Apple partners with Nike on iPod for runners

Nike and Apple announced a partnership targeting runners and iPod users. Tune your run is a way to use the iPod to track data captured in the soles of new Nike running shoes.

You don’t just take iPod nano on your run. You let it take you. Music is your motivation. But what if you want to go further? Thanks to a unique partnership between NIKE and Apple, your iPod nano becomes your coach. Your personal trainer. Your favorite workout companion. Introducing Nike+iPod.

Nike+ compatible running shoes range from US$85 (Air Max Moto+, available 1 June) to US$130 (Air Zoom Moire, 13 July). The other hardware you’ll need is the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, a US$30 package that includes a 0.23 ounce in-shoe sensor and a 0.12 ounce receiver that attaches to the iPod. The kit is expected to ship within 60 days.

The new bionic shoe/iPod combination will work together to track information on time, distance, calories burned and pace and store it on the iPod. In addition, real-time stats will be displayed on-screen and audible feedback is heard through your headphones. When you get home you can sync the captured data with your Mac. In addition a new Nike Sport Music section on the iTunes Music Store and a new nikeplus.com personal service site help maximize the Nike+iPod experience. 

I’m not even a runner and I want a pair of these bad boys. 

Conspiracy theorists hoping that the iPod dongle was a forbearer to a wider Bluetooth announcement will be disappointed to learn that the Nike+ iPod transponder uses a proprietary 2.4 GHz signal to transfer information to the iPod. This means that third party manufacturers won’t be making wireless accessories (i.e. headphones) for Nike+ any time soon. 

But that’s Ok with me, Bluetooth iPod headphones are bound to be a disappointment if the abysmal range and mediocre sound quality of today’s mobile phone headsets are any indication.

Am I the only person in the world that doesn’t want Bluetooth headphones for his iPod?