Sony's prototype headphones put a digital running coach in your ears
Tech giants across the world are having to do something they probably never thought they'd have to: cook up a wearables strategy. Sony's is still very much in flux, but until now it's mostly centered around gadgets that go on your wrists and -- in one crazy case -- a pair of Google-esque smart glasses. This time though, Sony's wondering out loud about the future of gadgets that go in your ears (earables?), and to that end it's cooked up a kooky prototype it calls the B-Trainer.
Think of it as a smarter take on Sony's long-running line of wireless Walkman headphones -- they even look similar, with all of the brains located in the earbuds rather than the band that connects them around the back of your head. The B-Trainer is laden with sensors (we're still trying to figure out exactly what kind, but an accelerometer and a heart rate monitor are likely) and once they're firmly in your ears, they'll play music and the dulcet tones of a disembodied coach coaxing you to even greater physical heights. And perhaps the best bit? The B-Trainer will also try to suss out what songs to play at certain points during your run. That may not sound like much, but trust your author/runner -- there's seriously nothing like have your power song come on while you're trying to sprint that last few hundred meters.
Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
