Nike responds to Adidas with iPhone app

(All rights reserved - Nike (Graphic: Business Wire))

Nike is releasing an iPhone and iPod Touch app for runners in response to Adidas's free miCoach app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and Blackberry. The Nike+ GPS App maps and tracks running routes, with the results of each session available for uploading to the Nikeplus website, Facebook, and Twitter.

The app, which retails for $1.99 / €1.59 / £1.19 from the online iTunes store, can also provide vocal feedback during a run and congratulates completed goals with quotes from some of Nike's sponsored athletes.

Instead of using a separate gadget, as with the existing Nike+ Sport Kit's use of a pedometer and compatible iPod or iPhone, the app uses built-in GPS tracking to work out how far and how fast a runner has traveled.

Nike had cornered the market for hip running gizmos with its Apple-loving Nike+ Sport Kit, but Adidas entered the market with a more comprehensive (though more expensive) solution - the miCoach suite, comprising a heart rate monitor along with a pedometer, and a pacer unit that worked with any MP3 player, not just select Apple units.