Sports brands have been doing a good job of making personal fitness hip in recent years while at the same time encouraging people to record and broadcast their activity using a range of performance metrics and gadgets.

The Nike+ SportWatch GPS is the perfect embodiment of this trend. Unfortunately, it’s better on the drawing board than it is on the track or road.

Launched in 2011, the Nike+ SportWatch GPS has gone through a number of iterations that have seen new colours introduced and firmware updates that have added functionality like support for Nike’s mysterious metric it calls NikeFuel points, and the ability calculate and display average pace.

Whether it’s because we’ve bought into the hype, or because we’re attempting to keep the ageing process at bay, members of the TechCentral team have been running a great deal in the past year and, like many enthusiastic amateurs, we’ve been using our smartphones to track our outings and analyse our progress over time. It’s little wonder, then, that we leapt at the chance to try Nike’s GPS watch.

With built-in GPS powered by navigation company TomTom, the ability to measure time and distance while calculating both instantaneous and average pace, and an LCD display, the SportWatch is essentially a wrist-sized, massively crippled mobile phone.

Sure, there are plenty of other sports watches on the market that offer the same sorts of features and add others — such as the ability to measure and record your heart rate – but for the budding running enthusiast it’s going to mean replacing a smartphone and accompanying running application.

We’ve been using the Nike+ Running smartphone application for months, and its online interface is the same one that the SmartWatch uses to store and compare information for each outing.

The Web interface is excellent, showing you everything from replays of your recorded runs and the various milestones you’ve reached to tabling your progress over time and showing you how well you measure up against your friends.

Getting the SportWatch’s data into the Nike+ database requires plugging it in to the USB port on a computer and using a piece of proprietary software to scrape the data from the watch.

The same piece of software allows you to adjust settings such as whether the display is black text on a white background or the reverse and to turn off the infuriating default beeping that otherwise accompanies every press of a button. It also allows you to pick which measurement you’d like featured on the watch face while you’re running.

The software and the degree to which the SmartWatch can be customised are underwhelming. Nike could easily have offered half a dozen clock faces or even simply a selection of typefaces for the two line digital display it’s settled on for displaying the time. Instead, there’s just one typeface and just one layout.

Also, it should be possible to change which metric gets prominence on the display without having to tether it to a computer.

We reviewed the white version of the SmartWatch –arguably the least practical colour for a device you’re likely to wear daily and sweat on.

There’s also the issue of its size and weight. The SportWatch is a centimetre thick and, at 66g, it feels heavy for a wristwatch.

We’d also have liked the device to measure heart rate, either through the wearer’s wrist or using an included sensor. Instead, in order to measure your heart rate you’ll need to invest in a Polar Wearlink+ Heart Rate Transmitter.

Still, Nike does get some credit for including a sensor that can be placed in a shoe for instances where GPS coverage might be poor or when using a treadmill. The sensor is designed to fit in a slot beneath the insole of specific Nike shoes, but we found tucking it in the top of a sock equally effective.

Tapping the SportWatch’s display activates the backlight, and there are three buttons on the left-hand side to toggle between the various display options and settings. The top two allow you to navigate up and down through the menus, while the third, silver button is used for making selections. Holding this button for three seconds will also start or end a run.

Perhaps our biggest gripe about the SportWatch is that the time it takes to secure a GPS signal varies enormously. The first time we used the device, it took more than three minutes to get a GPS lock; the second time took just 10 seconds, and the third attempt took about a minute.

The average person who runs no more than eight hours a week should have to charge the SportWatch only once a week. This is done using the USB connection that forms part of the clip at the end of the wrist strap.

Overall, it’s tough to recommend the SportWatch over a smartphone that has the Nike+ application or an equivalent like RunKeeper, especially as a smartphone also allows you to listen to music and, in our experience, is no less accurate in its measurements.

The only obvious benefit of the SportWatch is that it allows its wearer to see information at a glance, something that’s more difficult with a smartphone in a pocket or armband. Also, Nike says the watch is waterproof, unlike most smartphones.

With a recommended retail price of R1 899, the SportWatch becomes an even more difficult proposition: for the same price, you could buy a capable heart-rate monitor, an armband for a smartphone, and a number of post-run breakfasts.

