From insect to robot, or rather ANT+ to Android, that’s the news that hit last week as Wahoo Fitness announced the release of the first ANT+ application program interface (API) that connects Google Android smartphones to Wahoo Fitness products as well as any ANT+ compatible equipment. This ain’t just for iPhone anymore, as Android API joins Wahoo Fitness’ line of products tailored for the iPhone, broadening the pool of users able to use their smartphones as a fitness training and tracking tool.
“Wahoo’s technology is a perfect complement for anyone interested in better understanding the true results of their workouts, whether they are a casual exerciser or an elite athlete,” said Chip Hawkins, CEO, Wahoo Fitness. “The availability of our Android ANT+ API allows a new wave of fitness enthusiasts to benefit from Wahoo Fitness products by enabling them to them to monitor and manage their workout information on a device they use every day.”
The new Wahoo ANT+ API will allow Android app developers to tap into the native functionality of leading Android smartphones, allowing fitness-focused developers to rapidly integrate heart rate, speed/cadence and bicycle power into their Android and iPhone apps. To date Wahoo Fitness’s ANT+ API is already used by over 50 of the top fitness apps, with additional apps incorporating Wahoo Fitness’s API continually.
The ANT+ API allows select Google Android phones to communicate with any of Wahoo’s fitness monitoring products including its heart rate monitor, stride sensor, and bicycle speed and cadence sensor. Fitted with a sensor based on the fitness activity of choice, data is transmitted to the smartphone and read via the ANT+ wireless sensor embedded within certain Android-based phones, providing up-to-the-minute workout and activity data. As we’ve said before this ANT+ can rather than can’t do.