FreeWavz

November 28, 2014

FreeWavz Exhibits and Sponsors Space Coast Marathon

FreeWavz is excited to be exhibiting at the Space Coast Marathon & Half Marathon on Saturday, November 29th. The expo will be held at The Radisson at the Port in Cape Canaveral, Florida. If you're in the area, stop by! We will be exhibiting from 9AM - 5PM. The Space Coast Marathon & Half Marathon Race will begin Sunday, November 30th in Cocoa Beach, Florida. We are honored to be sponsoring one of the oldest marathon in Florida! 3..2..1..Blast off! Good luck runners!

December 13, 2014

Kickstarter Update #24 - Hitting the Pre-Production Test Stage

Hi Backers! Exciting times at FreeWavz! We are now in the process of building the 30 test sets referenced in our last update. They are being built in the U.S.A. at our partner’s manufacturing facility, directly adjacent to the FreeWavz office in Melbourne, FL. The close proximity allows face-to-face coordination with our engineering and ops teams, and on-site engineering quality testing. We have received the first batch of production speakers and placed them in the earbud housings for further testing. We are really happy with the range and depth of fidelity across the frequency spectrum. We can’t wait to get them on ear in the next couple of days. Samples of the new custom batteries have been received and are entering testing. We are pleased that the output capacity is 5% higher than referenced on Kickstarter, coming in at 105mAh--squeezing out as much battery capacity as possible. We have run 3D prints of all 21 piece parts and the fit was very impressive—a credit to Chris and the entire mechanical engineering team. For volume production of the housing parts, those who have dealt with molded parts know that the molds to produce these parts can be tens of thousands of dollars, then the production costs/set can vary widely. Finding the right combination has been a real challenge and is impacting our production schedule as we work with the manufacturers to find the right solution, causing volume production to slip into February...[click for full article]

January 4, 2015

Kickstarter Update #25 - Welcome Mike Kahn, Assembling Test Sets and Preparing for CES

Welcome Mike Kahn: First and most importantly, we are very excited to announce that Mike Kahn will be joining FreeWavz as our CEO. Mike brings 25 years of experience in the Consumer Electronics industry, the last 17 with Sony Electronics, including VP of Partnership Marketing in their Consumer Products Group, and General Manager of their Mobile Audio, Shelf Audio, Portable Audio and Alpha Camera Systems groups. Mike has had the responsibility of managing the completion and introduction to the market of a variety of new products over his career. We are very pleased to find someone with Mike’s industry knowledge and leadership skills, and someone who shares our vision and excitement about FreeWavz. “With many years in the CE industry, I was searching for a company that is driving true innovation in its industry,” said Kahn. “It is a perfect fit with my experience in wearable audio.” Assembly of Test Sets: We have received all the electronic components to build a majority of our 30 test sets (60 units). The plastic and rubber housing components from temporary production molds created some unexpected challenges, but the team worked through the holidays and we are on path for successful demonstrations at CES. Production Plastic Molds: For volume production, we have contracted with one of the top plastic & rubber mold manufacturers and they are fully engaged in the design and build process. Those molds should be completed for the first production runs for our Kickstarter backers in mid Feb. App Development: We have been downloading and testing the Android app and it is looking awesome! The audio controls for separately adjusting left/right volume and 5-frequency equalizers are working great. Settings for announcement of all the fitness metrics are in place, as is the ability to graph results by activity/metric/time period. On to the iOS app which we expect to have done near the end of the month...[click for full article]

January 5, 2015

"CES leader: Welcome to 2015, the golden age of technology" - FOX News

"The tech revolution is killing a lot of old jobs. But it’s creating many, many more – not to mention giving us greater choice and levels of convenience that were once the stuff of fantasy. On one hand, devices connected via the Internet and powered by smart algorithms have reduced the need for travel agents, print reporters and bank tellers. But they’ve also empowered consumers while creating new jobs for electronics engineers, programmers, website designers, delivery truck drivers and bloggers, among many others...[click for full article and video]." - FOX News

January 30, 2015

"Five Fabulous Fitness Wearables that Were Successfully Crowdfunded" - Huffington Post

Today many many startups look to crowdfunding as a source of financing. According to Score.org, a nonprofit organization which mentors small businesses, crowdfunding has increased 18-fold since 2009 and now tops $10 billion. The fitness industry is no exception. Below are five successfully funded crowdfunding campaigns for fitness wearables...Described as smart earphones with built-in fitness monitoring and fitness tracking, FreeWavz aims to "change the way the world thinks about earphones, and about the relationship between music and fitness." Last August, FreeWavz raised over $325,000 on Kickstarter and have since launched on Fundable. "Our totally cordless, Bluetooth-connected smart earphones come with built-in heart rate monitoring and fitness tracking capabilities, so you you can rock out to your favorite inspirational tunes, get real-time motivational fitness feedback, and explore the world around you at the same time." The FreeWavz wire-free smart earphones with built-in heart rate and fitness monitoring are available to pre-order for $219 on the company's website: freewavz.com...[click for full article]

