When the
iPhone has so much traction and a hug following apps like the
RunKeeper are a sure win. Sure there are some drawbacks but being a pioneer like RunKeeper you have to accept those drawbacks, wooded areas, tunnels, tall buildings, etc. So the app is simple enough, have a 3G iPhone and for $9.99 you can have a full tracking GPS enabled fitness device. If you are saying well the iPhone cost $299 so the the real price is somewhere in the range of $310, still cheaper than the
Polar s625x and the
Garmin. Now the Polar is one of the best devices out their so yes their is know comparison, for the weekend warrior that is getting into the sport this is a great way to start. Also with
Health Currency getting ready to launch the tie in with RunKeeper is great.
RunKeeper FAQ
What is RunKeeper? RunKeeper is an application built for the new 3G iPhones that uses the built-in GPS to enable fitness tracking (duration, time, pace, speed, route on a map)
Can RunKeeper be used for any other activities besides running? While it was built primarily with running in mind, some of our testing has involved additional activities such as walking, cycling, and even driving. It appears to work fine for these other activities as well, although the majority of our testing has been running-specific.
How much will RunKeeper cost? The RunKeeper iPhone application will be a one-time download of $9.99 USD and will be available exclusively through Apple’s online App Store.
Will RunKeeper work with an original first generation iPhone? No. RunKeeper needs a GPS signal to determine accurate speed, pace and distance. The RunKeeper application will not work properly on a first generation iPhone.
Can I see my route on a map? Yes, you can see all of the routes you run on a map that will be displayed on your personal web dashboard at
www.runkeeper.com. You cannot see your route displayed on the RunKeeper iPhone app initially, but we are evaluating including this functionality in future releases. You will be able to see the route through the device’s web browser at
www.runkeeper.com.
Labels: GPS, iPhone, tracking
From
waffle treads that started a sneaker boom to sports electronic, the athletic/exercise business is going high tech. Now
Nike has made the move from
Apple, coming up with a USB armband, called the Sportsband. Nike=Coach system will not only help you get to your goal, but once connected online and tracking you will go.
Nikeplus.com has a full tracking, training, music, and competition function built in, it is not as robust as the
Polar system but hey Nike is using Flash.
Check it out.
Labels: nike+, tracking, training software
Now
Polar has a great bunch of watches and their newest
RS800 is not lacking much, since does not have the GPS built in you have to attach somewhere on your body along with the foot pod for running stride and distance. A bit of a pain consider the
Forerunner 405 has it built in. Goods and bad to all this technology is that the Forerunner has a built in GPS, but like the Polar you need the foot pod. Mostly for the things mentioned above but if you don't like the weather outside and you want to record your workout, you need the foot pod for the treadmill. Sorry not everything can be in one neat package. Cost is $300 with out the foot pod.
Here is Garmin's verbiage:
"Watch Results
Loaded with serious training features, Forerunner 405 continuously monitors your time, distance, pace, calories and heart rate (when paired with heart rate monitor). Each run is stored in memory so you can review and analyze the data to see how you've improved. You can even download recorded courses to compete against previous workouts or race a Virtual Partner®. Customize Forerunner’s data screens for instant feedback while you train.
Use with Ease
Sport watch and personal trainer — Forerunner 405 gives you the best of both worlds in a sleek, stylish package. This high performance watch is easy to use and comfortable to wear when not training. Simply tap the touch bezel to change screens without fumbling for a button. Forerunner 405 comes in two color options — black or green — to fit your style.
Run, Sync, Store and Share
Once you’ve logged the miles, innovative ANT+Sport™ wireless technology automatically transfers data to your computer when the Forerunner is in range. No cables, no hookups. The data’s just there, ready for you to analyze, categorize and share through our online community, Garmin Connect or our optional Garmin Training Center® software. You can wirelessly send workouts from your computer to Forerunner, too.
Share Wirelessly
With Forerunner 405 you can share your locations, advanced workouts and courses wirelessly with other Forerunner 405 users. Now you can send your favorite workout to your buddy to try, or compete against a friend's recorded course. Sharing data is easy. Just select “transfer” to send your information to nearby units.
Track Heart Rate
Forerunner 405 is available with or without a heart rate monitor (see the versions tab) to help you make the most out of your training. Versions with a digital heart rate monitor continuously track heart beats per minute. Train in a certain heart rate zone to improve your fitness level or compare your pace and heart rate to past performance on the same run.
