With the Olympics on TV all the time, it seems like the perfect time for some exercise-focused apps to hit the App Store. And that's precisely what Nike has done.
Nike+ will be released soon and it looks to be loaded with features tailored specifically to the workout-minded. Runners will particularly benefit as Nike+ is to contain Google Map support and a timer. This way you can plan out your exercise route and keep track of your best times. There are also graphs that show your performance over time and you can keep track of your goals, calories burnt and more.
The best thing about this is you can listen to music while you run and not have to carry around an extra gadget. And though I'm not sure how you could possibly use this app while running, I'm sure those savvy exercisers will find a way.
[via CrunchGear]
Does this me the receiver will then work with the iPhone? or are we going to have to buy something entirely new?
@AngleJo008 In the iPod version, the receiver is just a means to talk to the accelerometer in your shoe. I guess we won’t know until it’s released, but I assume that the iPhone wouldn’t even need the extra nike+ hardware, since it has an accelerometer built in. If you’re running it on a 3G iPhone, it could use the GPS and get even more accurate (and probably also totally drain your battery).
I’m also curious about the music playback portion of the app. The original nike+ iPod app would interface with the music app on the device, but iPhone apps are sandboxed and there’s no API to talk to the iPod app (to control playback, get a list of songs, etc.). I wonder if Apple’s given them special access, or if they’ve come up with another method on their own (like making you add a copy of the music you want to hear during a run outside of iTunes).
I’m hoping that they make use of both the shoe piece and the GPS receiver. I have the Nike+ for iPod and noticed some variations in the readings. Same with using the GPS part of the iPhone with other running Apps. I would think using both would help make the results that much more exact?? GPS readings in my area have been a little off and could be contributed to location, tree cover, etc.
Just my two cents :) Jason
Angle, Rick and Jason are both right. No new hardware is needed.
there is one more standard possibility: Nike* shoes gives data to iphone. Shoes accellerometer uses bluetooth to transmit the rfid (your shoe ID) and the accellerometer data to the phone. The iphone already has a bluetooth receiver for the headset but they can use software to make you buy a new phone if they want which looks like what they are doing with the iphone 3gs.
I am looking for the app now and cant find it for my iphone 3G. I see ads for the 3gs. Anyone have any info on if the 3g version exists?