From the screenshots it looks as though this app will also take care of music playback, which makes sense given Apple’s policy on background applications:

What’s unclear is how the iPhone will track your run, but three options seem feasible:

a) Use a sensor: Like the current solution for the iPod nano, Nike could require a special sensor (possibly bluetooth) that goes into your shoe. This seems unlikely though…

b) Use the built-in accelerometer: Seeing as how it works much like the current shoe-sensor, this seems fairly likely (See my original Nike+ for iPhone post for more information).

c) Use GPS: There are already several AppStore utilities that attempt to measure your car’s speed via GPS, however I think it would probably not be accurate enough for runners. Plus first-generation iPhone users would be left out of the fun, which isn’t unimaginable, but would be disappointing (and yes, I have the original iPhone). Obviously route tracking via cell-tower location pinpointing is a lot less accurate, but most original iPhone users would probably be willing to miss out on that functionality as long as the rest works. 

Either way I look forward to seeing this in the App Store soon!

It’s a sensor dummy!

But hold on a minute – the sensor is basically just an accelerometer, right? Which the iPhone already has built-in. So theoretically all you would need to do is write a bit of software and hey presto! – you’ve got yourself a nice little “nike-” running-tracking system.

Throw a bit of cell-tower triangulation (or GPS on the 3G iPhone) into the mix and you’ve potentially got something that’s even better.

One iPhone-development project called “SyncStep” already uses the accelerometer to attempt to sync music to your walking pace, so I believe that technically, it should be possible.

According to several rumors, Nike will be bringing their system to Apple’s touch devices, but it’s hard to imagine them going for a software-only solution, as they mainly benefit from the concept by selling more “Nike+ compatible” shoes.

So if you’re a Mac software developer and feel like taking a stab at this idea, I’ll sell it to you for a new Macbook Pro!

Update: Thoughts on practicability

I’ve actually tried this out a bit using AcceleroLog to record the sensor information whilst jogging. Although I couldn’t make much sense out of it, I don’t think it would be that impossible to evaluate it and match the peaks and valleys up with individual strides.

The only issue I can think of is that Apple and Nike probably have a number of patents on the system, which might make a 3rd party app a bit of a tricky proposition…

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