Gizmodo: athletics

Informance Sunglasses Display Information in Your Peripheral Vision

Haroon Malik — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:59:00 EDT

We are always looking for the best ways to improve our rigorous physical workout routines, and the Informance smart sunglasses look like a worthy asset to our arsenal of workout gear. The instrument is intended for use by professional athletes, and will allow them to view vital statistics in their peripheral vision using a projected image on one of the lenses.

The technology behind the device has been whittled down to a paltry 7 grams, meaning performance interference will be kept to a minimum. The physics behind the relaying of the image is rather nifty, but it involves far too many reflections from one place to another for it to make any sense to us. The image originates from a small LED display, which draws its power from a battery embedded in the glasses' left arm.

Mike Hazel, of Cambridge Consultants, one of the firms involved in the development, pointed out such technology is usually large, bulky and exclusively for military use. Their product hopes to break from the norm. The prototype (pictured) sources its information from a wireless link between a wristwatch the athlete wears. The German company behind the display, Rodenstock, are keen to implement a larger screen than the current 160 x 120 LCD display, which will be tweaked to provide even more information.

The device is set to go into production in 2009 and a ballpark figure for the price will be around $1000-$1500. OK, so we aren't going to use these for physical training, but if we could get them modded to relay our RSS feeds... [New Scientist]

Shoe Flash Drive Looks Strangely Familiar

Travis Hudson — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:40:04 EDT

This is a pretty average flash drive that comes in a not-so-average package. This toe of this athletic shoe pops off to reveal the USB connector capable of storing up to 1GB of your favorite sports (or anything else) related goods. No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That appears to be the oh-so-familiar Nike swoosh plastered on the side of this non-Nike peripheral. I can imagine the lawyers' ears perking up as I type this. –Travis Hudson

Shoe Flash Drive Rips of Nike Design [EverythingUSB]

All Nike Shoes to Become Nike+ Compatible

Travis Hudson — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:00:28 EDT

AP Nike President and Chief Executive Mark Parker recently said that all Nike running shoes will become compatible with the Nike+iPod sensor by the end of the year. There were no other details offered, but I would suspect that over the year Nike will slowly phase out the old kicks in favor of new ones that are Nike+ compatible.

This is especially nice to hear given that the average Nike running shoe can cost as low as $50 or so while the Nike+ compatible shoes push the $100 price tag. Fifty more bones just for a little hole cut in the sole? Yeah, I'll just create my own way to attach the adapter. (Hit the jump to see how I did it.)

So it may not look as snazzy as the other shoes, but I saved $50 buying these running shoes, rather than the Nike+ compatible shoes, and it took me a whole five minutes to attach the sensor to the shoelaces. –Travis Hudson

Nike promises more iPod-enabled kit [Pocket-Lint]

RunAway = Nike+iPod/Nike

gadgetmatt — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 14:54:09 EST

For anyone who wants to get running with the Nike+iPod Sport Kit but is disinclined to drop a hundred bucks on a new pair of special Nike+ kicks, comes the RunAway AnyShoe adapter. This $8 weatherproof sensor holder attaches to your running shoe's laces and has an easy-to-access button to turn the sensor's wireless signal off for air travel—which is a slight improvement over the Nike+ shoes, which require you to remove an insole to get at the device.

The RunAway is available in five colors to match even the orangest of sneakers. Get your training groove on this way for $30. It is an investment that'll reap rewards in more runs and a new-found appreciation for leggings. – Matt Schneiderman

Product Page [Switcheasy via iLounge]