Right
on cue, Nike's making things official with its oft-rumored (and still unpriced) Nike+
SportBand and even had the time to toss in details about Nike+ Coach, too. The band, which opens up features at the NikePlus website along with enabling runners to check out distance, pace, time and calories burned, is indeed marketed as a standalone device for those who'd prefer not to have a DAP
flanking their arm when exercising. Moreover, the outfit's online Nike+ Coach system will allow runners to have the information they need to appropriately train for long distance events or achieve customized goals. Get those kicks cleaned up prior to April 10th -- after all, that's the day you'll be sprinting out to pick this thing up, right?
posted Apr 2nd 2008 12:31PM
For once, I'm actually considering this. Neat packaging and setup.
hopefully a model with mp3 playback, bluetooth, and possibly 3.5mm jack(wrist isnt an ideal location for running but would eb nice for people that would wear it as a daily watch) is in the works. It would be more versitle, and more expensive of course, but i would definitley look into it. Bluetooth for head phones and linking up with nike's website without taking off your watch or taking it apart.
aw I thought it said milf
It does when Christie Brinkley wears it.
lmao...
Yeah, this looks pretty cool. I wonder if it has a built in HRM or does "calories burned" based on weight/age measurements alone?
I think I might be confused about this one. So is this for if you don't want to use an iPod, but still just want your miles, pace, etc. logged for the site? So no music on this thing, just if you want to run in silence and log all the stats, I'm guessing. Interesting, but not sure how many they will sell. I guess it has a niche.
I don't see where it says, "You can only wear this sport band OR your portable media player.."
I'm sure both wouldn't be a problem..
It would be useful for those of us who like to run but don't have an iPod. I might consider one depending on the price.
Real runners don't listen to music while running. The music's timing and your breathing won't match up, and you'll either battle the rates in your head or your O2 levels will fug up.
Oh, and they'll sell just fine. Polar has made a pretty good business of it.
A lot of people don't like to run with ipods strapped to their arms, I think this product will do well. I'm looking forward to it
Well, what would be the point then, of having both this AND a portable media player, when an iPod nano would do both for you. I guess maybe if you had a media player you really really liked, or were a Rhapsody subscriber or something..... but this will probably be like 70-80-90 bucks like the Nike+ watch is, and for a little more you could have a nano that does double duty. But each to their own I guess.
It's fine, you don't get it. We do, so give it up.
Excuse me??
You forget that the Nike+ iPod ONLY works with the Nano range. Many joggers prefer a smaller DAP, such as the shuffle, so this is great from them too
Fine. Be that way. Have two devices.
freediverdude, shut up already
Excuse me? How rude!
I already had a Shuffle before the original nike + ipod sport kit. The last thing I wanted to do is buy a fourth ipod (Shuffle, 20 GB, 80GB). Also, some of us aren't too keen on the nano's size while running.
Andrew I never even thought that the music could conflict with my breathing. I'll try a silent run tonight, but listening to music helps me pass the time.
This is a great tool for serious as well as novice. Sometimes running with tunes isn't do-able. I am not a Nike fan, but this a neat little tool. Seemed like they learned something for Apple on there website as well. Way to go Nike.
*Steals freediverdude's iPod nano while he's looking away*
actually gizmodo is reporting it'll be $59. That's pretty cheap compared to the alternatives/competition.
My polar works just fine, thank you. Plus it gives heart rate & a likely better calories burned figure. Style's nice though.
Is it really that hard for some people to fathom that some of us don't like working out to noise? For me, music and TV makes the time DRAG more, cause all that goes through my head is "This song is approx. 4 minutes long... this next song is approx. 6 minutes long... the average TV commerical is 30 seconds long and I've seen 3 now...". It makes me count the time more.
Anyway... the comment I really wanted to make is that I've been hanging around chicas way too much cause when I read 'coach', I thought it meant the Coach brand... as in over priced purses owned by Sara Lee. LMAO. Now excuse me while I go check to see if my testicles are still there...
They're not there...
I also need to revoke your male driver's license and ability to watch sports. On the plus side you can now cry whenever you want and admit to watching soap operas. =)
And here I was looking for the connection with Coach...as in the leather handbag company. My girlfriend will glad to see the brainwashing is complete.
yeah sadly enough I was thinking the same thing.... damn
Pedometers are crap.
Any serious runner wold not consider this.
All of these "serious runners" need to seriously chill out. Maybe this product is made for "whimsical runners" or "flippant runners."
lol...for real. I'll seriously outrun you Balam, with my Nike+ chip ticking away your embarrassment the whole time. Sure a GPS watch is more accurate, it's also bigger, more expensive, and doesn't hold my Busta Rhymes collection. I'll be waitin for ya at the finish line bud...
