Jabra made a big show of introducing their Sport Bluetooth music/phone earbuds at CES this year, even bringing in triathlete celeb and Ironman champ Craig Alexander to flaunt the buds while he sweat away the miles on a stationary bike. Unfortunately, the Sport has been plagued by reports of abysmal Bluetooth connectivity (possibly due to range) and poor fit ever since it shipped.
Jabra’s response is their new Sport Wireless+, the successor to the Sport, which Jabra says has made everything better.
Specifically, Jabra says they’ve improved the connectivity, enhanced the fit by adding eargel and boosted battery longevity. There’s also a new clip that keeps the cord from resting on the back of the neck, another issue users complained about.
To sweeten the pot, Jabra has also included a three-month premium subscription to fitness site Edmondo.
The Sport Wireless+ is available now for $99 (unchanged from the original Sport), from Amazon or Verizon.
Source: Jabra
When he was eight, Eli Milchman came home from frolicking in the Veld one day and was given an Atari 400. Since then, his fascination with technology has made him an intrepid early adopter of whatever charming new contraption crosses his path. He calls San Francisco home, where he works as a journalist and photographer. Eli has contributed to the pages of Wired.com and BIKE Magazine, among others. Hang with him on Twitter.
2 responses to “Hopefully The New Cycling-Friendly Jabra Sport Wireless+ Bluetooth Earbuds Fix Its Predecessor’s Woes”
Does this new model have “Multiuse connects to 2 devices at the same time” as the old one?
I had the original Jabra Sport until my dog chewed it up one fateful day. I was actually pretty happy with it, but now that I read this article I do remember it having abysmal battery life. To the point where I would plug it in at the end of every run. But I thought it worked well and was comfortable. As with any product, the next version is usually an improvement. Any Bluetooth device is going to have connectivity woes outdoors though. The device I’m using now (Jaybird Freedom) I love, but I do have to wear my iPhone on my right arm for it to stay connected (the BT receiver is on the right side, and BT signals don’t like traveling through the body). The bottom line is that without walls and a ceiling, BT signals can easily get lost. So direct line of sight is preferable. I’m wondering if/when there will be a successor to BT that doesn’t have this limitation.