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Nike+ Kinect Training arrives October 30th, looks to whip you into shape for $50
We caught a glimpse of that Nike+ Kinect Training had to offer back at E3. Now, we'll all be able to give it our best shot just before the holiday season. The Kinect exercise title for the Xbox 360 is set to hit shelves on October 30th and will carry a $49.99 price tag. Claiming to make us "athlete-fit", the software will offer constant tips on form and technique while monthly reports will display progress along the way. Still no word on companion apps for mobile platforms, but the kit is expected to play nice with Windows Phone devices at launch for session reminders and sharing achievements with training mates.
New Nike+ shoes further enhance digital training
The Verge has a long look at the latest improvements to Nike's Nike+ fitness system, which uses sensors in your shoes (and on the company's very popular Fuelband peripheral) to calculate fitness and workout information, and attempt to help keep you motivated while working out. The whole system sounds very complex: There are multiple sensors in the shoes designed to track exactly what you're doing and how, and all of that movement is broken down into a single number that aims to push performance. Unfortunately, Nike is somewhat skittish when it comes to actually explaining what that number means -- while getting out and moving around will almost always be good for your health, Nike's reluctance to pin down its formula does reveal that this is still all marketing for shoes, despite what the PR department may say about just trying to encourage fitness. Hey, if the system gets you out and running, or playing basketball, or whatever you can do to exercise and move, then it's working, right?
Nike+ Basketball and Training stat tracking shoes launch, kick off 'Game On, World' challenge (video)
While the Nike+ fitness tracking platform has been around for years, the footwear giant has only just unleashed shoes with the technology built right in. The Nike Hyperdunk+ (last seen skying through the FCC) is its first basketball shoe in the line, while the first training shoes are the Lunar Hyper workout+ for women and Lunar TR 1+ for men. All feature not only the new Nike+ Pressure Sensor that tracks its wearer's movement, but also lightweight Flywire construction and Lunarlon cushioning. Both can wirelessly transfer their data to apps on user's phones (currently iOS only, pre-iPhone 4S hardware will also need the $20 Nike+ Sport adapter) or PCs, tracking activity during games, height on a dunk or movement as part of a training workout or drill. So what is Nike going to do with all that data? Its first plan for the summer is "Game On, World", which is a series of challenges inspired by pro athletes encouraging all Nike+ users to set their personal bests in various categories. If you're still not sure how all this comes together, there are several demo videos embedded after the break. Now all we need to do is find someone (else) to get all sweaty, let us know if it works and keep us on top of the leaderboard -- has anyone seen Dan Cooper lately?
Nike+ FuelBand iOS app updated to run along your Path, sync in the background
If you decided to snag the latest Nike+ wristband earlier this year, you're about to get some added functionality thanks to an iOS application update. First, the outfit has added Path integration to the mobile software. Users can now keep track of the sights they've visited while out for a jog or bike ride and share said moments / achievements with their mates. When the day comes to a close, those points-of-interest along the trail will appear on the app's progress graph. You'll also encounter background syncing by holding down the FuelBand's button alongside the ability to check battery status, offline data access and setting the time with your iPhone or iPod touch. For a quick look at what you can expect to see with the refresh, sprint to the gallery below.
Nike+ Running comes to Android with Facebook Open Graph, iOS lands a big update to match
Android fans have been largely cut out of the Nike+ ecosystem, but that changes tonight: the shoemaker has kicked off a major redesign by giving the Google faithful their own version of its GPS-based run tracking app, now called Nike+ Running. Both it and an ample version 4.0 remake for iOS make starting a run that much quicker, and the whole experience has been tuned to compare runs and set goals without having to squint too closely at a phone that should be far from your mind. Facebook's Open Graph steps into the arena to share run data and track friends; even if you're not a social networking maven, you can tag your shoes to find out if that worn out pair of cross-trainers is holding you back. Both app versions are free to grab, so you've got an easy avenue to loading up your Galaxy S III (or iPhone) and shedding a few pounds.
Nike+ Basketball and Training slamdunk the FCC, jog one step closer towards availability
It was back in the cold, cruel darkness of February -- when physical exertion was far from our mind -- that we learned about Nike+'s Basketball and Training experiences. Now, in the warm glow of early summer, here they are, limbering up at the FCC. So, it might be a little too late for you to inject a little tech-spice into your college season, but you'll have all year to train up for the next one. Either way, looks like Nike is going to cross the line in plenty of time for that June 29th release date.
