- The nice design and the ability to carry the clock sometimes off the running track
- The clear and beautiful display, the nice clock display
- The hope for a smooth upload the GPS data (works with the old Garmin no longer so hot, eg diverse Windows7 crashes, rickety charging cradle)
Furthermore, I learned that the data you can also import into SportTracks, and therefore rely on Nike + as the sole location and evaluation source is not (for me a killer criterion, see below).
At the heart rate monitor I could well do without (train rather by time, distance and speed), the Footpod I have not yet tried, and not miss him.
Output opinion based on the information position was that the SportWatch is a very nice and motivating gimmick for the casual runner who creates it with their help, the wegzujoggen few extra pounds. But it can also meet the requirements of a more ambitious runner (3500-km race and 20 competitions / year) meet?
The answer is ultimately a yes. At first the main negative points that have been mentioned by many reviewers:
- Narrow functionality, limited to the bare minimum
- Data can only export to Nike + are visualized
- No sports categories in the Nike +
- Nike + very colorful, confusing and with little serious evaluation functionality
For functionality: True, the SportWatch has felt about 10% of the functionality of my good old FR305. Cute things are missing, such as programmable display window Sport Categories Laufen + cycling, Autolap, Auto Round. The Lap-features on the run are insufficiently linked to the GPS (see below).
On the other hand the limitation to the essentials has again something refreshing. You can see the clock ultimately regarded as a stopwatch propagate GPS Tracker, and then it fits again. For example, in the interval training / competition by focusing on total time and lap time. The display is then sufficient. The Laps can function quite well be triggered with a little practice by the "Draufhau". The display illumination (beautiful blue) also works well.
Here again once summarized the points that I have noticed in the course of now 700 Nike + kilometers:
+ The display is really super sharp, and has very stylish time display, as mentioned above.
+ SLAP function is good, but with the learning curve (sometimes Solving the Lap accidentally made.
+ The current tempo display is much better better realized than in my old Garmin. It is a very useful, a rolling average over about a few hundred meters is displayed here,
so that the tendency to come off well and schwankungsarm.
+ GPS is relatively fast ready and reliable. The SportWatch shows tend to be somewhat less km to something more accurate than the Garmin.
+ - Super Beautiful blue backlight, which is to make in the time display by Slap, while running only by pressing button, unless you want to trigger a unfreiwilige meantime.
- What is not displayed on the clock, are Lap distance and lap pace. The mean time display in addition to the total time that is not my opinion.
- Display and interval settings only on PC. The acting unprofessional and incomplete (has often criticized).
- Pausing a run you can get any information - that's kind of annoying.
- Multiple finishes the clock a unit against my will - very annoying, I still do not know what I've done wrong ...
After training / WK you get a childish praise of the clock or the reference to a new best time - frankly is fun :-).
The upload to Nike + worked smoothly and quickly with me. The colorful Nike + stores in fact from the essential information. The childish color system depending on the achieved total KM motivated even even the seasoned runner a little, I must admit. A very important limitation: the whole Nike + biotope (records, notes, rankings) only makes sense if you only for a sport utilizes the clock (eg records). If you loggst a slightly longer ride on the bike, you have suddenly a new record "10km in 20min". This destroys the system, because then you never can get a run-fastest time. Thus Nike mE also contradicts its own advertising message (this does not mean yes "Runwatch") and the meaning of sport overarching "Nike Fuel".
So all in all is a nice toy, but no serious reporting tool Nike + for me. Disadvantages of Nike + are:
- No sport categories (running laps include not distinguishable from Radrunden), but is possibly in the pipeline.
- Very limited analysis options compared with SportTracks or Garmin Connect.
- Pace curve very smooth and not always accurate (pauses seem to flow into the speed interface, very annoying !!!)
- Social Network functions are not fully developed (eg routes can not be exported from GPS, but must be created manually).
The recognition of routings by Nike Plus works also very strange.
- In Germany, apparently few users (in Berlin there is little more than 5 lines), very mild "heat maps".
But now to the important feature that saves the clock for me: the interface to SportTracks.
For use with SportTracks one must first purchase and install a SportTracks addon for 5 euros.
Then everything is very simple: Nike + (ie, not the clock) will be visible as a new data source in SportTracks.
By pressing a button, all new Nike + activities on the net are sucked into SportTracks. Unfortunately that does not work
right out of the clock, but so what.
In SportTracks itself then the data are in the same form (and in my opinion also quality) before as from Garmin. The analysis can thus be carried out with the tried and true reports.
Conclusion: The SportWatch is chic, has reduced functionality compared to the Garmin, but it is enough eventually. The upload is good. The portal Nike + is colorful and more what children in the spirit. With SportTracks import but ultimately also for more demanding skiers (like me ;-)) and multisport athletes a shoe out of it.
Some annoying drawbacks (eg split times information on the clock display) are to get over, but should be quickly rectified by Nike + per update.
