Nike+ SportWatch GPS Review ! ~ INNOCENT HACKER ! Learn Ethical Hacking.

Fantastic! But now we can't run without it.

Nike has finally brought the power of GPS to its Nike+ family of running products. The SportWatch GPS Powered by TomTom isn’t the first GPS watch, nor is it the first that pairs with a heart-rate monitor. It is, however, the first GPS watch that isn’t butt ugly.
The SportWatch GPS has a plastic chassis and rubber strap, with a black exterior surface and a bright yellow-green interior. The watch body, which measures 1.5 inches wide and 0.7 inches thick, is co-branded with the Nike swoosh+ and the TomTom logo. You manage the watch using two black scroll buttons and one green select button on the left side of the clock face. The tip of the watch strap cleverly conceals a USB header that plugs into a PC or Mac so you can upload data to the NikeConnect software. The software, in turn, uploads this information to the Nike Running website. You’ll also find the Nike+ stride sensor in the box. This fits into a compartment in compatible Nike shoes (an inexpensive adapter is available for other brands). The stride sensor is used to track your pace and distance traveled while running indoors or anywhere the watch can’t detect a GPS signal.

The Nike+ SportWatch GPS features a conventional LCD display, but in reverse: The background consists of dark pixels and white pixels display information.

To begin a run, you hold down the green button for three seconds, at which point the watch starts scanning for GPS and sensor signals (a Nike+ shoe sensor, a heart-rate monitor, and so on). The GPS typically required between 30 seconds and several minutes to sync up, while the other sensors connected within a few seconds.
During a run, the SportWatch tracks total distance traveled, elapsed time, lap time, current pace, estimated calories burned, and more. Add a heart-rate monitor (we used a $60 Polar Wearlink+) and the watch will track your heart rate, too. You can set the watch to auto lap (we used one-mile intervals), or you can mark laps by tapping the watch’s face. Press the green button during your run, and the watch will pause data collection until you resume. This is useful when you’re stuck at a traffic light.

The USB connector is cleverly hidden in the watch’s plastic clasp.

After your run, the SportWatch displays all the previously mentioned data, plus any personal bests you’ve achieved. But the device really shines when you upload this information to the Nike+ website. The web interface maps each run and displays your heart rate, pace, elevation, and traveling distance at any given point on your route. You can also establish workout goals, sign up for challenges, map future runs, and—if you’re feeling masochistic—publish your workout stats to Facebook and Twitter.

After spending four weeks with the SportWatch, and two with the Polar Wearlink+, we won't go back to running without metrics. The leap from “I ran for a while, and I feel pretty tired” to “I ran 3.11 miles in 24 minutes, averaging 7:45 minutes per mile, and I burned 467 calories” is amazingly empowering. For we geeky amateur runners, seeing instant and tangible results transformed our exercise drudgery into a game with real-world benefits. More importantly, it encouraged us to develop an exercise routine to look forward to, rather than dread.

After your run, you’re rewarded with delicious statistics.

You could probably replicate most of the SportWatch’s capabilities by strapping your smartphone to your arm, but we found this purpose-built device well worth its $199 price tag. So why are we denying it a Kick Ass? Because the damn thing wiped out our carefully programmed preferences every time we download a firmware update!

$199, www.nike.com