Reading the names and seeing the logos
of these two innovative companies together is reason enough to get
excited. As mentioned before, while the subject of sneakers has been
on "rewind" for too long, this new project is all about looking forward,
looking ahead towards the future of technology and performance.
Nike+ is the result of two innovative companies working together,
not only to create a new product but to provide for a whole new experience.
"Tune your run." is the statement that accompanies the Nike+ campaign
and "your run will never be the same" is what we are being
promised...
Ever since the Walkman, people have been listening to music while
doing sports – running, cycling, working out. Many of the endurance-oriented
sports tend to get boring rather quickly. Music not only serves as
a welcome diversion but also holds the potential to motivate and increase
one's performance. While the simple task of providing athletes with
music has long been carried out and improved by devices such as Apple's
iPod, Nike+ aims at offering a new running experience altogether.
The Nike+iPod Sport Kit consist of a shoe – the first model
being the air Zoom Moire – and a device to interact with, to
talk to, the iPod - Mark Parker:
"The Nike+ product is for people who are active.
The fact that your shoes can actually speak with your iPod will give
you a totally new running experience. It will actually help your performance
and give you inspiration at the same time."
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And what are the two talking about? You, the runner.
But it's not just a conversation about the athlete but also with him.
While a device in the shoe delivers data on time, distance, etc. the
iPod will record this data and feed it to the runner – visually
and through real-time audible feedback. It's like having your own
personal trainer or coach with you. The iPod can actually also be
programmed to give you that bit of extra motivation – when you
call up your "power song" from your playlist.
The Nike+ experience doesn't end when you're finished running. Upon
your return home (and after a shower!) you can then upload your data
through iTunes to the Nike+ website for a review of your performance.
Not only can you view all of your prior runs, you can also compare
the results and evaluate your personal training goals.
Running on your own might be fun. Even more fun, however, is actually
running with or/and against your friends. And this is where Nike+
ventures from the real into the virtual world - Mark Parker:
"Nike+ is going to make running more interesting
for a lot more people. They are not just going out to be running around
the park, it's a new workout experience. I think you're going to have
a lot of the runners, the real serious runners, who will use it to
share their progress with friends or who will actually compete against
each other. And they can do so all around the world in all different
locations."
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