Tag: Nike

CES: Nike and TomTom Partner Up for SportWatch GPS

CES maybe over but we’ll be posting about all the cool stuff all week long.

Some partnerships just seem like a match made in heaven, and we’re not talking about Peanut Butter Cups either. Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show we heard an announcement that frankly was more earth shattering than the Apple iPhone for Verizon deal. Nike and TomTom are collaborating to create the Nike+ SportWatch GPS, which will now utilize TomTom’s GPS functionality.

This will provide athletes with the ability to know where they’re going as well as how much they ran, plus all the usual information including calories burned, pace, distance and time. The Nike+ SportWatch GPS will feature the same simple and intuitive user interface as the past models with a mere three buttons and tap screen for navigation. Continue reading CES: Nike and TomTom Partner Up for SportWatch GPS

Lighten the Load – Starting With the Shoes

It is a New Year and if you’re thinking about a “New You,” Lady Foot Locker is there to help. Getting fit can mean getting lighter, and now the shoe retailer is helping runners on their way with an effort to provide lightweight running shoes. These are among the most technical shoes and the market, and include a range of products from Nike, Asics and even Reebok.  Lady Foot Locker has even launched an online campaign built entirely around the concept of “Lightweight Running,” with a great selection of shoes and beyond.

Lady Foot Locker Lightweight Running

Nike Hits the Field with Air Zoom Alpha Talon

While it seems late in the season – given that the playoffs are just around the corner anyway – for Nike to introduce new equipment. But enter the Air Zoom Alpha Talon shoes. These feature a fully adaptable traction system, with retractable cleats on the interior of the forefoot. These extend when pressure is applied, giving the player more traction at times when it is needed, and then retracting afterward. The cleats also utilize Nike’s new Flywire technology, which provides lightweight support for sideways movement, and to help cushion the foot the Air Zooms further provide Pro Deflex padding. The new shoes will hit the gridiron this weekend and will be used by a variety of NFL players. Continue reading Nike Hits the Field with Air Zoom Alpha Talon

Fitness Journal: Can You Keep a Secret?

Do you participate in a sport or fitness activity regularly? Do you enjoy trying out the latest technology? Can you offer technical praise or criticism of a product? Can you keep a secret? I you answered ‘yes’ to these questions, you might be a perfect candidate to become a ‘wear tester.’

A wear tester is an individual under agreement with a manufacturer to test and evaluate a product before it arrives to market. This is a non-paid position, but can be rewarding if you enjoy testing new products and you can provide written product evaluation in a timely manner. As a bonus, you may even be allowed to keep the product after testing or evaluation by the manufacturer. The downside is you cannot tell anyone that you are participating in the program; you cannot give away, loan or sell the item; you cannot photograph the item; you cannot post pictures on a social networking site… basically the first rule of wear testing is to not talk about wear testing. Continue reading Fitness Journal: Can You Keep a Secret?

Nike Moves Toward Sustainability with Collaborative Design Tool

Expect to see more environmental, sustainable products from Nike and hopefully the industry. The company just released its Environmental Apparel Design Tool to foster collaboration between companies, and maximize the use of sustainable materials and processes.

The Environmental Design Tool is an open source tool based on Nike’s Considered Design Index. This is seven years in the making and the company has made a $6 million investment in the software-based system to help designers make real time choices that decrease environmental impact in their process. Continue reading Nike Moves Toward Sustainability with Collaborative Design Tool

The New Nike Club

Earlier this week we noted that some golf clubs have been banned for their laser grooves, and while still for sale might not be the best investment in the long run. However, Nike Golf has introduced a new set of irons to the VR line that will be totally legal and could just help your game. The new VR Pro Combo irons are a premium Tour-level iron set that offer higher trajectory on long shots. These use a new linear Center of Gravity (CG) Mapping that makes the clubs ideal for optimal launch and consistent distance control.

The irons are precision forged out of 1025 Forged Carbon Steel , and each face is milled to a perfectly flat surface and then die-stamped, pressing grooves to exact specifications, which conform to new USGA and R&A rules. These new X3X high-frequency grooves provide extremely low variance for shot-making consistency, along with better performance and distance control.

[Via Sandbox8.com: Nike Golf Introduces VR Pro Combo Irons]

Nike Golf Official Website

Nike+ Plus GPS

The trouble with dongles is that these little things are easy to misplace. Maybe it is some sort of technology conspiracy theory that is part of the planned obsolescence. If you lose it, you must replace it and thus buy it again. That’s basic Marketing 101 stuff, but Nike has long been a company that skips the basics and goes the distance to earn customer satisfaction. To that end the company has decided to ditch the needed dongle that was part of its Nike+ system for the iPhone.

