I’ve been a fan of the Nike+iPod kit since day one. Although I don’t consider myself to be a runner. I am a walker and therefore like to keep track of my walking goals and progress. When the Nike+iPod kit first came out it was a two piece kit sold by Apple and Nike. What you got in the box was a sensor that went into a special compartment in the sole of your Nike+ shoes and a receiver that attached to the dock connector on the iPod nano.
With this combination you got music while you ran or walked, voice prompts let you know your stats and distance to go and stats that would automatically get uploaded to your Nike+ account on the web each time you’d sync your iPod. It’s GREAT!
I’m an iPhone user though
When the iPhone came out two years ago I wasn’t really interested in carrying both an iPod and my iPhone. After all the iPhone has an iPod built-in. So I kinda got away from using my Nike+ kit. Sure I was still walking, but I just wasn’t keeping track anymore. Well when I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS, I was very happy to see that like the iPod touch (2nd gen), Apple had built-in support for the Nike+iPod integration. Now I could carry just the one device and I would no longer need the receiver attached to the dock connector. Cool! I still have my original Nike+ shoes and I started using them again. This is when I realized that I’m not always going to want to wear these shoes everywhere I go. I have nothing against Nike shoes (you should see my closet), but I just didn’t want to be limited to the one pair of shoes every time I wanted to walk and track my progress.
A couple of weeks ago I knew I’d be doing a lot of walking in Las Vegas at Photoshop World and I thought it would be great to know exactly how much walking I was doing in a day. So I looked for a solution that would let me use my Nike+iPod sensor in any shoe. This is not a new concept. Marware came out with a holder that went on your laces almost right after the Nike+iPod kit was introduced. However, when I was in Vegas I went to the mall and the local Apple Store and they didn’t carry the Marware solution. One of the Apple sales guys suggested a "shoe wallet".
So I went over to the Nike store and sure enough they had exactly what I was looking for. This shoe wallet is designed to hold small items such as a key or wad of money or I.D. when you don’t have pockets. It attached to your shoe with a clip that is designed to go right down the front of your laces. It’s perfect for hold the Nike+iPod sensor too! Although I already owned a sensor, it was in the Nike+ shoes I left at home. Luckily now Apple sells just the sensor since the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (2nd and 3rd generation) have the receiver built-in. I bought the wallet from Nike and the Nike+iPod sensor from the Apple Store and I was set.
As you can see "there’s an app for that". When you enable the Nike+iPod feature in the Settings on your iPhone, the Nike+iPod app will show up. You can then pair it with your sensor in your shoe or shoe wallet and start your workout. This was the distance from my hotel room to the the show floor. The miles can add up quickly in a day.
The Bottom Line
If you have an iPhone 3GS or iPod touch (2nd or 3rd gen), then you might as well take advantage of the Nike+iPod feature that’s built-in! All you’ll need to buy is the Nike+iPod sensor and a shoe wallet. The other nice thing about the shoe wallet besides being able to move it easily from shoe to shoe is that you can easily remove it from your shoes when going through airport security. Trust me, you don’t want to have a small metal device on your shoes when they are x-ray’d. I know from experience 🙂 Battery saving tip: Turn off the Nike+ feature in your iPhone/iPod when you’re not going to be using it and remove the sensor from your shoes. This will help with battery life in both devices.
Nike+iPod Kit (receiver and sensor) for iPod nano users goes for $29.00 here.
Nike+iPod Sensor ONLY, for iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 2nd & 3rd gen users goes for $13.95 here (list price $19)
Nike Shoe Wallet goes for $9.95 here.
Marware Sportsuit holder goes for $8.55 here.
If you’re into cute and cheap, then you might want to check out this sensor holder for only $3.50. 🙂
Apple has it written on all of the “print” material that the new iPod Nano (I’m guessing it will support anything that uses the receiver) is compatible with Nike heart rate monitors. Apparently, Nike missed the release deadline.
The new iPod Nano DOES require the external sensor – it does not have the nike sensor built-in like the iPhone 3GS
Exactly! However, the new nano (5th gen) does have its own built-in pedometer, which does offer to upload the info to your Nike+ account when you sync.
This is a great solution if you are going for a walk but when you want to take your feet for a run, the iPhone is an awkward thing to carry.
Most solutions (Belkin etc) involve putting your phone into a strap round your arm but they seem to get mixed reviews regarding security, fitness for purpose, waterproofing and access to the phone.
