Yamaha starts shipping BODiBEAT, workouts and music magically align

We've stated it before, but this time you really have ran out of excuses to run. Thanks to Yamaha's BODiBEAT, you can expect your tunes to automatically sync with your steps, giving you new reason to get out of the house and get to steppin'. Granted, the $299.99 price tag is pretty steep for just 512MB of space and 12-hours of battery life (marathon, what?), but we're sure there are a few of you out there willing to pay the premium to keep your head nodding perfectly in line with your pace. Oh, and if you completely skipped over the headline, it's shipping now. Right now.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

[D.Peters @ Aug 24th 2008 11:18AM]

I thought this was one of the features of the Nike + trainer/mp3 thingy... obv not

[Techie @ Aug 24th 2008 11:42AM]

It looks really nice but is it comfortable? The price is also a bit steep too.

[Tomheivers @ Aug 24th 2008 11:21AM]

I always find myself matching the beats to my steps so the idea is good, but it's rather expensive for only 512 MB :p

[bureX @ Aug 24th 2008 11:27AM]

I can already see myself cramming Need For Speed chase music in that thingy...
But seriously... half a gig'?! What year is this?

[Mike Skalnik @ Aug 24th 2008 1:37PM]

An iPhone jailbreak app does this. It's called Syncstep. Granted, you have to disable the auto-lock period on the iPhone/iPod Touch, so I have no clue what the battery life would be.

[greg @ Aug 24th 2008 8:28PM]

i've actually got it now so you can leave auto-lock on and synchstep will auto-dim your screen for you. will be releasing that version shortly.

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Aug 24th 2008 11:40AM]

Put some HappyHardCore or Gabber in that. I'd like to see the person keeping step to that..........

[James @ Aug 24th 2008 12:15PM]

2 years ago Sony's sports walkman mp3 players had similar functions: "G-Sensor technology that detects speed, tempo and acceleration to match your workout to the appropriate personalised playlist, a workout monitor by recording steps, distances and calorie counters from your last seven workouts and will stop when you've achieved your calorie burn."

[Mike @ Aug 24th 2008 12:25PM]

excuses NOT to run

[Mike @ Aug 24th 2008 12:26PM]

OR excuses for not running

[Mike @ Aug 24th 2008 12:27PM]

also, RUN out of

[cesium @ Aug 24th 2008 1:20PM]

wat?

[ACEY RIOT @ Aug 24th 2008 1:03PM]

did anyone else imagine combichrist doing the add music?...get your body beat?....just me huh?

[ch4s3r @ Aug 24th 2008 2:37PM]

That's exactly what I thought! I run to his frost ep it's great to the blood flowing!

[Greg (from the article) @ Aug 24th 2008 1:18PM]

runkeeper.com for your iPhone. $10. Doesn't sync your steps to music but a better product for the money.

[targe @ Aug 24th 2008 1:32PM]

The turtle that stumbled upon the marijuana plot (http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/23/gps-equipped-turtle-runs-into-reefer-farm-gets-high-fives-from/) was wearing one of these...

I believe he was jamming to the Funeral March

[wazzupalex @ Aug 24th 2008 4:28PM]

The concept is sound (no pun intended.) But the execution is a disaster! 512MB? Clunky design? Why didn't they just license the technology to our favourite fruity firm?

[greg @ Aug 24th 2008 8:22PM]

as mike pointed out, i wrote synchstep (http://synchstep.com) and it does exactly this. oh, and it's free and runs on your iphone or ipod touch and works with your entire music library.

it's a project i made back in 2005 that i ported to the iphone/ipod last february.

synchstep auto-dims the screen now so battery life is great.

http://synchstep.com

[Paulmichael @ Aug 24th 2008 8:42PM]

Wow, I think you may have convinced me to give my next 300 spare dollars to Apple and buy an iPod Touch... 16x the memory of this little thing. I've never had an iPod before, so that'll be something to get used to. If something similar were available for WM I'd just stick with my X51V though. I run quite a bit, but bike most of the time. This would get me to run more often than I bike.

[greg @ Aug 24th 2008 9:59PM]

heh, i hope so! :)

but ya, 512MB of memory is really pointless in the current market. it doesn't even look like they have a bpm analyzer, so unless your songs already have a bpm value you won't be able to use them. i worked on and created a bpm-analyzer app to go with synchstep that's quite a bit more accurate than most analyzers out there, and that's also free. it's a one-click setup.

i have no idea how complicated it will be to add music to this thing, but honestly, at $300 for 512MB, a closed-off piece of hardware, and yet another piece of hardware to own, i really don't know how this can be attractive at all.

i may port synchstep to symbian for nokia phones someday as well.

[charles @ Aug 24th 2008 10:35PM]

Synchstep works great. Thanks Greg!

[greg @ Aug 24th 2008 11:52PM]

glad to hear it!

i've mad some MASSIVE improvements to it in the past few weeks. next update will be a biggie. way more accurate and faster. i'm excited.

[MikeMulligan @ Aug 25th 2008 12:26PM]

Yeah I have synchstep for the iphone, and it suffers from the same problem this does, which is that it COMPLETELY DEFEATS THE PURPOSE of listening to music while working out.

Anyone considering this device knows what I mean. You're running lets say, and then suddenly a fast paced song comes on, and it gives you a little boost and you pick up speed. This is good. This is why I like listening to music while working out.

I listen to music because a fast beat will encourage me / give me energy to run (or whatever) at the pace of the beat. I'm looking for the music to lead and motivate my workout. If I'm not running fast enough, I don't want it to play a slow song. I want it to play a faster song to push me.

[MikeMulligan @ Aug 25th 2008 12:30PM]

Ok my last two comments - clearly out of order. The rant should have come before the solution.

[greg @ Aug 25th 2008 3:59PM]

mike, i think what you're looking for is what nike+ offers: they have albums you purchase that do exactly what you're looking for, where the music is ordered in a way to lead you to push yourself harder. you might like that system better given your preference.

synchstep is definitely not meant to be a trainer application at all. it's function is to synchronize music to your pace, not help you get an ideal workout. synchstep isn't about leading or following, but more about symbiosis.

i think the purpose of music during exercise is different for everyone. for me, listening to music while running helps me enjoy the run more, not necessarily pushing myself to perform better. i guess it's just a personal thing, but i don't like being bullied by my music. that's what normal music devices do to me, so i wanted to make one that didn't do that.

i've been planning to add in faster/slower buttons for a while, so maybe that will help your frustration, but it honestly sounds like you want what nike+ offers more than what synchstep is designed to be.

[MikeMulligan @ Aug 25th 2008 2:32AM]

Hey Greg,

Glad you're actually in this discussion.

Re my earlier comment - a feature to detect your pace, and then provide you a song with a FASTER pace - i.e. some sort of "boost me" button would be a fantastic feature for syncstep.

[greg @ Aug 27th 2008 9:03PM]

good idea, mike. thanks. i'm writing a whole new interface that appears once synchstep detects that you're running since tapping tiny iphone/ipod buttons on a screen is a lot harder when you're booking it down the street. :)

i'll look into adding some sort of "boost" and "relax" buttons that change to a faster or slower song respectively.