This is the era of smart stuff — smart phones, smart watches, and even smart pants. A German company, called Bragi, has now decided to take the concept of smart things to headphones. Their headphones, called Dash, offer a whole array of functions that are not even remotely connected to audio along with the usual advanced features like Bluetooth wireless connectivity and a built-in microphone.
The device is an amalgamation of biometrics, audio, Bluetooth connectivity and more in a single product that has been turned into a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. This campaign is an attempt by the company to make the device a reality.
The Dash’s concept is the brainchild of Nikolaj Hviid (an entrepreneur and the former Head of Design for Harman) and Jodef Scheider (former Head of Mechanical Design for AKG) and they are helping in bringing this concept to life.
Hviid wanted a discrete assistant who would take care of him. He wanted a device that would help understand his body and let him know when he had reached his limit, while helping him get better at what he does.
The Dash is equipped to play music from an embedded 4GB/1000 — song music player and also from your smartphone with the help of a Bluetooth connection. The full music bandwidth is streamed over a wireless connection with aptX technology.
The buds track movements — the pace and the steps and the distance covered; they measure heart rate and the levels of oxygen in your blood in addition to behaving like a Bluetooth headset to deliver clear voice quality from an ear-bone microphone.
According to the makers, The Dash is designed to offer impressive noise isolation. But, you can let ambient sound in. this can be achieved with the help of a transparent audio feature that can be enabled or disabled by swiping the touch surface.
The headphones come with a choice of three sizes of silicone sleeves: S, M, and L. These have The Dash package to provide a three-point secure fit for all types of ears. The weight of one headphone is less than 13.8 grams and there are no wires to pull on your ears.
These marvellous headphones come with a response bandwidth of 20-20,000 Hz, a 16-bit stereo audio format and an output of 10mW RMS with level limit, and the total harmonic distortion is less than 2 per cent.
The expected battery backup is of three hours of music and track time, or it can give you four hours of music and takes less than an hour to charge up with the help of a USB cable or a DC adapter.
The Dash is fully compatible with a wide range of devices, including iPhones (4S onwards), iPads (3rd Generation onwards), and Android devices with Bluetooth LE hardware running under 4.3 Jelly Bean or later. The support is quite limited for Windows and Blackberry devices.
Till now, the company has managed to raise twice its goal of $260,000, and The Dash is moving off the shelves like hot cakes. You can order one for $299 apiece.
My verdict? I would say that this sure looks promising, and it could well be worth your money!
The writer is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Possibillion Technologies.
