Apple and sports brand Nike have teamed up to rollout a wireless system that allows the company’s new Nike+ footwear to communicate with the iPod Nano and keep fitness reports in an online diary.
The new Nike Air Zoom Moire is the first footwear designed to talk to iPod. Nike plans to make many of its leading footwear styles Nike+ ready, connecting millions of consumers to the Nike+iPod experience.
With the Nike+ footwear connected to iPod nano through the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, information on time, distance, calories burned and pace is stored on iPod and displayed on the screen; real-time audible feedback also is provided through headphones.
The kit includes an in-shoe sensor and a receiver that attaches to iPod. A new Nike Sport Music section on the iTunes Music Store and a new nikeplus.com personal service site help maximize the Nike+iPod experience.
Nike CEO Mark Parker and Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled Nike+iPod at an event yesterday in New York attended by seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe.
“Nike+iPod is a partnership between two iconic, global brands with a shared passion for creating meaningful consumer product experiences through design and innovation,” Parker said. “This is the first result, and Nike+iPod will change the way people run. Nike+iPod creates a better running experience. We see many more such Nike+ innovations in the future.”
It is envisaged that the Nike+iPd Sport Kit is expected to be available within the next 60 days and will be available for a suggested price of €29 (including VAT).
“We’re working with Nike to take music and sport to a new level,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The result is like having a personal coach or training partner motivating you every step of your workout.”
By John Kennedy