Cross-Train
Take your training inside with the versatile Forerunner 405. Pair it with an optional foot pod to track your speed, distance and running cadence indoors when a GPS signal is unavailable. This new design clips onto your laces for easy removal and automatically turns on when you start moving. You can also add a speed/cadence bike sensor to track the speed and distance of your cycling workouts.
Lock Onto Satellite Signals
Forerunner 405 sports a unique design that gives the GPS antenna a better view of the sky, so it can get a stronger signal during your run. And its high-sensitivity GPS receiver provides improved tracking under trees and near tall buildings."
Labels: GPS, tracking, watches
If there is one idea that skiers should get behind this would be the first on the list,
Mymap winner of
ispo BrandNew Award.
"In today's complex ski resorts where the number of descents are increasing and the skier's need of finding the right path to explore the whole system is growing quickly, instant access to the ski map becomes a prerequisite. With myway map holder the skier has immediate access to the map, which can be viewed without any unfolding movements or hassle to avoid wind or rain. Myway map holder gives the skier a durable and waterproof map that is covered in a shell when not in use. The shell does not need to be opened in order to reveal the map; the skier merely pulls the map holder to the part of the map he wishes to view at the moment. When he is done studying the map, the map automatically returns into the waterproof shell. "
I can't see what the hold up is, big gloved fingers pawing at a folded map, impossible to open and once they get wet forget about it, shreds right away.
The best thing that I see with
Mymap and you can say you read it here first, is once
Electronic Paper takes off and you can power this little baby then it gets limitless. A GPS, speed, tracking, runs, altitude, decent, and even heart rate, you have to love technology, built in so that you can see where you are and not have to look for a sign on the trail head. Daylightagain, feel free to contact me anytime to use this idea.
Cheers and happy holidays!
Labels: skiing, tracking
This is big news for anyone that is looking to progress to the next level without having to wear sensors glued too you.
e-AR Sensixa has come out with a wearable device that can monitor, sports, wellbeing, healthcare and for gaming.
I don't think that I can say it as well as
BSN:
The last decade has witnessed a rapid surge of interest in new sensing and monitoring devices for healthcare and the use of wearable/wireless devices for clinical applications. One key development in this area is implantable in vivo monitoring and intervention devices. While the problem of long-term stability and biocompatibility is being addressed, several promising prototypes are starting to emerge for managing patients with acute diabetes, for treatment of epilepsy and other debilitating neurological disorders and for monitoring of patients with chronic cardiac diseases. Despite the technological developments of sensing and monitoring devices, issues related to system integration, sensor miniaturization, low-power sensor interface circuitry design, wireless telemetric links and signal processing have still to be investigated. Moreover, issues related to Quality of Service, security, multi-sensory data fusion, and decision support are active research topics. To address general issues related to using wearable/wireless and implantable sensors and to bring together scientists from computing, electronics, bioengineering, medicine and industry, the term BSN – Body Sensor Networks was coined by Prof Guang-Zhong Yang of Imperial College in 2002 and after much preparation, the first International Workshop on BSN was launched in 2004. Some of the key research focuses of the BSN community includes the latest technological developments and clinical applications of:- Novel bioelectrical, biochemical, biophysical, and mechanical sensors
- Hardware considerations: low power RF transceiver, energy scavenging, battery technology, miniaturisation, system integration, process and cost of manufacturing
- Biocompatibility and materials
- Context awareness and multi-sensor data fusion
- Data inferencing, knowledge discovery, and prediction
- Quality of service, trust and security issues
- Autonomic sensor networks
- Standards and light-weight communication protocolsIntegration with ambient sensing with applications in smart dwellings, and home monitoring
- Wearable and implantable sensor integration and development platformsClinical applications of body-sensor networks
Check it out!
e-AR SensixaLabels: tracking, training
Wow times are moving fast in the
GPS world. Not only fast, but small and carrying a truck load of features. The
Edge 705 pulls out all the stops, this GPS-enabled cycle computer knows no limits. Get heart rate, cadence, turn-by-turn directions, power data (from ANT + Sport™-enabled third-party power meters) — the works. Even share your data with other Edge 705 buddies after your ride. All wireless with a color display, this is no ordinary cycle computer. When you start incorporating all the parts that make a
triathlete or athlete smile. Too boot it is all wireless.
You can:
Navigate Your Ride
Get the Data You Need
See Your Power
Measure Heart Rate and Cadence
Swap Rides Wirelessly
Share, Store and Analyze via
Garmin Training CenterAll for the price of an
iPhone!
