Garmin has been the undisputed leader of GPS running watches for several years. Timex and Polar have similar devices, but neither has captured running hearts quite like the Garmin Forerunner line. Nike has the “poor man’s Garmin” with their Nike+ system, and at CES they stepped it up with a new GPS-based Nike watch.
According to Nike:
Starting April 1st, get the extra push you need with the Nike+ SportWatch GPS powered by TomTom. Not only does it track what you do, it tracks how you do it, then makes you want to do it again and again. Here’s how:
It’s accurate.
The Nike+ SportWatch GPS combines the accuracy of GPS with the shoe-based Nike+ sensor to track time, pace, distance, calories burned, and heart rate. So you have your whole running history in the palm of your hand.It’s award winning.
The watch just won two CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Innovation Awards in the Health and Wellness and Personal Electronics categories. Which is kind of a big deal considering that CES is the world’s largest consumer tech tradeshow.It’s motivating.
Onscreen run reminders help get you out the door. You also get props for personal records.It’s inspiring.
The watch connects to NikePlus.com so you can view completed runs, set new goals, and interact with a community of almost 4 million runners around the world.
It certainly sounds cool. If anyone knows how to mass market GPS watches, it’s Nike. And for people who are already using the Nike+ system, and ready for the next level, it’s an easy upgrade! The big wildcard is price — the cost of entry in the Nike+ system is under $100 if you just use the sensor and the sportband, and the lowest-end Garmins can be found for around $150. It will be interesting to see where Nike prices this device.
If you’re a Nike+ user, are you ready to jump to a Nike GPS watch instead? And if you use a Garmin Forerunner, will this make you consider the competition?