I’d be really interested if you or your readers could give an enthusiastic five star review to any specific solution which allows you to use Nike + and IPhone in safety and comfort when wearing running gear and going faster than 8 miles an hour.
The iPod nano is probably still best for “runners” due to its relatively light weight.
Neil,
I carry my iPhone with the Belkin arm band and it never has impeded my in anyway. I do not use Nike+ though. I find it inaccurate. Instead I purchased the app RunKeeper Pro that has all the benefits of the Nike+ without needing the special shoes or sensor and it never needs calibration since it uses GPS. Also, in regards to speed, I run an average of 9.5 mph and run between 30 to 50 miles a week.
I have looked at using it for the walking method, how do you think it would work for bike riding, or do you have a better solution?
Probably not very accurate for bike riding for a couple of reasons. Your feet aren’t moving the same distance when you’re peddling vs. walking/running and there are times when you aren’t peddling at all but still moving so the distance wouldn’t be the same either. Haven’t found a solution for biking yet.
Terry,
Thanks for this info. I walk (pace) a lot during the day and not always in running (pacing) shoes either, so this is a good solution for my 3Gs. However, the link that you have for the Nike sensor at 13.95 is showing a version for $59.95. I’d like to start doing this, but would rather at 1/3 the price. Could you clarify the difference between the two?
Thanks
Amazon can be wacky at times.
Since you have the 3GS all you need is the Sensor alone which has a retail price of $19 (don’t pay more than that). Amazon sells it for less apparently depending on the time of day that you click the link. Keep checking and also look at the various links on that page for cheaper sources.
Terry, thanks for all you do with reviewing gadgets. You are the man when it comes to iPhone reviews. I love it.
Your post about Nike+ just lead me to write a post about my experience with Nike+ and the iPhone. I’m a big fan of both, but I don’t think the product roll out for both Nike and Apple were handled effectively. Check it out at http://goetzeverything.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-frustration-with-nike-runkeeper-is.html .
Also there is a $7 version (2 in a package) called a BeanPod:
http://www.bestinsoles.com/Bean-Pod-2-Pack-Universal-Nike-iPod-Sensor-Holder_p_955.html
There is also the insole version which Dean Karnazes used to complete the “50 Marathons in 50 Consecutive Days” run:
http://www.bestinsoles.com/Sole-DK-Plus–Dean-Karnazes–Softec-Series–Heat-Moldable_p_848.html
Plenty of options out there! More of a reason to walk or run now.
The Nike+Ipod got me back into running a few years ago—and I hate running, but I’m a tech nerd so there you go ha ha. Good product though, nice to have integration with the iPhone now too.
Terry,
Are your sneakers really monogrammed or is that a little photoshop magic?
Danny,
Those are my older NikeID shoes: http://nikeid.nike.com/
You mean you don’t have a pair with my name on them? 🙂
hi Terry love the site. forgive my ignorance but i have a new ipod nano and want to use nike+. what do i need to buy . thanks for you help in advance. love the site
Hi Stephen,
With the 5th gen nano you have two choices:
1) there’s a pedemetor built in that that will transfer your stats to your Nike+ kit. Nothing else to buy.
2) If you want the Nike+ solution you would need the Nike+iPod kit above for $29 that includes both the receiver for your iPod AND the sensor for the shoes.
I have used the Nike plus since I started running. I did the chicago marathon with it last week. Had a weird issue right before startup and it wasnt sensing. Finally I turned off the ipod touch and rebooted-everything was ok. This was important as I won a NANO after the race from Nike from using the nike+ in the race. I forgot it was in my shoe and I went through security with no issues previously btw. Sometimes I forget to turn the battery off though. The product is great and as you sync to the Nike website you see your miles logged and info about your run. They just upgraded the Nike plus website. One negative is they work very poorly on treadmills. It has a hard time distance wise on the treadmill. Nike+ has been a huge partnership between Nike and Apple. 99% of the time these projects bomb out. In this care it has been tremendous. It is easier to use a nano over the touch, but my original nano was misplaced. Iphone users can just clip the phone to themselves with a case. I dont like the armbands but some people love them.
Thanks for the info! I just ran my first 5k yesterday and now I’m addicted. Another runner told me about this cool feature on the iPhone, but the Nike+ faq’s don’t mention anything about wanting to use your own shoes.