Nike+iPod makes running fun (well, less boring)

Trying to get myself to run a couple of times a week, I needed a pair of new trainers and decided to go for the recently announced Nike+ shoes together with the iPod sport kit. The shoes are great, very lightweight and it feels like running on cottons but the most exciting part is the little device that goes into the shoes and sends running data to your iPod while burning calories.

As you run, the display shows the distance, time and speed, a voice tells you the current state when pressing the center button. You can also set a predefined distance or time and the iPod will regularly tell you the remaining minutes or km/miles.

To measure speed and distance, the device uses a piezoelectric accelerometer that can sense for how long your foot stays on the ground for each step, this gives over 90% accuracy for most people according to Apple and can also be calibrated for better precision.

When the training session is over, all you need to do is to synchronize the iPod with iTunes and it will send the running data to nikeplus.com where all the runs are visible as graphs for monitoring. From here, you can set up training goals and even create challenges with your friends, for instance who will run the longest distance in 30 days and keep track of it.

It's really a great innovation put together in a sleek way, that makes one of the most boring things in life a bit more fun and interactive.

nikeplus.com
apple.com/ipod/nike

Sony continues Bravia color ad campaign

The by far most talked about commercial for the last 12 month has been Sony's hundreds of thousands of colorful rubber balls bouncing in slow-motion down the streets of San Francisco for their Bravia LCD TV series.

Now, agency Fallon London is finalizing the follow up to the success with the help of 70,000 liters of paint and loads of explosives to completely cover a skyscraper in vivid colors.

Chances are this sequel will become the next hyped commercial to spread through the web just like the first one did. Viral marketing 'like no other'...

The spot will air in September, the creation of the new add can be seen here:

http://www.bravia-advert.com/

Apple to launch mobile phone this fall?

Rumors are that Apple might finally launch its first own-branded mobile phone this fall. During the last couple of years, buzz on such device have been spreading rapidly through the web and hundreds of (likely fake) concept images of Apple's forthcoming mobile device have been seen around the rumor sites covering Apple products.

There is no doubt that Apple is working hard to get on the battle to take shares in the hot mobile phone consumer segment, where Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola and various Asian brands such as Samsung and LG are making big bucks. Mobile music stores like Sony Connect, will not be left alone by Apple.

After the failure with the Motorola ROKR phone (with integrated iTunes) due to bad interface design, storage limitations, legacy formfactor and the lack of a mobile iTunes music store integration, Steve Jobs is not likely to release anything but perfection this time.

Look out for the two upcoming Apple events this fall, the WWDC in San Francisco on August 7, and the Apple Expo in Paris beginning of September.