Sunday, July 23, 2006

I'm giving jogging a shot

So you don't get disappointed [in the least] with [the] Nike+iPod [Sport Kit], here are couple of things you might not have known about it.

First, it has a non-replaceable battery. Second, I couldn't get the sensor and receiver out without damaging the packaging. Third, It doesn't record a heck of a lot of distance vs. time data points as I would've liked. Whether that's enough is another story.

For example, for a 20 minute jog then a 10 minute walk, it graphed about 6 data points. Fourth, a nice thing you can get is a nice long continuous sequence of workout music where a guy talks you through your run. That's extra stuff that you have to pay for.

Asides from those surprises, the Nike+iPod kit was great to use just by sticking it under my laces (I'll probably go the velcro way promoted on digg) and sticking some masking tape over it just to be safe. Even though it runs on batteries, I think as long as you're not moving it, it doesn't consume much and presumably lasts a long time or at least your 30 dollars worth. There is a button underneath that lets you turn it off on an airplane.

Some nice features of the nikeplus.com site are the ability to track your last 1000 runs and being able to challenge fellow 'community members' to races and when you dock your score, it'll compare the result with your challengee and declare a winner.

Anyone up for a challenge? A really easy one?

[And, what you probably did know is that it only works with iPod nano and it doesn't do magic. I found that even the power song was unable to keep me from slowing down to a walk as you can see from the chart. I think it's a matter of conditioning.]

Text in brackets added 2:39 AM

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Non-replaceable battery...jeez, when are companies going to learn? Is this supposed to be a disposable unit, or are you supposed to send it in for a new battery?

(no thanks on the challenge, btw... no ipod here, and all my running involves having at least one foot on the ground at all times...) :)

Will said...

Chess, I have tried just sitting and waving my arm back and forth and the sensor still thinks I'm running. It's for your heart, though. Your heart! (iPod optional)

Apple's support site says the sensor lasts for about 1000 usage hours and that you can get a good idea of how much time's left by checking the log of total runs. When you get the battery low message, they basically say to go buy a new one.

For my level of usage, I think it'll last a good 2-3 years, which is certainly good news.

Will said...

Oh, btw, I did finally understand the joke /: )

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