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Adidas closes its digital sports division
Sportswear brands might be reviving their interest in fitness technology, but Adidas is staging its comeback in a very roundabout way. The company's American segment is closing its dedicated digital sports division and folding the group's work into "all areas" of its business. Just how this will affect Adidas' wearable tech strategy isn't clear, but reports suggest the brand is centering its efforts around Runtastic and its shopping app.
Adidas' All Day fitness app hits iOS and Android devices
Exactly three months after announcing its All Day fitness app, Adidas is finally launching it in the US. The application, which is available for iOS and Android, focuses on serving up insights about different health aspects, such as mindset, movement, nutrition rest. Adidas says that All Day is designed for "versatile" athletes, meaning that the app's goal isn't just to help you with tough workouts, but also showing you anything from quick meditation moves to how to cook healthy recipes. While All Day is only available for those of you in the States right now, the sportswear giant tells Engadget that the app will be coming to other markets later this fall.
Runtastic's video recipe app feeds your fitness regime
It makes sense that the folks behind a running app would launch a new video recipe app. Cooking clips from Tasty and Delish seem to be taking over everyone's Facebook feed lately, so now is the time to hop onboard. Runtastic has already filled its YouTube channel with the top-down videos, so including them in its new mobile app, Runtasty , isn't too much of a stretch for the fitness company.
Adidas' All Day app aims to help you stay fit and eat healthy
Earlier this month, at SXSW, Adidas teased it was working on new, "open" digital fitness products. And today we're getting a clearer picture of its strategy, thanks to the introduction of All Day, an app for iOS and Android that's designed for "versatile" athletes. What this means, according to Adidas, is that the application will focus on a series of health aspects: movement, nutrition, mindset and rest. This isn't just about hardcore workout sessions, as is the case with most fitness apps.
Adidas is working on new, 'open' digital fitness products
The acquisition of Runtastic gave Adidas a major boost in its fitness tech efforts, and it didn't hurt that the $238 million purchase included Runtastic's 100-million-plus user base. Since 2015, the year it bought the popular app, Adidas has focused on making Runtastic a bigger part of its business strategy. Last month the company announced it would be shutting down its MiCoach platform, which had been powering a suite of health and fitness products, in favor of consolidating that ecosystem with Runtastic's. The next step, according to Adidas' Head of Digital Sports, Stacey Burr, is to work with third parties on making more "personalized" experiences.
Google puts fitness playlists in Runtastic's Android app
If Google Play Music and Runtastic are your favorite running companions, this collab was meant for you. The Big G's Play Music division has teamed up with Runtastic to put free workout playlists within the Adidas-owned fitness app itself. All you need to do is fire up its music section to access, say, a collection of 130-beats-per-minute tracks that can match your steps, electronic dance music or high-energy rock tunes. You'll be able to pause, play and skip within Runtastic, so you won't need to switch apps anymore.
Runtastic Results wants to be the P90X of mobile apps
There are currently a total of 15 Runtastic apps available across iOS, Android and Windows Phone. But the Austrian startup, recently acquired by sportswear giant Adidas, doesn't want to stop there. Today, it is introducing Results, an application that focuses solely on body training. This is Runtastic's version of the popular P90X fitness program, designed for the mobile era and to complement its other fitness-friendly software. Even though the app's available at no cost on iOS and Android, a premium, $50-per-year membership is going to unlock a dynamic 12-week workout plan. Here, you will get support from the Runtastic community, a personal nutrition guide and more than 120 exercise videos -- those, by the way, have been shot at 6K resolution, making them easier on the eye.
Runtastic shares workout data with Jawbone's Up app
If you fancy Jawbone's line of activity trackers and track your afternoon jog with Runtastic, you can now keep all of your stats in one place. Data gathered by Runtastic during your workout can be sent to Jawbone's Up app where you can store info on nutrition, sleep, goals and more. Of course, Runtastic has its own wearables, including the new Moment analog watch. What's more, Jawbone's Up app no longer requires one of the company's trackers to tally your daily details, just like Runtastic's software, so there's a few gadget/app combos that'll work just fine with both Runtastic and Jawbone's gear. To take advantage of the partnership, you'll need Runtastic 6.3. Once you connect it with the Up app, all of your info will sync automatically.