TomTom's Nike+Sportwatch gets revamped, adds NikeFuel, subtracts price (video)
Nike and TomTom have updated the GPS-toting Sportwatch to include NikeFuel and maintain parity with its FuelBand active bracelet. NikeFuel is a universal standard that converts your exertions into a normalized score -- great for when you want to want to compare your exertions against friends with different hobbies. It's also heralding a revamped Nike Plus website where we hope it'll integrate with the recently announced Xbox edition. The Anthracite Blue Glow (or "Black and Blue") edition lacks a Nike+ shoe sensor so costs €150 ($190), while the other three colors will, pushing the price up to €170 ($215).
Nike allies with Xbox 360 for Nike+ Kinect Training: real-time feedback, training reminders through your phone
Nike took to Microsoft's stage at E3 to announce a new fitness feature for your Kinect, Nike+ Kinect Training. We're told it'll make us "athlete-fit", with constant feedback on technique and every four weeks, it'll even re-assess your progress. The setup will also nag remind you through Windows Phone of incoming training sessions -- though there's no specifics on whether the fitness setup will play nice with other mobile platforms. The companion phone app will also allow you to compare and share progress with friends also using the training program.%Gallery-156893% Follow our liveblog of Microsoft's E3 keynote right here!
New Nike+ apps and shoes cater to basketball players and training athletes
Nike just keep building on its Nike+ brand, turning what started life as a glorified pedometer, into a full-fledged workout-tracking platform. Hot on the heels of the FuelBand comes Nike+ Basketball and Nike+ Training, two new experiences with their own dedicated footwear. For ballers, the Hyperdunk+ features a pressure sensor that measures speed, jump height and even abstract concepts like "hustle." It also features a ego Showcase mode that lets you superimpose workout data over video of you dunking and post it to the web. Nike+ Training, like almost every other workout app or digital accessory, turns getting in shape into a game. The app features a series of drills and challenges meant to improve speed, agility and strength, and your performance can be uploaded to a global leaderboard. The new apps and shoes, including the Hyper Workout+ for Women and the TR 1+ for men, will be available on June 29th in the US, UK, Germany, France and China. Head on after the break for one more image and PR.
The Nike+ FuelBand measures activity in NikeFuel, ready for your NikeLife
While Nike might have beat competitors like the MotoACTV and Jawbone Up to the active bracelet market over two years ago, its original endeavor, the Nike+ SportBand, was getting long in the tooth. That changes today with the introduction of the far sleeker Nike+ FuelBand. It's much in the vein of the original, except boasts a more attractive 20 LED dot-matrix display and can measure activity in a new unit the company calls NikeFuel. That latter bit is a normalized score that unlike calories "awards equal points for the same activity regardless of physical makeup." We'll have to see about that, but we're definitively smitten with its design and that row of colorful LEDs that progressively fills as one gets closer to reaching their intended goal. The $149 pre-orders go live on the company's online store at 5PM ET, but those interested ought to peep the PR and video after the break.
