Some updated information:
- Check out
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/05/first-look-at-wahoo-fitness-ant-iphone.html for a review of Wahoo Fitness' API, and also hardware -
Linking ANT sensors to iPhone apps.
- There are several other app developers, who are wanting to remain secret till launch - so there are developers readying apps with the Wahoo API built in.
- I've just got confirmation that RunKeeper, as of now, hasn't signed up to Wahoo. It is strange that RunKeeper's skipped Wahoo. Could be going ANT (e.g. like PedalBrain who're part of the ANT Alliance), or non-ANT, or Nike+ (if it's open to 3rd party apps). They could be linked with another hardware company. If not - they're behind - and this is a *big* update to the sports app market.
Why has it taken so long?
It might be worth noting that Nike+ has some difficulties earlier on due to a successful IP/patent claim against Apple/Nike. They settled, and actually the guy who sued, was put down on one of Apple's sports patents. The info/links are findable if you look for older Nike+ articles on AppleInsider.
Previous rumors
Might be also worth mentioning - there was a rumor by iSpazio about iTunes having potentially a sporty makeover - giving a lot more sports additions. Likely being too optimistic.
Background
The fun thing? Garmin bought the company that does ANT. So maybe the lengthy period was Apple/Nike sorting out rights for using ANT? Or maybe just getting a lower energy protocol. Anyhow - it's sorted enough for Wahoo to be making the ANT+ Fisica Key. As this is a dongle, it might not necessarily need the Nike+ which the iPhone 3G doesn't have - so it'll give compatability to iphone 3G's. Multiple sensors can work at one time, so cyclists could get cycle speed/cadence and also HR speed. You could use a foot pod with HR and also incorporate GPS (think Nike+ mashing up with RunKeeper).
Anyhow = check out
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/05/first-look-at-wahoo-fitness-ant-iphone.html - The iPhone will soon be getting Heart Rate Info and lots more! There's a test iPhone app called Fisica - worth checking also.Check out also EDIT
http://pedalbrain.com /
http://en.pedalbrain.com:80/
So you could be seeing Garmin hardware hook up via a Wahoo or equivalent hardware/software link, to your iPhone/Touch. Footpods have some uses (eg get data where the GPS is having low/patchy signal). The great thing it seems is that you can have the best of both worlds - use footpods, and also GPS, then have Heart Rate and cyclometer/whatever the hell you want that works with ANT on top. ANT has a sideline in the health industry i'd imagine.
This is also v. exciting for the Nano - with NIke+ in, this will be a great running iPod. You could even step back and says this *could* link to what we're seeing with OS 4.0 = re files. imagine if you could share your heart rate/ sensor data , have it sync via itunes? Have it get recognised by other apps? That's kind of awesome. Usually APple takes years to implement these kinds of things if at all, but heck, it has been years!
Another perspective - Think what this could do with medical info. Wireless HR data to an iPad medical app for example. Is this why some of the medical apps that got aired at WWDC never did really get released? That they were waiting on WWDC 2010 to launch this pro-Made for iPod/iPad/iPhone launch of hardware?
Pedal Brain said:
Pedal Brain is a member of the ANT+ Alliance and works with your existing ANT+ sensors such as power meters, speed & cadence sensors and heart rate monitors. We actively test using sensors from SRM, Powertap, Garmin, Bontrager and others. Besides ANT+ sensors, we also record GPS and elevation data.At Pedal Brain we believe your workout data should be available where ever you need it. If you're riding, it's right there on your bike. If you're watching your coached cyclist race, it's right there in your web browser in realtime. If it's post workout at the coffee shop it's there on Facebook for all your friends to see it.
So you'll soon be able to live, real time, watch remote data from ANT sensors. Put another way - think having a HDTV, that shows in real time, users cyclometer and Heart Rate data - that'd be a fun race off!
Pedal Brain provides a complete coaching platform as well. If you're a cyclist in need of a coach, you can find one through Pedal Brain. They'll see the same information about your workouts as you do. If you're a coach, you can sell your training plans through Pedal Brain. You can also have coaching assistants and or larger coaching groups you can have multiple coaches working together.
It's funny how you joke on this thread, but yes - you will likely be able to live transmit your workout to your Mac, iMac. If Apple can turn expensive niche kit that sells a little, to lower priced consumer level kit that sells a lot - that's a big software & hardware market. Sports tech is a big market - the 3rd party accessory sales could be big. Maybe Garmin has realised that they could actually make money working with Apple, rather than against it? This could well be the missing link to actually get telemetry/metrics/data from cardio gym equipment, to the iphone and the users' apps.
http://techcrunch.com/2009/12/26/pedal-brain/ Jason Kincaid from Decmber 2009 on Pedal Brain
