Nike+iPod

Nike and iPod present shoe that gives feedback

Nike has announced that it will make running shoes that will tell the wearer how far and how fast he or she has run and how many calories they have burned. The instant information will come from a miniature iPod, made by Apple Computer, and a new wireless system called Nike+iPod.

Nike shares rose more than 2 percent after the announcement Tuesday that it planned to capitalize on the popularity of iPod portable digital music players with runners, 75 percent of whom already listen to music while they exercise.

The Nike+iPod Sports Kit, which is expected to sell for about $29, will use miniature versions of the iPod to provide audio data on time, distance, pace and calories burned through an attachable receiver that will get the data from a sensor embedded in the insole of special Nike shoes.

The new Air Zoom Moire line of running shoes - priced at $100 - are the first to have space for the sensor, but others will follow, Nike said. The removable sensor, about the size of a piece of chewing gum, can be used with any compatible shoe.

In 2004, Adidas-Salomon introduced a "smart shoe," with an embedded computer chip and a motor that constantly adjusts the shoe's cushioning to suit the runner's needs.

But the chief executive of Nike, Mark Parker, said such a shoe would not be able to provide relevant data until after the run was finished and the shoes had been removed.

"We realized making a smart shoe wasn't really smart enough," Parker said at an event for his company's new product in New York, attended by the chief executive of Apple, Steve Jobs; the Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong; and the marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe.

Nike, the world's biggest maker of sports shoes and apparel, also introduced a line of performance clothing, including jackets, shirts and shorts, that are designed to hold iPods and keep their wires untangled and out of sight.

"We share the same types of consumers" with Apple, said Trevor Edwards, Nike's vice president of global brand management. "We know that these two brands work really well together."

A deal made in 2002 between Nike and the Dutch company Philips Electronics, which resulted in a portable digital music player that tracked time and distance, fizzled, Edwards said, because of differences between the consumer bases of the two companies.

Apple came to Nike after it separated from Philips, Parker said. "We both had a mutual interest in pursuing opportunity in this area," Parker said. "Not for Nike to get into the MP3 market per se but for Nike to establish an opportunity with somebody who is really leading in that area."

Apple, which has shipped more than 50 million iPods, controls 77 percent of the U.S. market for portable digital music players, according to the market research firm NPD Group.

John Shanley, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, said the Nike+iPod product was innovative but would not appeal to the company's core base of teenage boys.

"Is it going to move the needle in terms of them selling more footwear?" he said. "Probably not."

But investors and sporting goods retailers were encouraged by Nike's move to supplement its performance apparel business, since sales of that line have been outpaced by the growing Under Armour brand.

The connector kit will be available in both Nike and Apple stores within two months, the companies said, adding that Nike would also sell Nano iPods but that Apple would not sell Nike shoes.

Apple will also include a Nike Sport Music section on its iTunes music store, which will feature playlists by well- known athletes like Armstrong, the companies said.

The Nike+iPod system will let runners call up a favorite song instantly as well as upload their workout information to a Web site, www.nikeplus.com, where they can share the information with their friends.

Nike shares closed up $1.01, or 1.3 percent, at $78.99 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Apple shares fell 23 cents to $63.15 on the Nasdaq.

- International Herald Tribune, 24 May 2006.