Adidas miCoach Speed_Cell measures your dunking prowess and serving skills
When it comes to sports gadgets, runners seem to get all the good stuff: the Nike+, the Motoactv and even the FitBit. For all the footballers, basketball players and aspiring tennis stars out there, Adidas is spreading the love with the introduction of its miCoach Speed_Cell -- a $69.99 device that measures motion and performance in every direction whether you're into tackling, serving or shooting. The gadget fits on the bottom side of compatible shoes to capture seven hours of stats including average and max speed, number of sprints, distance at high intensity levels, steps and strides. The coolest part? Your personal bests will transfer wirelessly to a smartphone, tablet, PC or Mac for post-practice critique, Sports Center style. The soccer-centric company has already released a compatible pair of cleats and has plans to put out more miCoach-friendly footwear, as well as a series of sport-specific apps allowing athletes to virtually monitor their performance. Jump, skip or dribble over to the PR after the break for the full deets.
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ADIDAS LAUNCHES NEW ON-FIELD DATA TRACKING INNOVATION
NEW YORK/PORTLAND, Ore. – adidas unveils the miCoach SPEED_CELL, the latest innovation in digital sports technology. Expanding on the brand's miCoach offerings, the new miCoach SPEED_CELL is the first device to capture information from motion in every direction and measures key performance metrics including speed, distance and time during practice and competition.
"Understanding individual performance data is one of the best ways to improve your game," said Mark Verstegen, founder and president of Athletes' Performance. "For the first time, amateur athletes can have access to the performance tracking and analysis technology available to professional athletes."
The miCoach SPEED_CELL is designed to monitor, evaluate and increase performance of athletes across multiple sports including soccer, football, basketball, tennis and running. The miCoach SPEED_CELL sits inside a specially designed cavity in the outsole of adidas footwear to work seamlessly with the athlete's equipment.
With the miCoach SPEED_CELL, athletes of every level will be able to track their unique stats including average speed, maximum speed, number of sprints, distance at high intensity levels, steps and stride during play. The on-board memory then stores seven hours of an athlete's metrics and wirelessly transmits the on-field performance data to their smartphone, tablet, PC or MAC.
"We are entering an exciting new stage of development for miCoach technology," said Christian DiBenedetto, senior innovation director, adidas Innovation Team (aIT). "miCoach has cemented adidas' position as an innovator in the use of data in sport to make athletes faster and the introduction of miCoach SPEED_CELL further demonstrates our passion to help athlete's continually enhance their performance."
While available in select adidas running shoes since 2009, the adizero F50 is the first soccer cleat available with the unique cavity in the outsole. adidas will also introduce a full range of miCoach SPEED_CELL compatible footwear for basketball, football and tennis later this year and throughout 2012.
In conjunction with the launch of the miCoach SPEED_CELL, adidas will introduce a series of apps beginning with miCoach Soccer and miCoach Running on December 1, 2011, followed by other sport specific apps for basketball, tennis and football in 2012. Athletes will be able to wirelessly upload SPEED_CELL data into the app and see their real-world performance such as top speed and number of sprints power up their customized in-game avatar. This creates a seamless integration of virtual and physical challenges never seen before in the mobile gaming and sports monitoring space.
Once miCoach SPEED_CELL stats are uploaded to an athlete's smartphone, tablet or miCoach.com, they can share on Facebook and see how they stack up in their city, county, state, nationally and compare their stats to star athletes including Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona. Athletes can also create personalized coaching programs designed specifically for their training needs on micoach.com.
miCoach SPEED_CELL will be available for smartphone, tablet, PC or MAC on December 1 for $69.99 at adidas Sport Performance stores, soccer and running specialty stores and www.shopadidas.com.
