DrPete 

Wow, I love these things.

I'm still at the level where swimming is a little painful, and in hopes of finding something to distract me a bit while I swim, I decided to try the H2O Audio Interval phones--basically a small waterproof enclosure for the iPod shuffle that clips onto the goggle strap and has a couple earphones dangling off it.



I'm really impressed with the build quality of the Interval itself, and even more impressed with the sound--make sure you take the time to size the earplugs correctly (it comes with 5 different sizes of plug for a good fit) and the sound quality is really impressive.

Nothing makes those last few laps go by like listening to Ok Go's "Get Over It."

Definitely a quality, fun gadget if you're looking for music in the pool.

spartan_msu

I have been looking for something simular. Do the headphones actually stop water from entering your ear as well?

travelmama

That gadget is nifty. The sound is superb and water did not get in my ears when I used it. If I HAD to swim daily I would definitely buy one. The deal breaker for me is having to use an ipod shuffle. I didn't want to spend money on two items when I have an ipod.

DrPete 

They do--it just takes a little time to get a snug fit with the plugs, but once you do you're set.

DrPete 

I found a refurbished 1GB shuffle for $32. Does add to the cost, but not horribly. They do make an armband for the regular iPod (the AmphibX, I think), but the AmphibX + earphones costs more than the Interval with a 1GB shuffle...

scorpio516

That is pretty cool, but if your like me and already bought your wife the iS2 nano case

it doesn't help much .

Looks like they use their "Surge" headphones though (or very, very similar), even though the iS2 + Surge is more expensive than the Interval set-up. Oh well, have had the case for over a year already

dbpaddler

+1 on the shuffle. I sent my Sansa Clip to Swimman to see if they could waterproof it like they do Shuffles (so you don't need the case), but it was a no go. Hate the Shuffle because you can't choose your music or how it's played. It plays in whatever random order it wants. And you have to use itunes. Two dealbreakers. Though I picked up a little waterproof ziploc type case from Five Below. Haven't had a chance to try it out yet though. For $5 it's worth a shot.

kanaddem

I'd never heard of the Swimman waterproofing service. I was pretty excited about it, until I realized it would be $200 for the waterproofing service and headphones combined.

I have a Shuffle 2nd gen (actually 2, I misplaced one for a while) and I can set up playlists for it, though I usually just drag entire albums over to play in the correct order. There IS a switch that will play in shuffle mode, but you can turn that off. I also hate iTunes and refuse to use it. Songbird is a great alternative, and is available for Windows, OS X and even 'nix nerds. Works well on my Linux machine and my MacBook (I prefer Banshee, but it's OS X only, you don't sound like a Mac fan anyway ). Winamp and Floola both work too.

threeoneseven

thanks for the heads up on the interval, DrPete. i found one in MPLS this last weekend and tried it out last night. it's probably the best $80 i've spent in a long time.