Jabra's Sport Pulse earbuds make heart rate monitoring easier and more convenient for fitness fanatics

If you like working out to your favourite tunes, Jabra's new Sport Pulse wireless earphones can provide something else apart from music – your heart rate. That's right, you don't have to wear the bulky and uncomfortable strap across your chest while you're exercising to find our your heart rate.

The Jabra Sport Pulse headphones are designed to appeal to those of us who like to walk, run, or hit the gym as part of an exercise program. They use a wireless Bluetooth connection rather than a cord, and they also have a built-in heart-rate monitor that negates the need for an extra strap.

Well designed with an excellent fit; Good sound quality; Wireless; Pouch for easy storage; Built in heart-rate monitor

Expensive; Need to carry a smartphone to get the most of out them; May not suit many athletes; Needs to be charged

Jabra's Sport Pulse Wireless is a bit of an odd product; Jabra has built a fitness tracker right into a pair of headphones. But unlike a Fitbit or Jawbone fitness tracker, the Pulse isn't meant be used all the time, it's designed to be used when you're working out.

Great motivator during workouts; Detailed analytics; Good sound quality

Battery life isn't great; Lack of bass; Dependant on a phone

Provided you're going to keep them plugged in for your entire workout, the Jabra Sport Pulse are great all-round sports headphones with some really good tracking smarts too. The sound is solid and the range of data you can track is very impressive.

VO2 Max test features; Comfortable fit; Great audio options from app

Expensive price-tag; Distorted sound at times; Dubious heart rate readings

The sound from my music is so much better than it was from my old iPhone headphones. The integrated heart rate monitor completes my sport activity monitoring and integrated with emdomondo tracker.

Jabra isn't new to the Bluetooth earphones game, but it's a company leading the way. The Jabra Pulse is a fine example: more than just a pair of wireless sports earphones, it's also an advanced personal trainer that tracks your heart rate and blood oxygen levels.

Heart-rate monitor and VO2 measure for personal training; great app; open ecosystem; fits well; great audio; ample battery; wireless

Battery life could be even better; can't be used as passive earphones due to wireless nature; no Windows Phone app (yet

I wasn't expecting Jabra to pay much attention to the audio quality when they announced another sports-centric earbuds. I was so wrong. There is no more compromises between function and quality, and there is no need to buy multiple earphones for different purposes.

While activity trackers are becoming readily available, heart rate monitors remain relatively rare, and seeing a solid monitor built into a $199.99 pair of wireless earphones is impressive.

Heart rate monitor is functional; App offers useful features for workouts

Sound profile lacks a sense of warmth or bass presence; Short battery life

While activity trackers are becoming readily available, heart rate monitors remain relatively rare, and seeing a solid monitor built into a $199.99 pair of wireless earphones is impressive. Jabra managed to pull this off with the Sport Pulse Wireless, a pair of Bluetooth earphones that lets you craft your ideal workouts and make sure you reach the heart rate you want for the best results. Unfortunately, the Sport Pulse Wireless forgets the most important part of any earphones: how they sound. They aren't terrible by any means, but they don't sound remotely close to what a $200 set of earphones should. Unless an integrated heart rate monitor is so important that you can overlook mediocre audio performance, you would likely be better off with a less expensive, better-sounding pair like the Plantronics BackBeat Fit ($69.95 at Amazon)  or BackBeat Go 2 ($28.99 at Amazon) and a standalone heart rate monitor like the MIO Link. DesignThe Sport Pulse Wireless ($94.20 at Amazon)  is a si...

Jabra can't make up for mediocre sound performance, even with the unique, handy heart rate monitor built into its gym-friendly Sports Pulse Wireless Bluetooth earphones.

Heart rate monitor is functional; App offers useful features for workouts

Sound profile lacks a sense of warmth or bass presence; Short battery life