Apple Nike + iPod Sport Kit for iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G
by Apple Computer
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List Price: Our Price: $14.99 You Save: $15.00 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple Nike + iPod Sport Kit for iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G
Customer Review: Best thing to happen to my runs
Summary: 5 Stars
I believe this product can be accurate. I ran a half marathon a few months ago, and assuming the course was accuratley measured to 13.1, my little Nike+ was only off by .3 miles, saying I had run 13.4 miles. Sure, it was a little disappointing to think that I was nearly finished when I still had a third of a mile to go, but think about it...it's a stinkin' pedometer, not a GPS, and over 13.1 miles it was off by .3...normally when I run for 3 - 6 miles it's pretty dang accurate.
I did have to do two things to get to that level of accuracy, however. The second is the obvious one: calibrate it. The first thing, though, needed to be first in order to get an accurate calibration. And it was less obvious.
I do not have Nike shoes. At first I heard all sorts of reports of Nike+ success with non-Nike shoes, so I was optimistic. My first few runs, though, were definitely not accurate. I suffered the same inaccuracy bemoaned by other reviewers here...a 3 mile run according to Yahoo maps clocked in at 0.25 miles. And half of that was an "intensity" of 0. Yeah...not so good.
But that's when I started experimenting with how I attach the transmitter to my shoe. I found that placing it at the bottom of the laces, on top of my foot, in as level of a manner as I could manage, produced more reliable results.
What I believe happened was that my early attempts involved putting the transmitter in my shoe in such a way that it was angled in one direction or another. And the transmitter doesn't like that. The Nike+ shoes allow the transmitter to be flat in relation to the sole...I think the transmitter works best if it's level like that.
Also, it seems that if I ever don't secure the transmitter down well enough and it has some wiggle room, I'm also liable to get inaccuracies.
So, figure that out first -- I'm definitely thinking of just buying some Nike shoes. But once that's taken care of, calibrate the thing, and do it carefully. Go to a track so you can be assured of the distance. Also, calibrate a few times, because when you actually start calibrating and when you actually stop calibrating involves several button presses. I found it helpful to put some music on that matches my stride speed, get it started, run half a lap to get "in the groove", be ready to calibrate, which as I mentioned involved several button clicks so get right up to that last button click, then press that last button at a lap marker. Then be ready to stop calibrating in the same way; it takes a few clicks, but try to figure it out so that you'll hit that last click RIGHT on the lap marker. It took me a few tries, but once I got it, it's been really accurate.
The Nike+ website is the best part of all. It's really fun and encouraging for me to look at my runs in that way...I can watch my progress. I can set goals, such as "I want to run faster, so I want to run 4 runs in the next month that are X:XX per mile or faster." Plus you get little "awards" for various milestones. Oh, and Lance Armstrong or Paula Radcliffe might congratulate you at the end of your run if you hit some personal record.
All in all it's the best $30 I've spent on my running (I already had the iPod).
Customer Review: OK once you learn how to work with it
Summary: 3 Stars
I have used this system for 26 months and around 2600 miles. Overall it is OK. I was looking at upgrading to a Garmin but based on those reviews, I don't think it would be that much better, and not worth the cost. It generally works as advertised but I have had to work around a lot of shortcommings.
The most irritating thing is that it just stops recording mid run. I have purchased three sensors thinking this would fix the problem. It did not. I found that carring it in my pants pocket causes it to cut out most of the time. In cold weather, I carry it in my hoodie pocket with no problems and in the summer I carry it in a SPI belt with no problem. I don't like wearing it on an armband because it would be nearly impossible to see and manipulate while I am running.
It is reasonably accurate. On my last two half marathons, it was 99% and 98.25% accurate respectively. Read the Garmin reviews, this is about as good as any unit can claim. Mine reads high meaning I don't run quite as far as it says. It is hard to calibrate any more accurately. If you run with runners who are faster or slower than you, it will be off. If I run with someone much slower, it says I went much furher than I really did (known courses). The opposite is true too. It reads up to 10% too high on treadmills (assuming they are accurate). For me the problem with this is I really don't know my pace. Two percent might not sound like much but try to run 2% faster (because of not really running what you thought you did) for 13 miles and it means a lot. I have learned to add 12 seconds per mile to what it says to know my true pace. Many reviewers of the Garmin report no better accuracy, or even worse.
It is a pain to start and stop. In a race, have everything ready and then just push the start button. But you can't set it up too early or it times out. I start about 2 minutes before the gun. Stopping is nearly impossible with sweaty hands. My fingers just slip around the ring. My solution, just pull the sensor out at the end. It works. I have to wait until later to see totals because 1) the screen is impossible to read in the bright sun and 2) my hands are still sweating and it still won't respond.
You can track pace by looking at the unit but unlike the Garmin, it won't warn you if you are going too fast or slow. This alone is not worth buying a Garmin.
Synching works ok but it took me awhile to get used to it.
Sometimes songs on i-tune don't download right. Sometimes I get three copies of one then another cuts off in 20 seconds. Probably 95% download ok.
If you turn off the sensor like you are supposed to while flying, it is hard to reactivate because there is no way to know if it is on or off without walking around. If off, because the button was not pushed right, then you pull it back out of your shoe. I just accept this might take 10 minutes in the hotel. Do it the night before.