Runtastic takes on Withings with 'Moment' analog fitness watch
Runtastic may have started as a training log app, but it soon progressed to putting its badge on running watches and accessories. The Orbit was possibly the company's most confident step into the world of wearables, and today it's making another with the "proper watch" Moment activity tracker. The Moment logs all the basics you'd expect from a fitness tracker: steps, distance, time active, calories burned and sleep patterns, along with a dial on the watch face showing progress towards your goal. Like Withings' Activité and Pop devices, the Moment's analog styling extends to running on a regular watch battery, so it won't need daily/weekly charging. This means no annoying ports, too, which helps keep things nice and sealed -- waterproof to 300 feet by Runtastic's reckoning.
Adidas buys Runtastic to boost its fitness tech
Adidas is no stranger to technology by any means, but it clearly feels that it needs a leg up -- the fitness equipment maker has bought fitness tech firm Runtastic for just shy of $240 million. Both companies are wonderfully vague about what the deal entails, beyond extolling the virtues of a "perfect match" and helping Adidas "unleash its knowledge of sport." However, you'll be glad to hear that this isn't likely to deprive you of those all-important apps or wearables. Runtastic will live as a separate entity within Adidas, and it doesn't expect much to change on a day-to-day basis. For the most part, this means more cash and technical possibilities.
Runtastic's latest workout app puts more junk in your trunk
Runtastic already offers dedicated apps for ab and bun workouts, and now the company takes aim at your lower half. Leg Trainer delivers over 50 exercise videos that'll allow you to select activity based on goals and fitness level. There are pre-selected routines -- like the 7-Minute Workout or Junk in the Trunk (yes, seriously) -- or you can choose individual exercises to build your own. Get ready to squat, lunge and kick your way to toned legs. Similar to the Six Pack and Butt Trainer apps, a 3D avatar guides you through the process so you know exactly what you should be doing. The Leg Trainer app also works with the Apple Watch, so you can follow the virtual trainer there or keep tabs on progress and workout stats. It also leverages the wearable to let you know when to start/stop a set and when the rest time between sets is over on tops of tracking heart rate. Perhaps the real question is what you gon' do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk?
Runtastic shows us what it's like to do a workout wearing an Oculus Rift
One of the more experimental things that Runtastic has on hand at its booth here at CES is a demonstration of a workout trainer that uses Oculus Rift to make exercise a little less boring. Unfortunately, at this superbly early point, it's hardly the most refined or elegant system to use. Still, if you're struggling to picture what it's like to use a virtual reality device as a personal trainer, then you've come to the right place.
Runtastic thinks you'll like exercising with a VR headset
Let's be frank: Indoor exercise can suck. You're usually stuck in a gym or your home, and you can't get feedback without either a pricey trainer or a distracting mobile app. Runtastic thinks there might be a better way. It just developed Oculus Rift versions of some of its strength and toning exercises that could liven things up. It sounds a bit ridiculous to strap on a virtual reality headset for your workout (and it probably still is), but the technology promises things that just aren't possible in the real world. You can get fit in much more interesting locales, such as the great outdoors or a beachside home, and the entire interface is designed to keep your hands free -- a virtual trainer and hovering stats let you see how well you're doing while in mid-lunge.
Runtastic's new app wants to help with those buns, hun
When a reality TV star "balances" a champagne glass on her bottom, scores of people must feel compelled to replicate that culinary feat. That's (probably) one of the reasons that Runtastic is announcing the Butt Trainer app that'll, apparently, help you improve the size of your backside. Like the company's Six Pack app, a 3D avatar will guide you through over 50 instructional videos and ready made plans like "7-Minute Workout" and "Junk in the Trunk." You'll also be able to share your progress - you know, to enlarge your rear end - on social media, as well as pair your heart-rate monitor with the app. Sorry, you know what? I just can't do this anymore.
Runtastic's Sleep Better app aims for a good night's rest
Runtastic, best known for its fitness apps and hardware, just unveiled its first sleep-tracking app: Sleep Better. The app, which is available for both iPhone and Android, offers most of the features you'd expect. You can track the overall quality of your sleep by laying your phone beside you (it relies on your phone's sensors to determine how much you toss and turn). And since it knows how you're sleeping, you can set up a smart alarm to wake you up when you're not in deep sleep, which typically leaves you feel more well-rested.
