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LG Heart Rate Monitor Earphone review: good fitness gadget, poor earphones
Heart rate monitors are no longer the exclusive domain of fitness gadgets. The last 12 months have seen sensors make their way into smartphones and wearables, replacing for many of us the need for a standalone pulse monitor. The problem is a lot of these options have been unable to deliver accurate heart rate mesurements, partly because those sensors have to maintain contact with your skin; if they slip, then the readout skips. Maybe LG has the answer, then: Put heart rate monitoring technology into a pair of Bluetooth headphones. If you're like me and are constantly wired for sound during workouts, what could possibly be better? LG's Heart Rate Monitor earphones link to an iOS/Android app, with absolutely nothing burdening your wrists. LG's fitness app can even add your exercise sessions to a step counter, so long as you buy LG's optional Lifeband Touch fitness band. What's more, the app also integrates with other fitness apps like RunKeeper. It all sounds great on paper, but there's a problem: the headphones don't actually sound good. Let me explain.
LG's heart rate-tracking earbuds could arrive in the US soon
Back at CES, LG was talking up the Lifeband fitness wearable and a pair of heart rate-sensing earphones, but neglected to mention when we'd actually see them in stores. Thanks to the FCC, however, we can get a reasonable idea that the latter device will arrive shortly. Now that the Bluetooth earphones, packed with Valencell's optical heart rate-monitoring technology, have been deemed fit for human consumption, it shouldn't be too long before this gear is available to buy -- and we can get back to wondering when the Nike-troubling Lifeband will make an appearance.
