Nike+ iPod: A Year in Review

Nike+ iPod? Why are you still talking about that? Hasn’t it been out for a year already?

Well, you are correct, this review comes smack on the Nike+ iPod’s birthday, May 23. The reason for my review is three-fold. First, it’s spring (at least in the northern hemisphere), it’s a great time to get into running, and I would recommend it to anyone. Second, I think after a year of on the road usage, it’s a good time to see how some people’s concerns about the system have turned out. Finally, I really believe right now we’re in the renaissance of this great product — the Nike web apps have matured, introducing excellent new features and very helpful Dashboard widgets. The wildly popular Nike+ iPod Sports kits can at last be easily found on store shelves. It’s a great time to be a runner and iPod Nano owner.

One worry I heard a lot in regards to the Nike+ kit is about its accuracy - it’s a worry I’ve found is completely unfounded. I run the same route very often and find myself measured at almost the same distance run to run. Truthfully I’ve been very impressed at the accuracy of the Nike+ iPod sensor. Running with either the sensor inserted into my Nike+ shoes or strapped onto the laces of my Adidas runners, the Nike+ iPod sensor measured distances very consistently. As far as I can tell, it approaches an accuracy of plus or minus one meter over four or five kilometers. Even without calibration when I map myself a 4km run on Google Earth, 4km is really close to what the iPod tells me I’ve traveled. I’m sure GPS options do provide more distance accuracy as well as information like altitude climbed and the exact route run, but for the casual runner I really think they’re a little excessive — loads of features, generally bulkier and often carrying a higher price tag.

The second complaint I’ve often encountered about the Nike+ iPod kit is Nike’s quality of shoes. I only partially empathize with this complaint. I find the quality of the Nike shoes I purchased very acceptable but I can completely understand that for some people Nike shoes just aren’t an option, that is, Nike shoes won’t fit or be comfortable for all people. It actually took me trying on quite a few pairs of shoes before I found a set that was both comfortable and fit me properly. I am glad I took the time to find the “perfect” pair, though, because I really like my Max Air Motos.

Despite worries from the nay-sayers I find the Nike+ shoes extremely well made, comfortable and very light. That said they weren’t terribly cheap, so if you have a pair of runners you are already enamored with you might want to use one of the many available options to attach your Nike+ sensor to them. For six months I used my older Adidas runners and put the sensor in a home-made fabric pouch which I attached to my laces. My home-made pouch worked fine but there are much better options that won’t set you back too much like the Marware Sportsuit.

There was a bit of uproar upon its debut about the Nike+ sensors built-in battery which can’t be replaced. I’ve used mine for almost a year and several hundred kilometers and the sensor’s battery is still going strong. I do dread having to replace my Nike+ kit eventually but $29 every couple years doesn’t really seem that bad.

What I’ve been the most pleased with over the course of my year with the Nike+ has been the improvements to the Nike+ web app. Although what was provided upon its release was very acceptable Nike has continued to add features and improvements on a fairly consistent basis. Initially the Nike+ web app gave users access to goal setting, challenges and a view of all their runs; recent upgrades brought Map It, Nike+ Dashboard widgets and a number of other lesser additions. Map It is an interesting collaboration between Google Maps and Nike+ that allows you to map your running routes and then share them with the Nike+ community. Additionally you can keep track of how many times you have run a given path or even comment and tag the routes of others.

The two Nike+ widgets that have been introduced are the Nike+ Goal Widget and the Nike+ Challenge Widget. Both widgets help you track your progress without having to log into the central web app. The past year hasn’t been without some annoyances; as much as I praise the Nike+ web app, I still long for a desktop version of the system. Flash based web apps have really come a long way but can still suffer from lag and every so often can become unresponsive. A further complaint is that while recently some consistency has been achieved, the features of the Nike+ web app vary from country to country, creating no continuity through the global community. To see all of the available Nike+ features, you have to log onto the American version of the web app. This isn’t a real problem for the individual runner, who registers in the country he lives in, but for the runner wishing to interact with the global community of running enthusiasts, the difficulty of living in a country that does not support Nike+’s more advanced features can become a frustrating one.

Overall, the last year of running with my Nike+ iPod sport kit has been very smooth and very fun. It hasn’t been perfect but it has been very close.

Pros:

• Great way to get started and keep motivated to run
• Not as expensive as most GPS units, especially if you already have an iPod Nano
• Surprisingly accurate even with non-Nike shoe options
• Widgets help keep goals in mind
• Mapping is a cool way to remember routes and discover other’s running paths

Cons:

• Questionable quality and fit of Nike shoes
• Nike+ shoes can be expensive
• Those outside of USA pay slightly inflated price for Nike+ iPod Sports kit
• Non-USA residents who use their nations’ “local” Nike+ site may be disappointed by lack of features
• Shuffle seems to malfunction when starting a run — same playlist starts with the same song every time
• Still only compatible with iPod Nano — presumably because hard disk iPods would damage during running