Apple granted 22 patents including trackpads, iPhone circuit boards and more
Every once in a while Apple gets granted a big chunk of patents all at once, and this is one of those times. In addition to an Apple TV patent we've described in its own post, Apple's been granted over 20 other patents ranging from advanced trackpads to iPhone circuit board designs and beyond. Patently Apple describes the advanced trackpad as "a touchpad that extends into the palm rest areas." Three different touch-sensitive areas would essentially extend Multi-Touch functionality to the entire lower half of a notebook like the MacBook Air, but the design would be smart enough to distinguish between a hand or wrist simply resting on the surface versus a user intentionally tapping and swiping at the surface. An alternative or possibly supplemental design feature describes a "hand detecting sensor," mounted near or within the current housing for iSight/FaceTime cameras, that would enable tracking of hand movements for user inputs. This sounds similar in principle to the system used in Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's EyeToy. Another patent describes a context-sensitive earpiece accessory that's capable of knowing whether it's inserted in a user's ear or not and adjusting both its own behavior and the behavior of its linked device accordingly. In other words, the earpiece would be smart enough to switch an iPhone's audio to the earpiece when it's inserted in your ear, but audio would automatically resume playing over the iPhone's built-in speakers once the earpiece is removed. A patent for "smart garments" expands on the existing features of the Nike + iPod device by potentially expanding beyond the running/shoe focused implementation we have now. Among other things, the sensor is designed to alert a user when the garment reaches its "expected useful lifetime" based on tracked usage -- hopefully this kind of alert is easy to disable, because I for one wouldn't appreciate my shoes prodding me to buy new ones every time I put them on. Apple describes expanding the Nike+ tech beyond running to "cross-country skiing, in-line skating, or outdoor swimming," as some examples, further indication that Nike+ may one day spread beyond shoes. Yet another patent describes one way Apple may continue to shrink circuit boards for devices like the iPhone and iPad. Rather than being spread over the board like houses in the suburbs, chips get stacked on top of one another like floors in a skyscraper. As best I can tell from the teardowns Apple hasn't actually started doing this yet, but it could be one way to make logic boards for future products take up even less space than they do now. Some of the recently-granted patents describe items Apple's already had on store shelves for quite some time, but many of them describe features that haven't yet made it to market -- and they may never actually do so. It's still instructive to look at the kinds of patents Apple files and gets granted, though, because they're often a decent barometer of where the company's interests lie.
Apple patents clothes that track how you wear them, tell you when it's time to update your wardrobe
There's a huge problem with working out that has yet to be solved: when, precisely, do our workout clothes become too worn to wear anymore? Apple knows we can't be wasting endless minutes looking for holes and tears in our shirts and pants, so it's just obtained a method patent to let you know when your gear is past its prime. The patent claims sensor-equipped garments that can track how you use them, report that info back to a central database and alert you when the clothing has reached "its expected useful lifetime." (Read: it's time to buy some new, undoubtedly more expensive gym clothes.) This latest bit of IP doesn't just cover clothing either, Cupertino's claiming the same method for running shoes, too. The footwear bit also provides real-time feedback that compares your current running style to an established profile to keep your workouts consistent -- useful feature, that, though we can't imagine such iShoes would make the folks in Niketown too happy. We're not sure how Apple aims to make the needed wearables equipped with embedded electronics, but we can offer you plenty of typically broad patent legalese explaining the system that'll get you buying them at the source below.
IRL: Nike+, UTStarcom PPC-6700 and the Droid Incredible
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. We have an inside joke among the Engadget staff: one of these days, we say, we'll publish IRL: The Luddite Edition. It's not that we go home to bunny-ear TVs and VCRs, though for a group of journalists trained to calculate pixels per Super AMOLED inch, we're awfully set in our ways. That, and there's nothing like brainstorming IRL ideas to make a grizzled tech editor feel a little nostalgic. That's the place Darren was in when he dug up his PPC-6700 from '06 -- and Lydia, too, who thinks about ditching Nike+, but won't. As for Billy, he's not wistful; just biding his time until he can replace his Incredible with something he really wants. So how good is good enough for a bunch of tech writers? Meet us past the break to find out.
Nike+ not working? Nike says sorry, and is working on the problem
If you're a Nike+ user and you've been experiencing issues with the service lately, you're not alone. According to TechCrunch, enough users have been having problems with Nike+ over the past few months that Nike has sent an email to users apologizing for the service's troubles and promising a fix. Jayme Martin, VP and GM of Nike Running, confessed to users that "Just like you, we hold ourselves to incredibly high standards, and right now Nike+ isn't living up to them." Immediate fixes outlined in Martin's letter: "As of today we have increased login speed and eliminated a majority of login failures. We have improved your ability to sync devices, log runs and post information to Facebook. We are also working on a new version of the Nike+ GPS app that will be released shortly. It will introduce some great new features and address some of the recent bugs." Martin also says that Nike is "working on a brand new platform for Nike+ that includes better coaching, maps and challenges. It will be much faster, more social, and easier to use, providing more information and analysis of your runs." Meanwhile, if you've been experiencing problems with Nike+ yourself, multiple alternatives to the service exist which offer functionality that meets or exceeds that of Nike+. I've been an avid RunKeeper user for a couple years, and I can definitely recommend that platform to any iOS user looking to track their fitness regime. If your electronic workout partner is an iPod nano, however, Nike+ is still the only game in town.
