Adidas goes high-tech with a new gym gadget
- Published: 13/06/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Brunch
Gym technology is no longer novel, and manufacturers have swooped to cash in on the new market, creating a swathe of fitness devices of varying forms and functions. Adidas became involved in the mid-range of the market with its new miCoach Pacer, a nifty little device with various functions.
But are the fitness freaks willing to ditch their personal trainers and pick up their notebook to monitor their workouts? Let's take a look at the pacer and see.
APPEARANCE
Out of the box, the unit, or more accurately units, initially appears as a bit of a tangled black mess. There are more than 10 parts to the device - including cables, straps and nodules - which might seem a little daunting to some at first.
It consists of three main parts made of durable plastic - the 8g stride sensor, the 20g chest heart rate monitor (said to be more accurate than a wrist monitor) and the 23g main device. There is no integrated MP3 player, but most runners (and everyone else) will already have a portable music player of their choice.
However, the three parts can be assembled easily enough with a quick glance at the instruction booklet, and the device is quickly ready for connection.
SET-UP
The miCoach requires a few steps to get it up and running, unlike more simple ready-to-go devices such as the cheaper Nike+.
The first stage involves registering an account at the company's website (http://www.adidas.com/th/micoach). Then the device must be plugged into a computer's USB port, first to charge it and then to sync with your miCoach account with a little help from a small downloaded software program.
Before a run, the devices need to be attached to various body parts. The heart-rate monitor strap attaches around the torso easily enough with an adjustable and comfortable strap. The pacer sensor (pedometer) threads through a trainer's shoelace hole without a problem, and the main part clips onto a collar, sweatband or music player strap, also easily.
The whole set-up process only takes a couple of minutes.
FUNCTIONALITY
The device operates in two modes via a toggle switch on top of the main gadget, both of which accommodate the use of an external music player.
The first is "free" mode, and lets a runner continue an exercise session without intervention from the device while stats are recorded for later analysis. In "miCoach" mode, the device offers advice about your performance and heart rate zone, telling you to speed up or slow down according to your pre-programmed fitness schedule.
In terms of comfort, many people don't like running with devices attached to their body. However, the three parts of the miCoach create very little irritation, even the heart monitor around the torso, largely due to its comfortable elastic strap.
After the session is complete, plug the device into a computer to tabulate data and update your fitness schedule. Data such as heart rate, pace, distance and kilocalories burned are all calculated, and the website offers simple-to-use graphic representations of the data. The distance calculator proved accurate in my tests.
The pace sensor requires a battery (included), and the main unit charges via the USB connection when connected to a computer, eliminating the need for dedicated charging sessions, which is a neat trick.
CONCLUSION
As a mid-range fitness gadget, the miCoach is more than just a calorie counter and doesn't seem to miss the GPS function of more expensive devices, which isn't really that useful unless you run yourself silly and get lost.
As others have noted, the device seems perfectly suited for social networking - giving runners the opportunity to broadcast their running stats or at least compare results.
It's far from new technology, but as in so many fields, the challenge of today's gadget market is more about packaging available tech knowledge in useful ways.
Here, Adidas is moving in the right direction and will lure more obsessive joggers to the miCoach with its strong concept, clean design and good usability, but the inflated price tag, tangled set-up and current lethargy among consumers will leave some new runners lagging behind.
The Adidas miCoach Pacer is available for 4,990 baht from the Adidas shop, 2nd floor, Central Pin Klao; call 02-882-6058.
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About the author
- Writer: Richard Mcleish
- Position: Reporter
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