Nike+ Running has some pretty important new friends...
Having recently declared the FuelBand obsolete, Nike's plan has become a little clearer, with the announcement of a slew of partnerships with some of the big boys of fitness tech
If you're wondering who these new partners are, well... we can't tell you.
Kidding, of course we can. GPS kings Garmin and TomTom have both linked up with Nike, alongside Wahoo Fitness and Netpulse. The idea of course is that from now on, if you're using a product made by one of these companies, you'll be able to export all your priceless fitness data straight to Nike+ Running.
This is an important step for Nike. Although the Nike+ Running service is still very popular and well implemented, it now faces strong competition from multiple sides.
Adidas MiCoach is still a worthy adversary, as is Strava. But Under Armour's recent purchase of Endomondo - along with earlier purchases of MyFitnessPal and MapMyRun and a high-profile partnership with HTC - has made it an instant threat to all concerned, the Manchester City of fitness, if you will. If Nike was going to take on the competition, it needed help.
So, it went out and got it. Nike has worked with TomTom previously, but Garmin are responsible for a fat chunk of running watches and heart-rate monitors on the market right now, and Wahoo and Netpulse are 'up-and-comers' too in mobile and smartphone fitness too. We don't have exact numbers, but bringing in four new groups of users should boost Nike+ Running's user numbers considerably.
The app has been updated to include a 'Partners' screen, where you can connect your Garmin, TomTom, Wahoo or Netpulse device directly to your Nike+ account. There's also a useful tweak to the iOS version that makes the armband mode easier to control on the go, and an auto-pause mode for the Android version, that automatically pauses your run when you stop.