Instead, the new app version uses GPS radio in compatible iDevices to track a user instead. That is already good news, but it gets even better. With the app users can also plot a run on a map with the handset. The only downside is that you do need an iPhone for the full-fledged mapping options, as these aren’t available on the iPod Touch – but that still can keep track of distance via an accelerometer that tracks a runner’s steps.

What really makes us question Nike’s marketing approach is that the app is actually cheaper too. The Nike+ version with the shoe dongle actually cost $29, while the app is a mere $2. Of course, this company knows that keeping customers happy in the long run means making running easier in the first place. Nike doesn’t need to remind us to “Just Do It,” as they just did it, by making the Nike+ system for iPhone a whole lot easier (and cheaper to use).

Nike+ Website

[Via Wired: Nike+ App Ditches Dongle, Gains GPS]

Kick Off with the Nike Total 90 Tracer Ball

As football season starts here in America, it’s still worth thinking about the sport the rest of the world calls football, what we call Soccer in the U.S. Just in time for fall ‘futball’ Nike introduced its Total 90 Tracer ball. The new ball is designed for consistency, accuracy, touch and visual acuity. The ball has hand-sewn seams, improved bladder tension and the surface texture you expect to kick around the field. The surface texture is actually a micro-textured casing, which regulates airflow equally across the ball’s entire surface. The ball is then less prone to wobble, and takes a more direct, arrow-like flight. Continue reading Kick Off with the Nike Total 90 Tracer Ball

Nike Patents New Lacing Tech

Laces. Velcro. Buckles. Bindings. You need one of those to tighten the shoes to get the support you need. Nike recently filed a patent for shoes with tightening laces. Or at least self-tightening straps. A battery and electronics built into the heel of the shoe control the laces and maintain a snug or loose and comfortable setting for the wearer. This technology is still in development, but fun to think what it will be like to slip into a pair of shoes and have the straps tighten on command.

Of course there are drawbacks in relying on this technology. The electronics could cause the shoes to tighten on their own, or give up working while laced on your feet. Is there an emergency out setting? We’re not sure if the battery is replaceable, and therefore its life could possibly determine the life of the shoe. On the flip side an electronic indicator to replace your shoe might be what some people need. I’ve seen people wear their shoes into the ground. Quite literally.

[via PopSci: Nike Patents Back-to-the-Future-Style Self-Lacing Shoes]

Armour Up For the Court

In Medieval times knights would sometimes adorn just a bit of armor when visiting the royal court. And now a very different type of “armour” will be adorned for a very different type of court. Baltimore sports apparel company Under Armour Inc. is looking to gain a foothold in the competitive basketball shoe market. Last week the company unveiled its first-ever line of basketball shoes, which will debut in stores this coming November.

The question is whether Under Armour will be able to soar in a market dominated by Nike, which practically stole the market from rivals such as Adidas and Reebok. Of course back in 1980 the shoe maker made its name on the court with its Michael Jordan branded shoes – and Jordan has been retired from the game for a long time, so maybe Armour’s assault is actually long over do. Continue reading Armour Up For the Court

Showdown Over “Toning Products” Looming?

A war of words could be brewing over those so-called “toning” shoes reports MediaPost, which notes that Nike is firing back at rivals Reebok/Adidas (Adidas owns Reebok). Nike is running print ads (see below) for its own Trainer One women’s shoe, with the headline “The Ultimate Quick Fix is not a magical toning shoe,” and follows with the tag line: “This shoe works if you do.” In other words it goes back to the old Nike slogan of “Just do it.” So is that the end of the “toning” craze? Not likely. Continue reading Showdown Over “Toning Products” Looming?

Nike Basketball Gets Hyper

Breahtable mesh make up the new Nike Hyperfuse basketball shoe.

In the world of athletic footwear, shoes are typically sport-specific. Running shoes are constructed for propelling the wearer forward. Basketball shoes are designed to handle lateral, side-to-side jumping. That calls for different support systems. But that doesn’t mean one can’t learn from the other. Nike basketball did just that and used elements from running shoes and then pushed design a little further to create the Nike Hyperfuse basketball shoe.

Nike took inspiration from watching basketball being played in China, where many players opt to wear running shoes for their comfort and breathability. The result is a mesh upper with no seams. The construction of the shoe consists of layers of fabric, mesh, and an internal skeleton structure fused together with heat, then shaped to cover the foot. Benefits of a seamless construction include more precise and speedy construction, no stitching and seams to cause discomfort, hotspots and ultimately failure to stay together due to stitches coming undone. Nike says stitching and “blowouts” are the most common reason for returns.

Now that Nike has released the Hyperfuse for basketball, it will be interesting to see what other sports get this hyperfusing treatment. My guess is that running shoes will be next on the production line, but plenty of other sports can benefit from the design.

Nike Hyperfuse

via: ChicagoNow