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Bragi Dash review: The smartest earbuds on the planet
Since I started at Engadget, it's been my life's mission (possible exaggeration) to reduce the number of gadgets I carry when I run. At one point, getting ready for a workout was something of a memory test. Where's my heart-rate strap? Did I charge my MP3 player overnight? Where's the foot-pod thingy? Are my headphones where I usually leave them? What about the GPS dongle and my running watch? You get the picture.
Best of CES 2015 Awards, Digital Health & Fitness: Bragi Dash
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-933616{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-933616, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-933616{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-933616").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Digital health and fitness is a category so large that it had its own section in the Sands at CES this year, with everything from robotic bikes to smart shirts. But beating all of that to win our Best of CES award is a tiny pair of earbuds from Bragi called "The Dash." The wireless headphones tuck in a surprising amount of tech -- activity tracker, heart rate monitor, media player and more -- into a really small package. It's no wonder that it raised more than $3 million in its Kickstarter campaign last year... and went home with more than one of our crystal trophies.
An exclusive look at Bragi's ambitious smart headphones
Eleven months ago an audacious Kickstarter campaign promised a sports headphone like nothing we'd ever seen before. Bragi's spec sheet for "The Dash" read like a ridiculous wish list. There was touch control, two separate ear buds (that connect to each other wirelessly, as well as to your phone), 4GB of onboard storage, 3.5-hours battery life and a self-contained media player. That's impressive enough, but Bragi didn't stop there. The Dash would be stuffed full of sensors like an accelerometer, heart rate monitor and an oxygen saturation sensor. It didn't stop there either. Some pretty special-sounding software meant that The Dash would serve as a personal trainer through audio feedback; there would be a "transparent" mode so you could hear ambient sounds and more. Bragi didn't stop there.