Check it out..Labels: GPS, tracking, training software
As components get smaller companies are able to do amazing things.
Garmin just came out with a new watch
Forerunner 50:
Jump start your training with Forerunner 50. This sleek sports watch is ideal for running, cycling and other fitness activities, and is available with a wireless heart rate monitor or foot pod or both. Plus it automatically transmits workouts to your computer so you can analyze, store and share data using our online community, Garmin Connect™.
So when the
TrackStick released this new device, things are going to get interesting.
Check out specs:
"The Trackstick II is the perfect fit for personal GPS tracking. Bring it on vacation to keep a satellite scrapbook of all your travels and record your explorations. You can carry it along on all your regular outings from home to get a better sense of your daily surroundings through Google Earth’s cohesive 3D maps of your community. With Trackstick II a computer screen can guide your family and friends on a virtual tour of your vacation. Take it fishing and mark the catch spots to discover feeding patterns over time. Find a good camping spot and leave it to Trackstick to remember where it is and the path you took to get there. It’s a fun and immersive way to show others where you’ve been. You’ll even enjoy seeing the normal routes of your day breathe new life as you view them like never before with Google Earth’s 3D model of the planet. The possibilities are endless and our users are always finding new and interesting uses for the Trackstick."
Now go and get one, and get outside!Labels: GPS, tracking, training
Polar is adding to the US line it g3 sensor, which is a GPS unit for it's
RS800 watch. This is great for Polar who had been lacking in the GPS department, both
Garmin Forerunner 305 and
Timex Bodylink have been doing this for quite sometime, making an uphill battle for Polar. If Polar could incorporate it into existing watches through a software upgrade so users could just buy the g3 sensor that would be a slam dunk for Polar, and would catapult them over Garmin and Timex.
Here is what Polar is saying:
GPS (g3) vs. Stride Sensor (s3)
The RS800 training system was launched along with the s3 stride sensor. Both the s3 and the g3 units have distinct advantages for measuring speed and distance:
Worn on the foot (or in a cavity in the mid-sole of adidas adistar running shoes), Polar’s s3 stride sensor is the best choice for running; using sensitive inertial sensors to track the position of the foot 1000 times a second it is immune from signal dropout and gives accurate and highly responsive speed, distance, leg cadence and stride length measurements. s3 is the right choice for competitive runners who want to improve their technique and running efficiency.
g3 can be worn around the waist, the arm or even carried in a back pack and, as movement is tracked by the global positioning system, it tracks speed and distance across all terrestrial sports.
“Adding g3 to the RS800 training system enables athletes, who train and compete in sport categories additional to running, to benefit fully from the complete range of industry leading features incorporated in the wrist computer and accompanying Pro Trainer 5 PC software.” says Marco Suvilaakso, Product Manager, Polar Electro Oy.
On sale through authorised Polar resellers during the second half of 2007, g3 will be available for purchase as an upgrade for existing RS800 owners, or as a complete set in the RS800g3 Training System.
Let's hope we don't have to buy a new watch...Check it out! g3 SensorLabels: GPS, tracking, watches
Well now that
Web 2.0 or
Mashup has started to take off (not sure why now since bloggers have been doing this for quite sometime), sites like
Active.com need to step it up a little. It is OK to tell us where the races are but when you have sites like
Trimapper showing you where the races are, links to the website, hotels and a brief description of what type of
triathlon is going on, all via
Google maps. Now
Trimapper get updates daily so if you do not see one that you know is coming up, go and add to their site.
About TRImapper.com:TRImapper.com - Visual Triathlon Finder & Directory. TRImapper.com, the ultimate triathlon directory is providing a triathlon map that will help you locate local triathlon races or triathlons around the world. TRImapper.com is powered by Google Maps to plot the races of all types. You are able to filter the triathlons by race distance/type (Ironman, Olympic, Sprint, Xterra,...), by race month, position the map on a geographical location, find near by hotels for each triathlon and automatically zoom in to the race site with a single click. The site currently has over
1100 triathlon races plotted on 6 continents from 54 countries.
As for
Trimapper if they would like to team up with my idea
Virtual TRI, I would gladly work with them. Well lets hope a meeting of the minds take place, until them use this site it's great and highly resourceful!
Labels: maps, tracking, triathlons
So the
iPhone has released the date June 29, and I can't wait, now how are they going to work the
Nike Plus into this little puppy, if they even have too. If or when they can connect the two boy will things get interesting, or should I say more interesting. A GPS,
Google maps,
Nike Plus tracking your millage,
Map My Run so you have a place to store your runs and share with friends and community, wow I am sure I could keep going. Also they are opening it up to outside developers, so my idea of
Virtual Tri can really take off (if you are interested in learning more, contact me at
usiskin(Youknow)healthcurrency.com).
