Today the iPod is officially 5 years old. What really broke the seal on the portable MP3 (or is that AAC?) player market was Apple’s intuitive UI and minimalist controls. Despite the initial price premium, they sold a ton and created an industry (iTunes probably also saved the recording industry from itself).
I’ve owned a variety of iPods over the years, including a refurb 3G long since ebayed and a Shuffle collecting dust on den floor. I even had a video-capable iPod for a short while. For the most part, I prefer carrying fewer devices and have made concessions in order to watch video and listen to music through my Sprint 6700.
While my marathoning days are loooong gone (that’s Chicago above, 1998), I’d like to be more active. My 35th birthday is coming up in a few months, and my blood pressure and cholesterol are way too high (blogging doesn’t burn many calories)… It’d be nice if I can substantially reduce those numbers on my own without being medicated. After upgrading my Garmin Forerunner 201 to the 205 model a few months ago, I still had problems in (efficiently and consistently) locking onto the satellites near neighborhood highrises and in densely wooded areas along the Potomac. I also didn’t care for the way the redesigned model sat on my wrist. Off to ebay they went!
The Nike+ iPod digital pedometer has been on my radar for awhile now. I know there have been various complaints (it isn’t super accurate, the battery can’t be replaced), but it just looks like a fun gadget to have while working out. The web syncing also seems pretty cool. Not having to stand around for 10 minutes waiting for a satellite signal is priceless. So I picked up a Nano and the Nike+ kit.
Nike’s haven’t historically fit me that well (more of an Asics or New Balance guy) — I’m undecided if I’ll buy a pair or Velcro the pod onto sneaks I already own. Stay tuned…
Many of the new GPS units are far better than 10 minutes these days, even my non-sirf based Garmin etrex vista pops up in less than 2 minutes usually. I know SIRF based chipsets can do it in 30 seconds these days from cold start.
That’s what they say… and why I upgraded to the Forerunner 205 with 3rd generation SiRF chip. It didn’t quickly pull in signals for me… I’m guessing it’s the tall buildings in my neighborhood. Also on my runs along the Potomac the 205 said my same route varied in distance day to day by 10% – 20%, which was baffling and the only thing I could conclude was it must occasionally drop the signal due to interferences from the trees.
I know the Apple website only states compatibility with the iPod Nano but has anyone tried it with a 4G or 5G iPod. I could probably talk my wife into $30 for the sport kit but not $149+ for a new Nano. I have a 4G Photo iPod and don’t see the need for another iPod just to for running.
Also I haven’t seen it mentioned recently but I thought it is supposed to adjust the songs played to your running tempo, is that right?
I haven’t found anything like that yet. Though it does offer a “Power Song” — hold down the center button for a second or two to play your pre-selected tune for making it up that difficult hill. Seems like a novelty…
I did find the Podrunner podcast through iTunes which is free for the taking. Each ~60 minute track is labeled with beats-per-minute which may or may not be helpful for training.