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Apple Potentially Developing Fitness Center Application for iOS

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Apr 12, 2001
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As noted by AppleInsider and Patently Apple, the U.S. Patent and Trademark today published a patent application from Apple describing an iOS application designed to support fitness and personal training functionalities.
The integrated application can provide a full fitness center experience by introducing potential new customer to a fitness center and then motivating them to return to the fitness center as active members. For example, the integrated application can provide functions to introduce new customers to a fitness center, can provide functions to motivate customers to join and actively visit the fitness center, can provide in-gym motivation, and can provide post-workout motivation.
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Apple breaks the application down into four categories: introducing users to fitness facilities in their areas, encouraging them to join and participate, motivating them while using the facilities, and post-workout motivation to return and continue their fitness program.


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The application offers capabilities to permit fitness facilities to reach out to potential customers with introductory offers and coupons, potential integration with fitness equipment for tracking performance, and social aspects to allow users to motivate each other.

The patent application was filed in October 2009 and is credited to Stan Ng, a longtime Apple product manager and marketing director, and Michael Hailey, a former Apple marketing manager who is now employed at Nike. Apple of course has a long-standing partnership with Nike dating back to pre-iOS iPods to offer Nike+ running and training integration. Apple has also previously expressed interest in developing digital fitness companion software for its portable devices, indicating that the company has been working through a number of concepts for how to potentially enter the market.

Article Link: Apple Potentially Developing Fitness Center Application for iOS
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/28/apple-potentially-developing-fitness-center-application-for-ios/
Oh yea....I heard about this, it will use the two cameras so that you can simultaneously watch someone working out via facetime while they can see that you aren't really impressed. :rolleyes:
 
I bring my iPhone with me to the gym and listen to it as I run and lift. Would be interesting to have a better experience and usage out of my iPhone as I'm there, but I don't know what else it could do for me that app makers aren't already doing better, between TrackNBurn and Nike with their Nike+ app, and the i.Cycle app for when I'm cycling around, I don't really find myself wishing for anything more. But Apple is really really good at doing things really elegantly so I'd love to see what they do in this area! :apple:
 
This is good news for those fatties out there. :D

I can see it now.. Phones that can measure bmi and weight...
"HIT THE GYM AND LOSE WEIGHT"
 
My in gym motivation is looking at the women.
My after gym motivation is having sex with the women.

After gym motivation=food seems counterproductive.
The only true reason to be there is to get some... by being thin and fit and living a little longer.
 
Funny .. integrate it with the camera, GPS tracking and other future iDevices for a complete experience and see if the privacy advocates don't have a field day with this ..

"Hey Fatso! .. I see you've been snacking on inordinate amounts of cheetos, and it's been 3 months since you've been to the gym .. your iScale tells me that you're now 25 pounds overweight - do you want to die an early death?"
 
I sit by a couple of gym & runner nuts here at work. I've specifically purchased good headphones and Comply foam tips so I don't have to listen to their ramblings. Stuff like this only fuels the flames for their long winded discussions. Now if there was an app or something about women in yoga pants, I might be more interested.
 
I would like a good Heart Rate monitor that connects to the iPhone via wireless connection (Bluetooth, Wifi) and logs the current activity you are doing. They can expand this my having it link to the Lose it! App.
 
an app that makes running in circles, lifting objects repetitively, or riding a stationary bike / treadmill more interesting. The boredom I experience at the gym makes 2L Secured Transactions look like a party by comparison.
 
I guess it's the next logical step for their customers who are glued to the computer chairs constantly refreshing MR for the next article.
 
aeaglex07 said:
seriously how can this be patented?
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If it's part of something more integrated I could see this. For example, it may be able to connect to certain equipment which would log your progress, reps, time, etc. Creating the connectors for things like a Nautilus machine wouldn't be that much of a stretch. Imagine having this on an armband unit, using NFC so that you can listen to your workout info, and have it alert you every 10 reps and apply that to a downloaded fitness program. It would almost be like having a virtual trainer for far less cost.
 
Lesser Evets said:
My in gym motivation is looking at the women.
My after gym motivation is having sex with the women.

After gym motivation=food seems counterproductive.
The only true reason to be there is to get some... by being thin and fit and living a little longer.
Click to expand...

Yep. This is my life in a nutshell.
 
aeaglex07 said:
seriously how can this be patented?
Click to expand...

Exactly. It seems Apple now believes they can patent entire CATEGORIES of applications. It'd be like patenting a "word processor" and then sueing everyone else who makes one. It sounds like a 110% CROCK OF YOU KNOW WHAT to me. I'm honestly sick of Apple and their pretentious greed and refusal to actually compete by trying to sue their way out of real competition (refusal to allow 'competing' apps for iOS, patenting abstract layouts and how many fingers you can use on a device, etc. It's SICKENING, IMO. Frak Apple. Even Microsoft isn't that bad these days.
 
uh..think i'm in the wrong room for exercise peeps..but

i'll put in my bit...i'd like it if it could connect, kinda like nike already does, to heart rate (spinning and weights) cranked with my own personal data and history, similar to polar but without the chest band..and i like setting a goal for the session and by hitting the goal "they" give me a smoothie..that, i like. i think there is something out there like this, not sure what.
 
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