 Wired headphones kind of suck. The wires can get tangled, you can yank your laptop off the table. That's why so many people buy wireless headphones these days. The problem with those is that they're either big and clunky or cheap and small. That's where these come in. They're called the Bragi Dash and they're truly wireless earbuds. It's an idea that was so popular that the company raised $3 million on Kickstarter. Now that they're here, are there any good? Let's start with the hardware, which is really good. Bragi made the Dash small enough and light enough that you don't really notice them when they're in your ears. And they stay in well enough that you can run with them, you can swim with them, and you can bike with them. On the outside is a really nice polished plastic with a little light that glows to tell you how much battery is left. On the inside is some rubber that helps grip to your ear and some sensors as well, a heart rate sensor and an IR sensor. Now once you've set them up, the earbuds will sync together and to your phone every time that you put them in your ear. The lower half of each earbud is touch sensitive and lets you do things like control your music or your volume or even activate something like Siri. Finding the touchpad takes some getting used to, but I only really had trouble with it the first few days. The Dash will last you about 3-4 hours and anytime they run out of battery you can just drop them back into the charging case. That case can recharge the Dash in under an hour and the case carries 5 full charges. You're not going to get a full day out of the Dash, but the case makes it possible to bring them basically anywhere without having to charge them. Now the Dash connects to your phone over Bluetooth, but the earbuds connect to each other using something called Near Field Magnetic Induction. It's a technology from the hearing aid industry. This helps with the sound quality and means that the audio actually stays synced whether you're listening to music or watching video. As wireless headphones go, there's even a good amount of bass, though the clarity of the mid and high range frequencies could be a lot better. The problem with the Dash's audio right now is that Bluetooth connection to your phone though, it's just not that foolproof. If you throw it in your bag or in your pants pocket, the audio starts to skip and stutter. It doesn't happen all the time, but it makes the experience really frustrating. But Braggie wants the Dash to be so much more than just earbuds. There's a whole bunch more functionality like fitness tracking, a personal assistant, and there are even gestures. All of these are in supremely early stages and you're almost better off ignoring them. The Dash has modes for running, biking, and swimming, but it can only count your steps and time your activities. It's also supposed to be able to measure your heart rate, but I could never really get it to work right, and I think it's just a problem of the way that the Dash sits in my ear. If these things worked, it would be great because the Dash can also store music, meaning you could leave your phone at home while you go and work out. The Dash is also supposed to be a personal assistant, but right now the voice that you hear only really guides you through the startup process and the menus. And the gestures are really limited too. Right now you can only accept or reject phone calls, which is frustrating because the built-in audio is so loud that it's hard to hear. Even audio transparency, which is a feature that lets you hear the outside world without taking your earbuds out, is a bit of a letdown. This is a feature that impressed me a bunch at CES, but outside of a quiet hotel room it's just not the same. It's a great way to hear someone who's speaking directly to you, but the audio clips when it picks up loud or high-pitched noises, or even a mild breeze, which is a pain because this feature would be most useful when you're running or biking down the street. Now those are all problems, but if you're optimistic, there are also glimpses at the future that the Dash is promising. The good thing is that they can all be solved with software, and Bragi is promising to release monthly updates. Until then it's really only good with audio, and even then it's not perfect. At least there's no wires though.
 Wired headphones kind of suck.
 The wires can get tangled, you can yank your laptop off the table.
 That's why so many people buy wireless headphones these days.
 The problem with those is that they're either big and clunky or cheap and small.
 That's where these come in. They're called the Bragi Dash and they're truly wireless earbuds.
 It's an idea that was so popular that the company raised $3 million on Kickstarter.
 Now that they're here, are there any good?
 Let's start with the hardware, which is really good.
 Bragi made the Dash small enough and light enough that you don't really notice them when they're in your ears.
 And they stay in well enough that you can run with them, you can swim with them, and you can bike with them.
 On the outside is a really nice polished plastic with a little light that glows to tell you how much battery is left.
 On the inside is some rubber that helps grip to your ear and some sensors as well, a heart rate sensor and an IR sensor.
 Now once you've set them up, the earbuds will sync together and to your phone every time that you put them in your ear.
 The lower half of each earbud is touch sensitive and lets you do things like control your music or your volume or even activate something like Siri.
 Finding the touchpad takes some getting used to, but I only really had trouble with it the first few days.
 The Dash will last you about 3-4 hours and anytime they run out of battery you can just drop them back into the charging case.
 That case can recharge the Dash in under an hour and the case carries 5 full charges.
 You're not going to get a full day out of the Dash, but the case makes it possible to bring them basically anywhere without having to charge them.
 Now the Dash connects to your phone over Bluetooth, but the earbuds connect to each other using something called Near Field Magnetic Induction.
 It's a technology from the hearing aid industry.
 This helps with the sound quality and means that the audio actually stays synced whether you're listening to music or watching video.
 As wireless headphones go, there's even a good amount of bass, though the clarity of the mid and high range frequencies could be a lot better.
 The problem with the Dash's audio right now is that Bluetooth connection to your phone though, it's just not that foolproof.
 If you throw it in your bag or in your pants pocket, the audio starts to skip and stutter.
 It doesn't happen all the time, but it makes the experience really frustrating.
 But Braggie wants the Dash to be so much more than just earbuds.
 There's a whole bunch more functionality like fitness tracking, a personal assistant, and there are even gestures.
 All of these are in supremely early stages and you're almost better off ignoring them.
 The Dash has modes for running, biking, and swimming, but it can only count your steps and time your activities.
 It's also supposed to be able to measure your heart rate, but I could never really get it to work right, and I think it's just a problem of the way that the Dash sits in my ear.
 If these things worked, it would be great because the Dash can also store music, meaning you could leave your phone at home while you go and work out.
 The Dash is also supposed to be a personal assistant, but right now the voice that you hear only really guides you through the startup process and the menus.
 And the gestures are really limited too.
 Right now you can only accept or reject phone calls, which is frustrating because the built-in audio is so loud that it's hard to hear.
 Even audio transparency, which is a feature that lets you hear the outside world without taking your earbuds out, is a bit of a letdown.
 This is a feature that impressed me a bunch at CES, but outside of a quiet hotel room it's just not the same.
 It's a great way to hear someone who's speaking directly to you, but the audio clips when it picks up loud or high-pitched noises, or even a mild breeze, which is a pain because this feature would be most useful when you're running or biking down the street.
 Now those are all problems, but if you're optimistic, there are also glimpses at the future that the Dash is promising.
 The good thing is that they can all be solved with software, and Bragi is promising to release monthly updates.
 Until then it's really only good with audio, and even then it's not perfect.
 At least there's no wires though.