Runtastic Orbit: The new activity tracker on the block
It seems like everyone is getting into the wearables market these days. There's Fitbit, Misfit, Nike Fuel Band, Withings Pulse, and about twenty others I can think of. So when a new tracker shows up on the market, it has to have some redeeming value to make it stand out from all of the others. Recently I was approached by Runtastic about doing a review of their new Orbit fitness band (US$119.99). Runtastic is primarily known for a number of activity tracking apps as well as a hardware line with heart rate monitors and bike accessories among the favorites. Design Highlights The Runtastic Orbit is a tiny device about 1.89 x .71 x .35 (at thickest point) inches (4.8 x 1.8 x .9 cm), weighing just .3 ounce (8.5 grams). It's made of a translucent smoked plastic, although you'll rarely see that plastic because the tracker is installed into either a wristband or belt clip. Runtastic provides two wristbands and a belt clip with each device -- the review unit came with black and blue silicone wristbands, although you can also purchase accessory bands in other colors. The front of the Orbit is dominated by three things: an white on black OLED display, a large and easily pushed metal button, and a tiny light sensor that is barely visible. The back contains the recessed contacts for the USB charger. The wristbands are quite comfortable -- important if you're going to wear the Orbit 24 hours a day -- and designed so that they're very easy to put on. I've tested some fitness trackers that I've wanted to throw out simply because the wristbands were almost impossible to put on, but that's certainly not the case with the Orbit band. The belt clip (seen in the image at the top of this page) is also well designed. When you place the Runtastic Orbit into the flexible silicone rubber clip, it's upside down, which means that you can actually read the display -- smart design, since you don't have to take the clip off in order to read it. The clip also has a rather strong grip, important for making sure that you don't lose the Orbit. Battery life in my testing was about one week. At the end of that time, I simply recharged the Orbit using the included USB charging cable. During charging, an animated display shows the battery "filling up", which is a nice visual cue. One end of the cable plugs into a standard USB port, while the other end has two small contacts embedded into a plastic head that has a strong magnet in it. The design of the prototype cable caused a problem, which I'll describe in the next section of this review. Finally, the device synchronizes with a new, free Runtastic Me iOS app. That app can pass along information about your exercise to the Runtastic or Runtastic Pro apps. Functionality Highlights As a fitness tracker, the Runtastic Orbit does a really good job. It tracks steps taken, sleep duration, will show calories burned, can be used as a watch and alarm, and as noted above, it has good battery life compared to a lot of trackers. Part of this is due to the fact that you need to push the button to see the time or how many steps you've taken -- that display is off otherwise, helping extend that battery life. Each push of the button takes you to another screen -- first the time, then steps taken, then calories burned, and finally active minutes. The display is easy to read both in dark rooms and in full sunlight. Most fitness trackers are designed to work hand-in-hand with a companion app, and in this case, the default app is Runtastic Me. Upon launching the app, it connects to the device via Bluetooth and synchronizes automatically. The display of Runtastic Me shows the current number of steps taken, active minutes during the present day, the number of calories burned, distance walked in miles or kilometers and, if you've enabled sleep tracking, the hours of sleep you had the previous evening. Tapping on any of the items displays more detailed stats, including a timeline of when you were active. By swiping up you can move to the detail displays for the other tracked items, and for things like steps taken, a tap and hold on the display shows how many steps you had take up until the selected time. Enabling sleep tracking is quite simple. You simply hold down the button for three seconds as you're going to sleep, and a "bed" icon appears to let you know you're now tracking sleep. When you're waking up, just hold down the button for three seconds again, and a "sunrise" animation is your indication that sleep tracking has been turned off. Launch the Runtastic Me app, and you'll have almost immediate data on how well (or poorly) you slept the previous evening. Runtastic shows that the device will do "mood tracking", but it did not appear that the feature has been enabled yet. The Orbit is also supposed to do ambient lighting tracking so that you can make sure that you're getting enough sunlight each day, but that is also something that will come in the future with a firmware upgrade. As with most of the fitness trackers on the market, Orbit uses vibration alerts to wake you up in the morning (alarms are set through the app) or to prompt you to get moving. It's a good strong vibration, guaranteed to get your attention. One of the best features of the Runtastic Orbit is that it is complete waterproof. You can swim with it on, take a shower, or even go diving down to 300 feet