffle itself.

The SwimMan site has packages labeled A - E to cover all bases for getting the tricked out water experience popping.

How’s the guarantee and warranty. Well read it from the seahorse’s mouth. http://www.swimman.com/ipodcare.html

I have not personally taken the plunge with shipping my Special AIDS aware red Apple ipod 2nd gen shuffle. I will refer this to my swimming friend. She may just pony up to order the whole $250 waterproof combo from them. There are some negatives floating on the ‘Net. You can read reviews here.

Apple spawns feeds yet another third party business.