I’m pretty interested in technology and use it in my everyday life. I’m almost always connected to the internet in some form, and like to maintain a constant contact with my friends, family, and the world. I traded up my iPod Touch 1st gen for a 2nd gen (via eBay of course) before my trip to Spain. The main reason was that the new iPod has recognition for a microphone. I can now use it when I’m connected to a WiFi network to makes calls via Skype. It’s free to call another Skype user, and I paid $3 to get unlimited calls to any landline or mobile in the US. Essentially it functions as an international mobile phone.
There is another unanticipated benefit of the new version of the Ipod Touch, the ability to use Nike+. I noticed one day that the Nike+ program was on my iPod already, and decided to check it out. It turned out that for $19 I could buy a sensor to put in my shoe and track my runs. This interested me because I go running several times a week, and would love to be able to see my progress. Being part Scottish and part Jewish, however, I was hesitant to spen the money on the sensor. After all, I just use Google Earth or my car’s odometer to map out running parths and distances. I finally gave in however, and have not regretted it one bit.
Nike+ does much more than just tell you how far you have run. It tells you how long, how far, how fast, at what km/mile pace, fastest km/mile. I can view a graphical representation of my run to see when I ran the fastest, and where I slowed down. I can set goals towards which to work. Withing the iPod itself I can choose a workout based on distance, time, or calories to burn. My favorite part is the feedback. My iPod actually talks to me while I run. I tells me every half km that I’ve run, and tells me when I’m at my halfway point automatically. At any point during the run I can press the button and hear distance run, time, and current pace. This helps motivate me so much, because I know if I need to pick it up a bit or if I’m doing fine. Finally, on the last half kilometer it counts me down every 100m that I have left.
I would definitely reccomned the Nike+ sytem for anyone that likes to run and has an iPod Touch or Nano (it’s a bit more expensive for nano because you have to buy the iPod attatchment too).
PS
Not only can I see my run data, but I can also share it with the world. If you want to check out my runs so far just click on the link below.
