New Balance has announced they are teaming up with iHome to launch a sport/fitness headphones for runners and endurance athletes. I personally never wear headphones when I go running, especially when trail running. How can you connect with nature if you can’t hear it?
At any rate, from the SportsOneSource.com article, “New Balance is dedicated to offering innovative products to help athletes of all abilities perform at their best,” says John Cullen, general manager for licensing at New Balance. “iHome’s experience and expertise in the audio solutions industry will allow us to offer a range of innovative sport headphones to complement our existing line of performance footwear, apparel and accessories.”
“Listening to the right type of music while running, training or competing in an endurance-style event can have a very positive effect on performance,” said Evan Stein, vice president of marketing for iHome. “Merging iHome’s ability to create compelling audio devices with New Balance’s expertise in the world of athletic products is sure to be a winning combination, and we hope many athletes will soon be beating their personal bests with the release of our New Balance Sport Headphones this holiday season.”
The New Balance 439 headphones have removable ear-hooks and detachable cables of varying length and will retail for $34.99. The New Balance 447 will be foldable and sit on your ears but also feature the interchangeable cables along with an in-line player remote for iPhones and iPods; it will retail for $34.99. Lastly, the New Balance 467 will be behind the neck headphones (neckphones?) with interchangeable cable links and sell for $24.99.
We’ll have to wait and see how well a shoe company like New Balance can manufacture and market headphones for runners with their partner iHome. Maybe we’ll start seeing more of these partnerships in the future. I however think New Balance should stick to its core competency; making those laidback grey sneakers that everyone used to like so much….