Hasta La Gadget!

LAS VEGAS — Getting on the treadmill usually means it’s time to plug in those headphones for some Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

Now a digital music player from Philips, called Activa, promises to sort through your music library and sync it to your heart rate, playing music whose rhythms match those of your own body. It’s a pedometer combined with a music player.

The watch-like Activa can be worn on the wrist or strapped on an arm band. The device can store up to 4GB of music, or about 500 songs, and costs $130.

At the heart of Activa is TempoMusic, a proprietary software developed by Philips. It starts by analyzing the user’s music library and stores characteristics for each song, including several related to tempo. The software also asks users to identify a song that inspires them to work harder and one that reflects the type of music they like.

So by the time you near the peak of your workout, Activa can detect that you’re getting close to your limit — and then blare out Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” if that’s what you want.

Through the workout, the device also offers audio feedback such as the number of calories burnt, time and distance. But that cuts through the music and it can quickly get annoying. There’s also a website you can load that data and track your workouts.

But doesn’t everyone have an iPod by now? So are the Activa’s features compelling enough to make you swap your iPod for the Activa at the gym?

Photo: Activa/Priya Ganapati