February 21, 2015

"Listen To Music and Check Your Pulse" - The Boston Globe

Instead of strapping on a heart monitor, grab a wearable device that will not only keep tabs on your ticker but also incorporates an already indispensable piece of workout equipment: headphones for use with your smartphone. FreeWavz: These wire-free, Bluetooth earphones have built-in heart-rate monitoring and fitness tracking. The product uses pulse oximetry, in which light is passed through tissue and captures heart rate and oxygen saturation. The results, in addition to the accelerometer data, are reported to the FreeWavz app on your iPhone or Android. The earphones, weighing under half an ounce each, were designed by ear, nose, and throat surgeon and FreeWavz founder Dr. Eric Hensen to fit the natural curvature of the ear. Listen to music while receiving customized audio fitness updates. The sweat- and water-resistant monitor was funded by Kickstarter. Pre-orders are available on Freewavz.com for $219.00....[click for full article]

March 18, 2015

FreeWavz Wins 2015 SXSW Interactive Innovation Award for Wearable Tech

FreeWavz™ received the SXSW Interactive Innovation Award for the Wearable Tech category at the 18th annual SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards ceremony, presented by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and supporting sponsors Cloud typography and IBM. "It is a great honor to be selected as a winner of SXSW's prestigious award," said Dr. Eric Hensen, founder of Freewavz. "Creating a fitness solution that allows people to track their metrics with medical grade technology while listening to music has become a reality, and we are thrilled by the amount of support we have received." FreeWavz smart fitness earphones are the world's first wire-free earphones. FreeWavz feature "absorption" pulse oximetry technology, the same method founder, Dr. Eric Hensen, uses in the operating room to obtain heart rate and oxygen saturation from his patients. FreeWavz not only record heart rate and oxygen saturation but also measure steps, calories burned, and report distance, duration and speed. Successfully launching on Kickstarter in August of 2014, FreeWavz raised more than $300,000 making FreeWavz one of the top 1% most funded Kickstarter projects. This award adds to FreeWavz's numerous accolades including 2015 CES Innovation Award Honoree and 2015 Bluetooth SIG Breakthrough Award Finalist in the prototype category, underscoring its technology innovation in the fitness wearable industry. "The Interactive community extends our sincere congratulations to this year's winners for this esteemed industry accolade and well-deserved recognition," said Mason Stewart, SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards Coordinator. FreeWavz is expected to deliver its Kickstarter campaign rewards beginning in May 2015 and be available for $249.99 in Summer 2015. Freewavz is now accepting pre-orders at a discounted price of $219 at www.Freewavz.com.

March 7, 2014

FreeWavz Sponsors Team Transcend!

March 7, 2014: FreeWavz is now a proud sponsor of Team Transcend, a premier body building team in Florida. We are incredibly excited to partner with Kareem Smith and the other members of this awesome squad. Team Transcend has been "Building Beasts" since 2010. Like FreeWavz, these guys are Unstoppable! “Being a student pursuing a Master’s degree in Exercise Science, a certified personal trainer, and a NPC fitness competitor, I the think FreeWavz wireless headset is changing the way we communicate and listen to our music. I can’t tell you the countless times I have been working out either by myself or training a client, and while squeezing by various pieces of equipment, the wire on the ear buds get hung on a piece of equipment. While this not only messes up your focus of completing your next exercise, your heart suddenly skips a beat, and are left wondering did you crack the screen of your phone or iPod. I have made Free Wavz wireless headphone my one and only earphones, and I guaranteed you will be as equally satisfied. “ – Kareem Smith of Team Transcend

March 10, 2014

FreeWavz is a CAT5 Award Finalist!

UCF and Space Florida are proud to announce hEar Gear, Inc. (dba FreeWavz) as a finalist for the CAT5 Awards Competition! The competition garnered over 70 applications from throughout the state of Florida and the competition was fierce. Finalists are expected to work with CAT5 Award sponsors Space Florida and the University of Central Florida Venture Accelerator in a number of coaching sessions and to pitch to an esteemed judging panel. The top 20 companies selected are expected to attend the Innovation Concourse of the Southeast: Manufacturing & Safety event and host an exhibit table for all of June 3 – 4, 2014. The event is scheduled to be held in Orlando, Florida with exact location to be announced soon. The company will also featured on the Innovation Concourse of the Southeast website (www.innovationconcourse.com) in which strategic investors and customers seek innovative company products.

June 17, 2014

Adrián Going Strong at Wimbledon Qualifier

Adrián Menéndez Maceiras, proud endorser of FreeWavz Smart Earphones, is the only Spanish player still in contention at the pre Wimbledon. The Marbella native, number 170 of the ATP rankings, needs one win to sneak into what would be his third Grand Slam, second in London (2012). Adrian passed Tuesday Belarusian Uladzimir Ignatik by by a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a clash played on Runway 6. Andalusian ticket will be played in the main draw against the winner of the duel that pits Luxembourg'sGilles Mullerand FrenchGregoire Burquier. Adrián seeks to join the list of the 'Armada' that now make up Rafa Nadal, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Nicolas Almagro, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez, Roberto Bautista, Marcel Granollers, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Albert Montanes, Pablo Andujar, Pablo Carreño, Daniel Gimeno-TraverandPere Riba.

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