with it. No other fitness tracker is waterproof to that extent, and a number (Nike FuelBand SE, Withings Pulse O2, Fitbit Flex, Jawbone UP24) are either just water-resistant or have no ability to withstand water at all. I was quite impressed with the fact that the Orbit lives up to its battery life of 7 days. That's almost exactly what I got from a full charge. The accuracy of the Orbit's step tracker is up for debate. I matched the steps taken with another activity tracker as well as my iPhone 5s, and when I used the belt clip, the numbers were almost identical. I did see lower step numbers when I used the wristband, which was a bit of an anomaly. Charging with the prototype magnetic charging cable (blue cable below) caused a problem at one point. The magnet in the cable made it stick to the metal end of another cable, shorting it out and melting the charging cable. I reported the issue to Runtastic; they are redesigning the charger cable (I was using a prototype) and will have a revised version with all shipping Orbits. I would still recommend unplugging the cable when it is not in use. Conclusion Runtastic's Orbit activity tracker is another welcome entry to an increasingly crowded market. At $119.99, it's slightly more expensive than the Nike FuelBand SE, Fitbit Flex, Misfit Shine and the Polar Loop, less expensive than the Jawbone UP24 and Garmin Vivofit, and the same price as the Withings Pulse O2. Waterproof to 300 feet, with some planned features (mood and ambient light tracking) that don't exist on most competitors, a choice of how the device is worn, good battery life, and a well-designed app, the Orbit is a solid competitor. Two factors -- the lower step count when worn as a wristband and two advertised features that are not working at this time -- are keeping me from giving the Orbit a top score. Rating: 3 stars out of 4 stars possible
Runtastic's Orbit band is a fitness tracker that doubles as a running watch
If you've heard of Runtastic, it probably means you're something of a jock: The company got its start building running apps for tracking your distance, pace, et cetera. For the past two years, though, it's been making all sorts of gear to go with it, including a GPS watch, armband, heart-rate monitor, speed sensor, bike mount and even a WiFi scale. Now the company's rounding out its collection with something super obvious: a fitness tracker. The Orbit, as it's called, does all the things you'd expect a fitness band to do: track your steps, calorie burn, sleep patterns. It's waterproof up to 300 feet, meaning you can use this for swimming, in addition to jogging. It vibrates to wake you up in the morning, and when you've been inactive for too long. And, like competing devices, it uses Bluetooth Smart to wirelessly sync your data with either an Android or iOS app. Thanks to that low-power radio inside, battery life is rated for seven days. So far, so familiar.
Runtastic 5.0 update brings redesign, hydration monitoring and more to the fitness app
Runtastic today updated its Running and fitness app, bringing a brand new look to the app and few notable new features. The biggest changes users will notice is a fresh, new UI with improved automatic syncing to a user's Runtastic account when an activity is completed. Another new feature is hydration monitoring that takes into account the weather, your activity level and your vital health statistics to recommend the best way to rehydrate after each workout. The company also improved the free version of the app, making the previously pro-only Music player and Live Tracking & Cheering features available to free users. The Pro version keeps its full suite of additional features, which includes Powersong, Training goals, Interval training and more. Runtastic is available in two versions -- a feature-limited free version with ads and a US$4.99 ad-free version. Both are compatible with the iPhone and require iOS 7.
Runtastic's Libra scale tracks bone and muscle mass, ships mid-November for $129
We've seen connected scales that provide oxygen levels and heart rates, but they have nothing on the sheer range of data coming from Runtastic's imminent Libra scale. In addition to basic weight and body fat measurements, the Bluetooth-based sensor can also calculate body mass index, bone mass, muscle mass and body water content. Got all that? As you'd expect, there's a mobile app to process the flood of information; it's iOS-only at launch, but the company promises an Android equivalent in early 2014. Runtastic ships the scale itself in mid-November for $129.
Runtastic brings a GPS watch, fitness monitors and more to the US
Most app developers have few incentives to build their own hardware, let alone the resources. With 25 million mobile users, Runtastic has both -- so it only makes sense that the company is bringing a slate of complementary exercise gear to the US for the first time. The initial catalog won't shock cyclists and runners who have ever toyed with tracking their progress, but it's certainly complete. Along with Runtastic's take on a GPS watch ($150), there's also an app-friendly heart rate monitor ($70), a speed sensor ($60), an armband and a bike mount. While the peripherals only truly make sense for Runtastic loyalists, they're available today through Amazon -- and they might seal the deal for athletes who want a harmonious blend of hardware and software.
