iPod Touch 4G, Nike+, and Polar Wearlink Nike+ Heart Rate Tr

anthonybc

Hey guys,

So I plan to buy a iTouch 4th generation this week. There are many reasons I want it and some of them are fitness related. I have a few questions though.

My first question is would I have to buy the shoe insert to get Nike+ working on it. I read that there was an app that came out last year that bypassed the insert and used the accelerometer. How does that work? Would I need to buy like an arm strap or something?

My second question is for the Polar Heart Rate Transmitter. Would I need a Nike+ device other than the iTouch to use it. I also read it was not compatible with the iphone and touch, so If anyone has tried or heard of these devices I would appreciate some input. It would use it for my P90X workouts and when I ride my bike, go for runs/walks, and when I do circuit workouts. It only shows your current HR though and supposedly sends the information to the NIke+ site without giving you a breakdown of your HR per minute or calories burned. Both of those things would be really helpful to know and would be the reason I would buy it.

Any information or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks for the help!

corey_e

I'm looking forward to the answer to this as well, I might be upgrading to the iphone 4 and wonder the same thing about the phone.

wolfchild59

With the Nike+ you still need the shoe insert. What they did was eliminate the need for the attachment into the iPod itself. I have it for my iPhone 4G and I find it to be fairly inaccurate. Half the time it would randomly decide to stop transmitting/recording part way through the workout. Other times it would say it had recorded the whole time, but then would be off by over a mile.

I don't have the Nike+ shoes though, so I had to buy a lil' pouch thingy to wear the transmitter with my shoes, so maybe it's because it wasn't actually down inside my shoe, but I just couldn't afford the Nike+ shoes. And I know it was off because I was running on a treadmill each time, so I knew my pace, distance and time each time to be able to compare it to. I'm glad that I did those initial test calibrations, because I'd hoped to use it when I eventually run outside when the weather gets better. But I heard a lot of really good things about RunKeeper for outdoor runs, so I downloaded that when it was free last month to have for when that time comes.

And I'm not sure about any other devices that the Polar HRM talks to. I have a Polar and they didn't list any apps or anything that it was compatible with. I just did a quick search and didn't see anything in the app store. As far as I know, Nike+ only works with the Nike+ software.

anthonybc

Thanks for your responses!

@wolfchild59- I was looking at this: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H1922ZM/A

It says it works with Nike+ but after reading your review, I am a little hesitant to purchase it. But i did look into runkeeper and the products that work with it. I found some products from wahoo that looked pretty cool. They are all just monitors but when i was looking at the Polar model it said it just told me the current rate but did not track it.

http://www.wahoofitness.com/Fisica/Wahoo-Fitness-Wahoo-Fitness-Run-Pack.asp?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=comparsionshopping&aff=5112

Im just looking for a HRM that is fairly reliable and syncs with the iTouch to do all the work. I know i will not have GPS to do everything but I can only hope this is a step in the right direction. If I find anything more I will let you know. I like the idea of Nike+ but if it is not that accurate I can just use google maps to calculate my routes and time myself. A HRM can tell me how much effort I put in. Thanks again.