Nike and Apple have teamed up to create a replacement for bulky GPS watches. No longer will you need to strap on multiple watches, bulky global positioning system receivers, or small waistband-clipped pedometers. Synchronizing your iPod will also download your workouts to your computer.

The new Nike+ Air Zoom Moire is the first footwear designed to talk to iPod. Nike plans to make many of its leading footwear styles Nike+ ready, connecting millions of consumers to the Nike+iPod experience. With the Nike+ footwear connected to iPod nano through the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, information on time, distance, calories burned and pace is stored on iPod and displayed on the screen; real-time audible feedback also is provided through headphones. The kit includes an in-shoe sensor and a receiver that attaches to iPod. 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.

As I own neither an iPod nor any Nike shoes (although I may get some racing flats in the near future) I do not plan on purchasing either product. I wonder how heavy the shoe is going to be, and how well this is going to work. I am looking forward to the reviews once the product hits the market. I think that finding easy ways of integrating devices and not requiring somebody intent on the numbers in their training to carry 5000 devices with them on every workout is a great idea.

The best selling point on all this is the real-time audible feedback through the headphones. How much easier will it be to have your machines tell you what you are doing rather than having to push a bunch of buttons or look at tiny numbers?

The only thing that I wonder is how accurate the shoes are going to be. I have not been overly impressed with any of the pedometers that I have used, although I have never used ones attached to my shoes and have read some good reviews of a few models.

(Source: Run Mystic)