By Sourabh Kulesh

New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS): Apple AirPods and Samsung Gear "IconX" laid the foundation for the next era of premium Bluetooth earphones -- and with people shelling out more for best-in-class technology, other players like Jabra have intensified the competition.

Denmark-based Jabra, a subsidiary of GN Netcom that makes in-ear and on-ear audio wearables, recently launched "Elite Sport" wireless bluetooth earplugs for fitness lovers who want music on-the-go.

Let's see how these are different from others.

With the Elite Sport earphones, Jabra has given people an option to ditch fitness watches and other gadgets.

These are two separate earplugs that come with several attachments for top-of-the-line audio output and have a heart rate monitor (HRM) fixed in it -- a first for wireless earplugs.

The buds have a design similar to Samsung's IconX earplugs. One of the buds houses multi-function controls to answer or reject calls/play or pause music and a shortcut to the Jabra Sport Life app.

The other bud can be used to adjust the volume and to skip tracks.

The device comes with an on-the-go charger which needs to be charged to deliver extra battery for the buds. For longer use, the customers are advised to first charge the device from the portable charger.

In one charge, the device runs for just about three hours. The case gives two extra charges, totalling almost nine hours of running time.

The two earbuds connect with one another through near field communication (NFC) technology.

When it comes to comfort, the company has given an array of silicon and foam tips and wing tips (nine pairs in total) for secure fit. Go for silicon tips when you are at a place where there is not much noise.

The foam tips are recommended for environments with extreme noise and provide better noise cancellation than silicon ones.

The device is water-and-sweat-resistant and so you don't need to worry about them being wet.

With the earbuds on, we trained (running and workout) for almost two hours and it was really comfortable.

We kept checking our workout regime on the Sport Life app. It includes several features that help a user monitor and improve on the exercise regime.

You can take "VO2max" test to assess and track your fitness level.

As far as call and audio output are concerned, we were more than satisfied with the quality of the depth and richness of the sound. The balance between bass and treble was excellent.

What does not work?

The earbuds are not as compact as the Samsung IconX or Apple Airpods.

At times, you hear the sound in one earbud and, after a lag, in the other. This might be owing to the NFC technology that "wakes up" the other bud.

Conclusion: The Jabra Elite Sport is a one-of-a-kind Bluetooth earphone. Highly recommended to people who seek high-audio output and fitness on-the-go.