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Nike+ SportWatch GPS: To make you run the extra mile

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There will never be a dull moment when you go running, armed with a Nike+ SportWatch GPS. This GPS enabled sports watch, the first to be launched by Nike, claimed two Innovation Awards at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2011 which will give you all the more reasons to buy one. Nike collaborated with satellite navigation giant TomTom to integrate a GPS device in the watch which measures the distance and speed during your run while the watch counts the calories you burn and tracks your location.

Features:

Well, to begin with, it seems Nike has certainly taken a cue from Apple in terms of packaging the product. The Nike+ SportWatch comes packed in an attractive box in which the contents are neatly placed one above the other (just like an apartment) with minimum use of plastic.

Moving ahead, the design of the watch is a definite shift from the usual. The large, flat and slightly angular base of the watch is striking, although not as comfortable, as it seems to hang on smaller wrists. This 34x70x17mm watch weighs 65grams. Its 2.4×2.7cm LCD is the clearest you will find in any sports watch with a contrasting display of letters and numbers in white on black background. A good addition to the watch is the Nike sensor ShoePod which is an accelerometer that keeps a tab on the runner when running indoors or on a treadmill or when not able to receive satellite signal. The enhanced accuracy of the SportWatch can be attributed to the Shoe Pod.

The Nike+ SportWatch has a very intelligent appeal to it which can be seen from the simplicity of operation of this watch and the absence of those extra buttons that don’t justify their existence. This is illustrated by the fact that you just have to tap to turn on the backlight and to scroll through the menu you simply have to press the top or bottom button and the menu appears automatically. Also, to record a run, just scroll to Run and the watch finds a signal or ShoePod and as soon as any of these is locked, you can begin your run with earnestness.

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Another amazing feature of the SportWatch is that no wires or dongles are required to sync the watch to nikeplus.com or charge it as the USB connector is attached to the strap of the watch itself very smartly.

The Nike+ SportWatch is able to display your entire training history over the last fifty runs. Apart from the total mileage, you can also view your total mileage, fastest 5,000m or 10,000m run and your longest run. The watch has a decent battery life of 8 hours in workout mode and in normal mode, it can stretch up to 50 days.

High points:

1. The USP of this product is its amazing simplicity and ease of operation.

2. The watch doesn’t lose its tracking capability even when the satellite signal drops or weakens which is due to the ShoePod that continues to track the progress of the runner in offline mode.

3. Another highlight of the SportWatch is its display which is at par with the best, if not ahead, and looks brilliant as well.

4. Less dependence on wires or dongles for connectivity and interface makes it light on the baggage.

Low points:

To say that the Nike+ SportWatch GPS is loaded with features would be an exaggeration. The watch suffers from some inherent defects.

1. The feature which irks the most is the need to sync it to a PC, with Nike software installed, to input the user profile which, ideally, should be done on the watch itself.

2. The watch is handicapped when it comes to store routes or train against a virtual partner or to view the per mile splits.

3. The SportWatch doesn’t give the runner freedom to toggle between miles and Km which is a huge setback.

4. The watch is not as customizable as many of its rivals and, also, over responsiveness of the pacing data which fluctuates a lot takes the sheen away from the performance aspect of this product.

Price:

The Nike+ SportWatch is available at a low price of £179, along with the ShoePod, which makes it a good addition to you fitness kit.

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