Adidas and Samsung have teamed-up together to take on the mighty Nike+. The new quad-band Samsung miCoach F110 mobile phone is due for release in April as a direct competitor to the Apple/Nike+ online world of fitness and motivation.
The phone comes with a foot sensor called the “stride sensor” which attaches to the shoelace of the running shoe in exactly the same way the Nike+ sensor can be attached to the shoelace. Where the Samsung device differs however is that you also get a heart rate monitor device to strap across your chest which allows the mobile phone to measure your heart rate throughout your workout. One nice feature the F100 offers is the ability to tell the user whether they are running too fast or too slow based on the combination of the heart rate recording and a predefined training program the user selects prior to a workout.
Samsung has also promised a new feature in the near future that will automatically play music during a workout based on your running speed. Slower tracks would be played while walking for example, and faster-paced music would play during more intense workouts.
Users upload their workout data in a similar fashion to Nike+, by connecting the Samsung device to a PC (no Apple Mac support yet apparently) which then gets sent to a dedicated Web site called miCoach (pronounced “My Coach”).
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3 Responses to “Adidas In the Race Against Nike+”
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March 6th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
We all knew something like this was coming, and competition is good. It does look like there are some nice features. I do like that they provide a way attach the sensor to any shoe and don’t claim that you need to have Adidas for it to work correctly.
The overall system does seem more complex. The beauty of Nike+ iPod is the simplicity. The miCoach system might allow you to do more, but you also have more buttons to deal with.
I also think tying it to a specific phone limits the user base. I have over a year left on my current phone contract and I certainly would not even consider this system until my current phone contract is expired. Also, how does it work as a phone? If the phone does not have the functionality I need then it’s a deal breaker. All the iPod has to do is play audio files, and we know it does that well.
It will be interesting to see how miCoach does in the market.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Well said, Mike, I agree entirely.
I imagine Samsung are initially restricting miCoach to the F100 on purpose in order to boost sales and gauge market penetration. This sounds like a good way to test and possibly tweak the entire product (both hardware and software) because it’s easier to test with a smaller number of new users compared to thousands upon thousands of users all using different devices/phones. If the product adoption is generally a success, it would make sense to roll out miCoach to other Samsung phones/models in the future.
I also don’t quite understand the Adidas connection, at least financially. As you pointed out, the “stride sensor” operates independently of running shoe brand. How exactly are Adidas benefiting here apart from brand exposure? Maybe I’ve answered my own question there… maybe brand exposure is all that Adidas are trying to accomplish with their relationship with this venture…?
March 13th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
The Adidas connection likely in some way ties back to their teaming with Polar - http://www.adidas-polar.com/ - through which they offer special gear designed to hold heart monitors without straps…