In summary, it works, but takes time to learn and willingness to work around some problems. I use it 3-5 times per week for the last 26 months. I would not want to be without it.
Customer Review: Great Product!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Nike Ipod is a great tool for keeping you on track for running. I'm a biker as well as a runner and I never ride bike without my faithful cateye odometer keeping track of milage and speed. Naturally I was attracted to the idea of having a way to keep track of speed, milage and frequency of my runs.
I bought this expecting to find a complicated setup process but was surprised to find out it's actually very easy!
The best thing about this is that it's like having a companion to run with. I would like to suggest when using an ipod do this little trick I discovered on some of my mountain bike excursions. Get a set of sport headphones that have the wrap around ear things. Don't bother with the ipod earphones, they are fine in a seditary possition, but they tend to fall out when running. The sport earphones stay in your ears. In addition to this I suggest taking the cord of your earphones and instead of having them in the front of your chest, run the cord down that back of your shirt or jacket from your ears to ipod. This keeps the cord from dangling down in front of you and gives you the music you want with less annoyance.
Also one more thing, invest in the Nike Ipod Soundtrack. I have to say, I bought the "Original Nike Drive" music with The Chemical Brothers and it's fantastic. I think I have a bit of that "Clockwork Orange" mentality now, because I've been listening to the music for over a year now, only when I run and when I hear the first crash of sound from it I instinctively start running.
Other than that I suggest taking advantage of the great online community. Nike developed a "mini-me" concept that includes an animated charactor designed by you. One you sign on (Free) you can save the info as a screen saver and they were smart enough to put all your milage and last run info on the screen saver. They really thought of everything! Also the funny part about the Avitar is that he actually adjusts to your running habits. If you are running alot he is happy, jumping for joy happy. If you miss a few days running you'll find him board, playing paddleball, looking bummed out and playing video games saying things like "I sure could use a run etc..." It's actually fun and a great psycholocial reminder to get off the couch and run!
Highly recommended!
Customer Review: handy little device
Summary: 4 Stars
i don't listen to music on every run, and not at all in races-- but i might keep the transponder and device on me in these situations also because it does a great job of keeping track of mileage and pace for you when you've got other junk on your mind (ow! my knees! hey! i know that guy! hey! i just passed that guy! whoa!).
how *nice* to not have to log into gmaps or RA or mapmyrun or any other website to get my daily or weekly mileage.
how *nice* to be able to just set my long run goal mileage and not have to worry about whether i've missed a turn or a street that will cause me to drop or add a mile.
how *nice* to have paula radcliffe intoning, "400m remaining. you're almost there... 200m left. 100m left." etc
how *nice* to get my current distance, current pace & total time w/ just a glance instead of having to do the math myself (i still do that sometimes, as a means of distracting myself from my achey little knees or whatever. but how nice to not HAVE to).
how *nice* to be able to just sync my nano as normal and have all my run info automatically upload itself to my computer, no typing required (i still manually enter my runs into my other online log, too-- doing it twice would stink).
do you need this gadget to train? absolutely not. is it a nice, helpful and reasonably priced gadget to have? absolutely.
as others have said: proper calibration to your stride will help ensure that you get as accurate a reading as possible given the technology the unit uses. it will never be as accurate as a GPS unit ($$$), especially for trail running where your gait and step may change often, but for general running, it'll give you mileage at least as accurate as gmaps or other online, non-GPS mapping tools will give you, and for way less money. calibration is easy-- just be sure to do it at a track or measure the distance accurately beforehand w/ your car or whatever, and use a distance of at least a mile. 3-5 miles is probably better b/c it gives a better picture of what your average stride is like over a distance, but a mile run at your long run pace will probably be just fine for most people.
happy running!
Customer Review: Love this thing! Great use of the Ipod for training
Summary: 5 Stars
I just got back into running (doctor's orders to lower cholesterol and blood pressure) and wanted something to help me train for a 5K I'm going run in December.
While the Ipod is a great MP3 player, on its own it does not provide any motivation or help one gauge workout progress. Adding the Nike+ sensor to your running shoe (you don't need Nike shoes btw) and the included receiver to your Ipod basically gives you your own personal trainer.
Get yourself a heart-rate monitoring watch like the Nike Triax C6, which I use, and you have all you need to monitor your health and track your fitness.
With the Nike+ I like how you can set different workout goals by calories burned, distance or time-length of your run. And here's the cool part: once you've finished a workout, iTunes will send your workout data to Nikeplus.com, which one can use to set weight or distance goals and track progress; the site also offers social features such as sharing your workout/getting-in-shape progress w/friends and family members -- so my wife actually KNOWS I'm working out now and doesn't have to take my word for it.
Only gripes: once you've started a workout, it's a pain to try to switch or skip songs during your work out. Volume control is still easy however. The product designers had a difficult problem to solve here, and for the most part, they did the best they could with the Ipod interface. But I can't help but think how much easier to use the Nike+ would be to use with Bluetooth voice commands. So here's my wish: Apple creates an Ipod with built-in BT with voice recognition (this could also make navigating the Ipod menus in your car that much easier).
Also, as other reviewers have pointed out, when you're done w/a workout, turn the sensor off on the back (I do this with the connector end of my earphones). If you don't, you'll be buying another one in 3-4 months (there's no way to swap the battery that I'm aware of).
Overall, for ~$29, this is probably one of the best investments in your health you'll ever make. Now get out there and RUN!