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4iiii Innovations are an American company who have created a fantastic Heads Up Display and audio feedback system, giving athletes instantaneous feedback on their current performances, whilst never taking your eyes off the road.
Sportiiiis is the first product from 4iiii's Innovations and it is a really great piece of kit.
Inside the box you will get
•Sportiiiis HUD (Heads-Up-Display)
•Quickstart Guide
•(2) universal mounting attachments
•USB cable
•ANT+ Soft Heart Rate Strap
Sportiiiis HUD
side on view of Sportiiiis
underside view of Sportiiiis
Features of the Sportiiiis
The back of the Sportiiiis contains a speaker, either when you tap the device or set up prompts (more later)
TipTap Sensor - inside the main part of the unit is a sensor which will detect any taps you make and changes the functions of the unit
To get the best out of the TipTap Sensor, it is best to hold the unit with your middle finger, and then tap with your index finger. The sensitivity of the TipTap can be adjusted in the Configuration Untility.
Milti-function button - the red button on the underside of the Sportiiiis is a touch button (you don't need to depress it, only touch it) and this is what powers the Sportiiiis and also controls other functions.
To activate the Multi-function, tap the red button and the device will loudly beep, then hold that down until you hear a number of quieter beeps. It takes a couple of attempts to fully understand how it works, but once you understand how the system works it is really easy to work.
Here is a list of the Multi-Function Button Actions:
Micro-USB port - Underneath the unit, next to the multifunction button is a micro-USB port. This is used to connect the unit to your computer to adjust the settings on the Sportiiiis.
Boom - The Boom contains seven LED's. This is where the action is with the Sportiiiis. The LED's will light up to indicate where your performance is relative to the target zone for the currently enabled sensor.
Setting up Sportiiiis
There is mac and windows software available for download.
Once you have downloaded and installed the software, go and fire it up. Before this, you will want to connect the Sportiiiis to you computer via the micro-usb cable
The first time you use the unit, you have the option of going to the Sportiiiis website to get more acquainted with the unit.
It is likely that you will have to update the firmware the first time you connect the unit to the device. This is really easy to do:
Once the unit is updated you are ready to go
The first thing you will want to do is set the user up
This is a straightforward process, and nobly requires a few basic bits of information.
The next step is to set up your zones, to do this, press "Zones" on the left hand menu
What you are doing now is setting up your target heart rate. These values will equate to a colour on the sensor. For example on the setting above, If my heart rate lands between 130 and 160 bpm, the LED on the boom will be green, so I know I am workout out at the correct intensity.
To change the units, double click on one of the horizontal grey bars, then you can manually set the zones by entering in the numbers you want.
It is also possible to set up pace and cadence zones, below is the pace zone view. One important thing to note here is you will need the appropriate ANT+ sensor, otherwise the Sportiiiis will not be able to tell you which zone you are in!
If you select 'Include in auto announce' then the Sportiiiis will include this information in its auto-announcement, which is set up in the 'Audio' part of the settings (more on this below)
Navigating to 'Setup' on the left hand side menu, you can get stuck into setting the Sportiiiis up as you want
The first sub menu is LEDs.
Here you set the brightness and blink rate of the LED, and also configuring which side you will have the Sportiiiis on. The higher the brightness and LED blink rate will mean that the battery will deplete quicker. 80 is an appropriate level for the brightness if you have the boom on the inside of your glasses.
The next sub menu is Audio
You will want to set the volume level here, around 80 - 85 works well! The voice can either be male or female! The auto announce feature is the feature that transmits data from all the parked ANT+ sensors for which you ticked 'include in Auto-Announce' in the 'Zones' menu set up!
In the 'Sensors' sub menu, all the currently paired sensors will de displayed. I have currently not got any paired in the picture below. If you have a bike or footpod attached, you can also make any adjustments to their calibration here. It is also possible to delete any paired sensors from this menu.
** pic of one included
The TipTap menu option allows you to set the sensitivity of the device, try it on normal to begin with and make adjustments as you feel appropriate.
Once you have set the Sportiiis up, you will want to update the settings on the device, whilst this is happening there will be an update screen displayed like this:
Once it is all done, in the bottom left of the application will be a Sportiiiis Status, and as you can see, it will display 'Ok to disconnect'. It is here you can see the battery status of the Sportiiiis.
That is the configuration utility sorted. Once you have the Sportiiiis set up it is time to pair an ANT unit with the Sportiiiis
Pairing
Pairing the Sportiiiis with an ANT+ device is very easy. Make sure any other ANT+ devices are at least 30 feet away, otherwise the Sportiiiis will pick up those sensors also. The ANT+ devices need to be active (HR strap on, walking around with the footpod and turning your bike wheels to active bike sensors)
Make sure the Sportiiiis are offf
Press the multifunction button (red button) and wait until the device beeps three times (three quiet beeps!)
Release the button and the device will say 'Pairing'
Each time the Sportiiiis find a sensor, it will let you know what sensor it has found
That is it.
To remove an individual sensor, you can do that via the Configuration Utility. To delete all the paired sensors, start the parring process again as if it was the first time.
Battery Life
The Sportiiiis have a battery life of approximately 8 to 9 hours. It will take around 75 minutes to charge the device from empty. Charging is done by connecting the unit to a power source via the Micro-USB cable.
Switching between modes
The Sportiiiis have two zone profile modes, Bike and Run. To move between the two, just press the multifunction button until you hear three little beeps, and the device will announce which mode you are now in.
Attaching the Sportiiiis to your glasses
One last thing before you go out and use your Sportiiiis is that you will need to attach them to your sunglasses, using one of the two universal mounting adaptors supplied with the Sportiiiis.
I have used a pair of Oakley Jawbones as my sunglasses
Step 1.
Insert the wraps into the mooting bracket
Step 2.
Slide the Sportiiiis into the mounting bracket
Step 3.
Align the Sportiiiis boom up with the bottom of your glasses, you can either have the boom inside or outside of the lens.
Step 4.
Start to tighten the wraps up so you fix the mounting bracket in place.
Step 5.
Slide the Sportiiiis off the bracket, and cinch down the tie wraps as tight as possible
Step 6.
Using a set of nail clippers, cur the excess from the tie wraps.
Step 7.
Slide the Sportiiiis unit back onto the mount and bend the boom into its final position.
That is the fitting process. It isn't too difficult to do, and you get given plenty of wraps to use if you get it wrong.
Using the Sportiiiis
The Sportiiiis are very easy to use when you are out and about. The LED is easy to see and gives you an update on your current performance without having to take your eyes off the road.
The audio updates are very clear.
View of LED 
View of Sportiiiis from in front of glasses
Using the multifunction button and the TipTap to change functions on the device is simple.
We have a little video of the Sportiiiis in use here so you can get a bit of a feel for what they are like.
Conclusion
There is quite a bit of setting up to do with the Sportiiiis, from getting the settings sorted to actually attaching the Sportiiiis to your sunglasses. However, once you have got this done the Sportiiiis are very easy to use and are a great training tool. You can switch between sensors with minimal fuss using the multifunction button.
The unit looks good, adds vey little weight to the sunglasses and the sunglasses do not become cumbersome once you have the unit attached.
Sportiiiis recently reduced their prices, the HUD only model retails for $149.99 and the HUD with Heart Rate monitor will cost you $199.99. They are available here.