Runners A Good Market For Mobile Devices

People who run/jog as part of their fitness program can now use GPS trackers to determine how far they run (although I’d question their accuracy in built-up areas). Of course, they also like to take mobile phones for safety and MP3 players for entertainment, which screams “converged device”. “Werner designed his own GPS module with MP3 player and cell phone, but the product was too expensive. Fortunately, at about the same time, mobile phone makers began putting GPS modules into their phones under the 911 emergency directive…In the United States, almost half of new phones come with a built-in GPS tracker. Since February, Bones In Motion has been offering Sprint customers fitness software for $9.99 a month.” Interestingly, the price was originally going to be $6, but a survey found that customers thought it was worth $10 per month.
The plan is to use other aspects of mobile phones as well, giving runners the ability to “plot a course on a computer, download it to the phone and get navigation directions during the work-out”, plus share the route with others. Nokia and Sony Ericsson are already selling phones targeting this demographic. I’m not a big fan of the idea that a converged device will automatically beat specialised devices, but for runners the lighter carrying weight is a definite plus.

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