Nike is to be commended for its efforts with the SmartWatch, but until the company can make the device slimmer, include functionality a phone can’t replicate, and latch onto GPS signal sooner, we’re going to stick to our smartphone apps.  

First Impression & Appearance
The packaging and presentation that come along with a new GPS SportWatch from Nike are great.  I’d expect nothing less from a company that “gets” marketing.  The box includes the watch, Quick Start Guide, USB cable and Nike+ shoe sensor (not required if using GPS setting).  After getting everything unpacked, my first thought was, “wow, this thing is huge and it’s going to be really hard to take on and off.”  I was right about these two things (at least at first).  I’ll be perfectly clear, if you’re looking for a GPS watch to track your walks/runs that is small in size, then this watch is not for you.  That being said, now that I’ve worn the watch every single day for around 2 months – I’m used to it and kind of like the larger style.  Why?  Because the display is big and it’s really easy to see the time and your progress while running.  The last thing I want to do in the middle of a run is squint my eyes to read.  Now, I can tell everything I need to know about my distance and pace with one quick glance. 

As for my difficulties taking it on and off, that continued for about a week until I got used to it and the strap loosened.  It’s much easier now and I know exactly which size setting to use so the watch doesn’t fall off my hand, but also doesn’t cut off my circulation. 

I also noticed right away that hidden under the strap was a USB connector – pretty dang convenient if you ask me!  Now I don’t even really need the USB cable to charge my phone or sync my runs with Nike Plus.  The less cables to keep track of, the better.  The other question I had right away after looking at the watch – is it waterproof?  I knew I’d only want to mess with taking it on and off when I had to plug it into my computer, but wasn’t sure if I could shower in it.  I did a quick search and found that it IS waterproof for all the basic stuff (meaning you probably won’t want to wear it on a scuba dive, but won’t do any damage leaving it on in the shower or rain). 

Overall, after the first impression I was excited about sleekness of the watch but really concerned with the size and usability with taking it on and off.  That being said, I was committed to give it a try and as I mentioned above I got used to it quickly. 

Getting StartedIt’s easy to get everything setup for your first run with the Nike+ SportWatch GPS.  As the handy Quick Start Guide will tell you, it’s just a matter of plugging your watching into a computer, downloading the software from the Nike Plus website, customizing your watch display settings (you can tell it what’s most important to you), linking up your Nike+ profile and charging the watch.  The watch setup itself will only take 5-10 minutes and the rest will be up to you on how long you want to charge the watch before your first run. 

My First Run with Nike+ SportWatch GPSFinally!  After all that research and waiting I was ready for my first run with the hands-free setup.  I updated my playlist on the new iPod shuffle (still pretty proud about finding that for just $15) and had my new GPS watch display customized and ready to go.  After stretching for a bit and starting my music I looked down at my watch to get ready to begin my run.  It took me a minute to find the menu where you could change the tracking method from Nike+ shoe sensor over to GPS by TomTom, but after several clicks I finally found it.  I clicked the button to link the GPS sensors and waited…and waited…  It seemed like such a long time (and it still does) for the sensors to sync, but they finally did and off I went…  

It turned out to be one of my best runs ever.  One of those runs where you forget about everything, pick a direction and just go.  It was about 5 minutes into the run that I realized I’d made a good decision with the Nike+ SportWatch.

Thoughts After 2 MonthsAt the time of writing this post, I’ve been wearing the Nike+ SportWatch for 2 months every single day.  I use it to track all of my outside runs (still haven’t messed with the shoe sensor for treadmill runs) and would highly recommend it.  Most of the concerns I had at first turned out to be no big deal in the end.  I wear it all the time, so I really only have to mess with taking it off to plug in after my runs.  Also, by wearing it so much I’ve gotten used to the size and actually prefer the larger display.  I’ve even found myself using more and more of its features throughout the day, such as the stopwatch.  

All in all, my only real “complaint” is the amount of time it takes to link up the GPS sensors.  It has never failed to link up, but can take as long as a couple minutes to do so successfully.  If you’re amped up for a run this can seem like an eternity.  But the bottom line is if you’re looking to go hands-free and carefree when it comes to running, the Nike+ SportWatch is worth the investment.

 (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media - Craig Wilson

Derek Mc Clain - TheHealthyTrucker.net