So embrace this new standard set by
Steve Jobs and the team at Apple, if anything love 'em, hate 'em, they have set the new standard many are trying to catch. From here on in how we store information and communicate and listen to music has changed.
Labels: GPS, iPod, tracking
GPSORTS, The world leader in sport GPS solutions, have some great products that monitor your body in motion, real time. When athlete should push themselves, hang back or is bonking, play a vital role in the success and longevity of an athlete. Being able to track that is the best thing going.
"Knowing how fast and far an athlete has travelled in training is vital to the correct development of the athlete's energy systems. Not knowing or poor analysis leads to poor athletic performance. The overriding goal for the sportsperson is to improve his/her performance and competitive edge.
GPSports provides the athlete the crucial tools for understanding his/her physiological responses under different training and competitive regimes, and over time."
Here are the key components to GPSorts products.
1. The SPI family are the performance monitoring products of choice by leading sports science institutions and elite athletes around the world (see GPSports client list)
2. The technology is multi-sport usable without reconfiguration (walking, running, cycling, rowing, etc).
3. There is no calibration of the technology required. Switch on and Go.
4. GPSports SPI products are the only systems available that are "TUNED FOR HUMAN MOVEMENT". They are the most accurate & reliable systems on the market.
5. The unit captures multiple performance variables including kinematic (speed, distance, etc) as well as physiological (heart rate).
6. External devices can be "plugged in" to the SPI products (eg cadence, stroke rate).
7. Comes complete with powerful analyser software.
8. Replaceable software capability to allow for exercise programs to be uploaded.
9. Access to online training diary for assistance in program generation and monitoring.
Their current products are:
SPI10SPI EliteAnalysis SoftwareGPSports PerfectSession.com- Perfect Session is the first online Periodisation* diary that incorporates advanced training program theory to help the user plan, monitor and modify training programs to achieve their goals. * Periodisation: Cyclical structure of long and short term training programmes, to maximise performance and reduce the risk of injuries and illness.
Check them out!
GPSORTSLabels: bluetooth, GPS, tracking, training
Now we are getting places, it seems I say this a lot but when technology starts to be usused to get thing done, well then everyone should be excited not scared. So hook up to
Alive Technologies,
BlueTooth Heart Rate Monitor, used for screening, diagnosis and management of chronic diseases and health and fitness of course. One of the best thing that this does is hook into AliveECG which can monitor a patient's ECG, heartt rate, activity, and device status, for later review or to send directly to you doctor. So if you are ill, have a heart condition or are into general fitness this bluetooth device cuppled with a cell phone can have a great impact on your results right away real time!
Check it out!
Alive TechnologiesLabels: bluetooth, tracking
Well it looks like technology is starting to catch on, we have seen theme parks,
Legoland in Billund, Denmark, where they use RFID to track kids around the park. "Parents can pay 3 euros for a day’s rental of a tag for their child. Legoland attaches the Bluesoft AeroScout T2 tag, about 1.5 inches by 2.5 inches, to the child’s wrist by means of a disposable wristband. That tag is then registered to the parents’ mobile phone number.
The park will be able to constantly track that tag anywhere in the park. The Bluesoft AeroScout system uses a minimum of three location receivers and Bluesoft’s own AeroScout software to triangulate a tag’s position by recording the time of arrival of a single tag transmission at several receivers and using time difference of arrival (TDOA) algorithms to determine location. Parents wanting to locate their child will send a text message from their mobile phone and receive an automated response telling them the location, within 10 feet, of their child. The process takes between 10 and 20 seconds, according to Bluesoft."
So when more companies like
SnowSport Interactive get into the game with no more than an idea, you know things are looking up. Now when you go to their site, very one demential, and lacking any real explanation of the product, but hey you have to give them credit for getting it going. For the Flaik Ski School the explanation says "Enables the real time location of students, instructors and other key school personnel." This would be cool if opened up too all that would like to purchase the device, very much like LegoLand. Then when skiing with all your friends and family if one would like to take the Double Diamond and the others the blue route, well then it would be easy via a cell phone to track where they are at, better yet use google earth and a smart phone and then you have a really interactive experience.
Check it out!
SnowSport InteractiveLabels: bluetooth, rfid, ski school, skiing, smart phone, tracking