Nike+ GPS social update may make people run from your Twitter, Facebook accounts
Nike this week rolled out updates to its Nike+ GPS app, including bug fixes and an auto-calibration feature, which should help improve the accuracy of your run. Also on-board are social features, which push running updates to Facebook and Twitter. The tweets / posts can thankfully be edited before being sent out into the world, but we'd recommend using a bit of discretion before loading up your feeds with the minutiae of your latest workout. The updated app can be downloaded now for $2 from iTunes.
Nike+ GPS data becomes art, exercise still exhausting
Need a new use for that Nike+ SportWatch GPS you dropped 200 clams on? Interactive media collective YesYesNo has transformed the SportWatch data -- you know, that pristine numerical representation of all your huffing, sweating, and hurting -- into something like art. Working at Nike's Innovation Labs, the group first sent runners out across the company's campus wearing the watches. Then, custom software combined GPS maps of their workouts with information about speed, distance, and acceleration to create an initial 3-D rendering. Finally, each runner could tweak textures and colors to create a customized print; some even had their designs laser etched on a custom shoe box. The software powering all this creativity is long way from commercialization, but is built on openFrameworks, so feel free to start hacking your data into beautiful, life-giving artwork. Or you could, you know, go for a jog.
HEX debuts iPod nano watch band compatible with Nike+
Sure, you can get a Nike+ SportsWatch, or a simply pair an iPod nano with Nike+, but those looking to use their iPod nano as a watch with Nike+ have so far been left with few options beyond the DIY route. Watch band-maker HEX now looks set to change that, however, with its new Sports Watch Band that's set to debut in April. As you can see above, there's not a whole lot too it -- just a reasonably stylish wristband with a "port" that's able to accommodate the Nike+ attachment. No word on a price just yet, nor is there any indication that it will come in colors other than white -- though that seems a safe bet if the company's previous watch band is any indication.
Nike+ SportWatch GPS with TomTom hands-on
We nearly burned an actual calorie at Nike's booth here at a CES event this evening as we powered through a demo of the company's new Nike+ SportsWatch GPS. That "GPS" part is important, see, because the watch was developed in cooperation with the navigation wizards at TomTom -- in fact, a TomTom logo is prominently featured below the dot matrix LCD. Really, the SportsWatch GPS isn't much different than other high-end GPS fitness watches on the market, it's just got that typical dash of Nike style in the case, the band, and in the hipster lower-case UI. Our second feature might be the "slap" gesture -- slapping the display enables the backlight or indicates a lap while you're in the middle of a run. Our favorite feature, though, might be the PC connectivity: you flip a hinge on one end of the band to reveal a USB plug and you're good to go. As with other Nike+ products, you can store your runs in the system's online community or let the watch collect up to 50 runs offline. Follow the break for the press release and a video demo, which we cordially ask you to avoid watching unless you're on... you know, a StairMaster or something. %Gallery-112856%
App review: Nike+ GPS
Nike's dalliances with technology should be familiar to our readers by now, with the crowning jewel of course being the Nike+ run-tracking software that pairs a shoe-mounted sensor with your iPhone or iPod. Well, it was. The gargantuan sportswear company is moving with the times and throwing the hardware away with the introduction of its all-new Nike+ GPS application. No longer restricting our running shoe choice is groovy, but the app itself has the even loftier aim of simultaneously acting as your fitness guru, motivator and record keeper. And all it asks in return is access to the accelerometer and GPS modules inside your iOS 4-equipped iPhone or iPod touch (the latter's lack of GPS means it loses out on route mapping, but all other features are retained). So, let's see how this baby runs, shall we?%Gallery-101563%
Run app updates: News on the Nike+, Runkeeper, and Runmeter fronts
I admit it. I've always thought that the Nike+ shoe sensor thing was kind of lame. Even though I actually do own the right shoes, I never thought it worth while to pick up the optional pedometer sensor just so I could take advantage of the built-in iPhone feature. I know that there are people out there who really loved using the Nike+ features on their iPhone but I've much preferred using other tracking apps and skipping the shoe tie-in. Now, several years after GPS debuted on the iPhone 3G, Nike has finally made the move to shoe-less positioning. For $1.99, you can pick up a copy of Nike+ GPS. The reviews on the iTunes site have been generally positive, but it's clear that this is a slick yet limited application.
