3g iPhone and Nike

[RunKeeper]

Looks great! I was wondering when I would see something like this finally released for the iPhone.

Quick question: does the iPhone have to be strapped to your arm? Can it be on your waist or held in your hand?


It's apps like this that will push me to upgrade to the 3G.....

It can be on your waist or in your hand, just be careful in your hand not to push the stop button accidentally since the auto-lock will be disabled.

 

[ogdogg]

It can be on your waist or in your hand, just be careful in your hand not to push the stop button accidentally since the auto-lock will be disabled.

I think Apple would have to allow Nike to run this app while the phone is locked in one form or another. Having the screen on the entire time you're running just seems like a waste of battery. With Apple's relationship with Nike, this wouldn't surprise me.

 

[FJR]

Hi everyone, and thanks for your tolerance of my shameless plug. How else would you have known about RunKeeper

Let me address a few issues mentioned above:
Availability - We submitted to Apple yesterday for approval, so while it is out of our hands, it has been taking 2-3 weeks on average for the apps I have been following to go from submission to approval, so we hope ours will be similar.
Functionality - We wanted to start with the core bones (duration, distance, pace, speed) and then let the users drive where we go next. Certain functions will be no-brainers like elevation, split times, and data import/export, but much of the functionality will be prioritized through customer feedback.
Disabling auto-lock - You are correct that when the iPhone auto-lock kicks in, the GPS stops tracking so you do need to disable that feature. And yes, this does mean the screen needs to stay on (at least for now until Apple addresses this). But even with the screen on and with the iPod playing in the background, we have been getting 2.5+ hours of continuous fitness tracking (closer to 3 if you dismiss the low battery indicator once or twice when it comes on), which is more than enough for most (but not all) runners. We are testing tweaks to screen brightness and other settings to see if we can extend that even further.
Durability - All of my runs have been using the Marware Sportsuit Convertible case, which you wear on your arm, enables easy access to the buttons, and provides protection from perspiration and weather conditions.
2.1 release - We also heard this release will have improvements to the GPS, which is nothing but good news for RunKeeper.

Our goal was to have as good a first showing as we can, and then grow with the device over time. We are proud of our version 1 RunKeeper release, and we are excited for you to try it out!

Jason

Interesting.

I'm still a little worried about the battery life, since this would essentially mean I'd have to do a full charge before and after, which puts a lot of limits on when I could use it. Most of the time I'm trying to squeeze a run in whenever I can, and if I had to add into that the fact that I'm going to need to fully charge my iPhone before and after, then that makes this app something I use on my sunday run only.

Do you have any idea how much of the battery drain is coming from continuous GPS and how much is coming from having the iPhone on continuously? If the big killer is GPS, you could possibly make some use of route mapping, the accelerometer and then periodic GPS check ins. IF I could do a 2 hour run and then have half my battery left, this would become substantially more useful to me.

 

[RunKeeper]

Interesting.

I'm still a little worried about the battery life, since this would essentially mean I'd have to do a full charge before and after, which puts a lot of limits on when I could use it. Most of the time I'm trying to squeeze a run in whenever I can, and if I had to add into that the fact that I'm going to need to fully charge my iPhone before and after, then that makes this app something I use on my sunday run only.

Do you have any idea how much of the battery drain is coming from continuous GPS and how much is coming from having the iPhone on continuously? If the big killer is GPS, you could possibly make some use of route mapping, the accelerometer and then periodic GPS check ins. IF I could do a 2 hour run and then have half my battery left, this would become substantially more useful to me.

Hi, I wanted to let you know we did more testing this morning. On a full charge, we got 2:41 of continuous fitness tracking in until the 20% battery warning came up, 10% warning at 3:03, and the phone went dead at 3:31. The device continued to track our fitness activity through the full 3:31. When the phone went dead, our run paused and we had the option to save it when we re-powered up the device, so the data was not lost. Not sure yet of the breakdown in terms of which features cause the most battery drain, but we will continue to research and test. We are also in contact with Apple to see if they have any suggestions or fixes to extend the battery life further. Specifically, we asked them if there is any way to enable the GPS to continue tracking when the auto-lock is on (and the screen is off). We will keep you posted! You can also check www.runkeeper.com/blog for updates.

Jason

 

[littlewaywelt]

I can't possibly imagine why someone would want to run with such a huge heavy thing on his/her arm. It won't last a year unless it's in a waterproof sleeve, even then you're chancing it with sweat and heat. Even the shuffles don't last long due to sweat without countermeasures.

Do yourself a favor and buy a garmin 205 or 305 (has hr, too) for $125-$190. They have 10x the capability and reporting and are made for running. Why risk ruining your iphone?

...and runkeeper looks incredibly lame...more like a joke.
folks, check out sporttracks or motionbased if you want to know real capabilities and analysis via gps.

 

[jsquared]

I can't possibly imagine why someone would want to run with such a huge heavy thing on his/her arm. It won't last a year unless it's in a waterproof sleeve, even then you're chancing it with sweat and heat. Even the shuffles don't last long due to sweat without countermeasures.

Do yourself a favor and buy a garmin 205 or 305 (has hr, too) for $125-$190. They have 10x the capability and reporting and are made for running. Why risk ruining your iphone?

...and runkeeper looks incredibly lame...more like a joke.
folks, check out sporttracks or motionbased if you want to know real capabilities and analysis via gps.

Haha you must have tiny arms and sweat tremendoulsy.

I have some random brand iPhone arm-band and I run with my phone daily. I used to run with my 1st gen iPhone daily and never had a problem.

 

[MBHockey]

It wouldn't be accurate enough. Remember this isn't GPS from a satellite receiver in the phone. It's a triangulated cell signal. Not nearly accurate enough for running. You'll get wildly inaccurate readings.
If you want something for running look at the Garmin forerunner 205, 305 or 405.
The nike system works via an accelerometer.

How many times has this nonsense been uttered? It's comical and this point.

 

[Rigsby]

In the interests of providing balance a new app appeared on the store today, iTrail. I've not tried it - but would be interested in hearing what others think of it.