Insanely Dry

This is an Apple iPod Shuffle. An amazing piece of technology. It weighs less than 3 ounces. Has 2 gigabytes of memory. And can store hundreds of songs. When the designers at Apple came up with this marvel of innovation, they thought of everything.

Well almost, everything.

You see while the iPod Shuffle is perfect for running, cycling, hiking, walking, or even napping on the beach, it is a land-lubbing device. It does not do well with water. This can be a problem if you do your jogging in Seattle. Or if, like me, you sweat excessively and come from a long line of schvitzers.

It certainly rules out the notion of swimming with music.
Or does it?

You see while Apple was fine making an insanely great compact MP3 player, the folks at waterfi.com have made it insanely greater.

They purchased truckloads of these Apple iPod Shuffles. Then started tearing them apart. Piece by piece, component by component. Then they meticulously coated each tiny electrical thingamajig with a chemical solution that makes it impervious to water. A team of neurosurgeons and Japanese Bonsai gardeners carefully reassembled the thousands of pieces. Producing the world's-first submersible MP3 player.

I bought my waterfi way back in March and have been swimming regularly with it. As I've noted before, swimming can be dull and monotonous. Many folks say it's more mental than physical. Swimming with music changes all that. Time disappears and 1/2 miles easily become full miles.

Years ago, I had tried the SwiMP3 with its patented Bone Conduction System. It looks like this:

The music is literally transferred, via vibration, from the player through the swimmer's cheekbone. What self-respecting man wants to walk around with two plastic toys strapped to his face? And what self respecting man shaves his armpits?

I sing the praises of my waterfi wherever I go. And even more so now.

Two weeks ago, it stopped taking a charge. I contacted the company in San Diego. I mailed them my defunct unit, they checked it out, found a defect and decided to send me a second generation player with improved waterproofing.

They didn't ask to see a receipt. Didn't argue about warranty coverage. And they didn't do anything but stand behind their product and deliver excellent customer service. How do you not love a company like that?

I hope the waterfi folks succeed beyond their wildest dreams and expand their product offerings. I know it's a stretch, but I hope they go into the airline business.