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