James: Your ego is way bigger than your common sense. You could at least have posted your best 10k time... But I bet its over an hour. And no matter how many "tunes" you hear on that stupid thing you wear, pedometers are innacurate and only serve to inspire slow and naive people like you.
you are a weiner.
As someone who runs marathons and 40+ mile runs, I find music a necessity. After about hour 4, things get really boring without music/radio. That said, although I used an ipod+nike setup before, I now run with a Zune. The reason I like running long distances with the zune is to listen to live talk radio, after a couple hours of music from my collection. I'll be one of the first with this new Nike+. I miss being able to track my runs.
Indeed. Talk radio does make running easier, it keeps your mind occupied and it doesn't make you think "I've listened to two songs, so that's about 8 minutes"
podcasts Steve, I bet you can find
the talk radio show you like in a podcast
and then you can listen to just the shows you like
over your entire run. NPR has a pretty full library,
podcasts are getting very popular and I like to mix it up
and run to news and stories sometimes instead of music
so I can be better informed.
I also don't like running with music. It's also dangerous when you run on or cross alot of streets becuase you won't be able to hear cars.
This is why I take my runs in the gym, on the treadmill. I can set my Zune on the controller module, which conveniently has a nice ledge for PMPs. There is also a 22" LCD screen I can watch the game on or any channel I choose.
Also, the A/C is a huge perk. ;)
This look fairly interesting to me but I don't personally have a need for the device. On training runs, I usually either do routes I've done repeatedly. Using Google maps beforehand, I know exactly how far each route is and where each mile ends. In a race, the distance and time is clearly marked out. Lastly, pretty soon, GPS-enabled wrist devices will be very cheap. You can already get a Forerunner 101 for about $100. If you're a datahound (I'm admittedly not) GPS will probably be much more accurate than a gussied-up pedometer.
Here is the problem for me: I currently use the Nike+Amp with the ipod nano, so with this device I would be able to use both, but I would have my Amp one one wrist to control my ipod and the Sportband on the other. No thanks. I love the Amp but would like the added data tracking of the Sportband, but adding another wristband is just stupid. I am a novice runner, but run around 150 miles a month and there is no way I giving up the Amp or running with another device on my other wrist.
What's really missing is a heart rate monitor. Keeping tabs on your heart rate helps you understand what you're doing, if you're pushing yourself too hard or not hard enough. Advanced runners may not need it, but it's really useful to recovering fatties like me.
Well I'm a chump. I just bought a refurbed nano and Nike+iPod kit, when this would have been much better. My old Sansa is a far better PMP than the iPod.
And, by the way, having a nano reinforces how much better the Zune is. Scrolling? How is moving your thumb in circles a better interface than up, down, left, right?
not to mention the scroll wheels fails once you start sweating. I threw away my nano and bought a sansa clip for exercise.
Garmin Forerunner 405 FTW.
USATF has banned the used of MP3 players citing insurance and safety issues. So for people that like to track their runs with the nike+ system, this is an alternative. The nike+ kit has gotten me off my fat arse, and I'm logging 50 to 60 miles monthly now. I enrolled in a 1/2 marathon and a full marathon this year, so maybe it would be useful for me to keep track of the distance without violating any rules. Or, use the nano without headphones and save myself a 60 to 90 bucks. It'd be a better draw if it added additional functionality, namely heart rate monitoring. Currently I run with the nano nike+ system and a suunto heart rate monitor and it serves the purpose.
Nike is probably trying to sever it's ties with apple and not have to pay apple anymore royalties due to their initial joint effort.
Agreed with the USATF banning all music devices...I can see that being the primary impetus behind this product.
As for the accuracy in general...2 anectdotes:
My wife runs with a woman who has a wrist GPS unit and their distance tends to be right on...maybe a tenth or 2 different over 10 miles. When they recently ran a 10K sanctioned race together, the GPS was off by a few tenths and the Nike + my wife was wearing was off by a few steps at the finish line.
I sometimes ride my bike with my wife running with her Nike + and that is how we initially calibrated...against my bike computer calibrated for my tire circumference. Since then, her distance has matched my distance +/- maybe 10 meters or so over a 5mile run.
I'm no huge Nike fan...but I appreciate how accurate and handy this device is. My wife loves the motivating factor on the nikeplus.com website.
How does it track your distance? Is it GPS or similar to a pedometer?
Check out TrailRunner if you want to match the workout recorded with your Nike+ SportBand against a real map.
http://homepage.mac.com/berbie/TrailRunner/blog
http://www.trailrunnerx.com
Had mine two weeks. Not bad, could live without it. I do like the ability to run and know mileage in unfamiliar area.
On warning. Nike suggests you wear it with display inside wrist to easier read when running (I agree) but if you continue to wear it after running be careful as that puts screen against surfaces when writing or typing, etc... scratched the hell out of my screen already. (Should only use for running)