Will Runkeeper's GPS work without internet access? Will RunKeeper Elite's feature of live GPS updates for people watching my runs remotely work when I am not connected to the internet?
RunKeeper will be able to track your run using iPhone or Android GPS even without Internet access. The next time you have net access when you launch RunKeeper, it will sync your run(s) into the RunKeeper platform. This sync will make them available to any RunKeeper partner apps you have connected to your account via http://RunKeeper.com/apps as well.RunKeeper Elite live tracking during the run(s) will not work, however, because that requires a live Internet connection to send the tracking data to our system.
What does the Nike+ in the shoe actually do?
Shoes designated as "Nike+" have a small compartment under the sole insert, usually in the left shoe if I remember right, where the user/wearer can insert the Nike+ chip pictured at the top of this page next to the Nike+ topic name. (It used to be a special feature, but lately I feel like most Nike shoes that I see are designated Nike+). This chip transmits to either the iPod software or a Nike armband/wrist watch as you run. Being in your shoe, it records your running pace, your distance ran, and possibly something else I'm forgetting since it's been quite awhile since I used my chip. I believe the latest Nike+ iPhone app uses the GPS tracker in your phone to record your runs, but I personally like the idea of the wrist band better because I don't necessarily want the eye in the sky watching my every movement when I have my phone on me. The watch face on the wristband pops out and can be inserted into the USB port on a computer so when you're done with a workout you can upload your run to the Nike+ website. There's also a small button on the bottom of the actual shoe chip that can be pressed to turn off the transmission when it's not in use.Hope this answers your question.
What's more accurate, the Nike+ GPS app or a half-marathon course's measurements?
If the course is USATF certified, then it was measured to some pretty exacting standards. They ran the course at least twice with a bicycle which is measuring the actual distance traveled by the wheel, with a Jones-Oerth counter that was calibrated the same day as the measurements. This as is close as you can get to actually measuring the course with a gigantic tape measure. The two measurements have to agree to about 1/10th of 1%.The PDF manual is 66 pages long:http://www.usatf.org/events/cour...In other words, they took a LOT of care measuring the race. (For a simple overview of the certification process see http://www.hamptonrockfest.com/h...)And, as Corey Henderson says, they took care to measure the shortest possible race you could run over that course. That's the course a professional out front would run, somebody who surveyed the course beforehand to determine the shortest distance from turn to turn and doesn't have to fight with as many other runners to run that course. Anybody else is likely to run a slightly longer race. This means that if you really, really care about your time, you should survey the course beforehand to find the tangent lines. And then run way up front so that you can actually run those lines, rather than in a pack that will force you to the outside.They calibrate it for professionals, because USATF keeps records. Iff somebody winds up finding a course through the race that's less than 13.1 miles it would invalidate the record. This means that they also have a tendency to err on the long side: the official course length will be the shorter length of their official measurements. Better too long than too short: it must be at least that long in order to count as an official record.
How accurate is the Nike+ iPhone app in measuring distance?
In my experience the difference is in the range of 20–25%.I am a beginner jogger/walker and I am doing a jogging+walking routine - a split of 65:35 between jogging and walking. And I generally complete 5K a day.I jog on the periphery of my apartment block and the sky is visible across the path of my run. So, I am hoping that the GPS signal would be unobstructed.I used to use a iPhone 6s Plus with Nike+ running app. I used to clock 37 to 40 minutes on an average for completing 5K with the jogging walking routine.I recently purchased a Garmin Forerunner 235. According to Garmin I need anywhere between 49–54 minutes for the same routine.This makes me believe that the distance calculated by Garmin and iPhone/Nike+ is significantly different.One round around my apartment is shown as around 325 meters in iPhone/Nike+ whereas Garmin shows it as 249 meters.The step count is also significantly different. iPhone/Nike+ tells me it is between 5400–5600 steps for my 5K while Garmin says it is between 8500–8800 steps.I am not sure what is wrong.
Which one is the best app for running?
I use nike+ running and Runtastic pro. nike plus' interface is quite userfriendly and it syncs with other devices so you can track your runs on any platform. But for some reason the app stopped working properly on my phone so i switched to runtastic. Runtastic is also quite good but i didnt like it as much as nike plus probably because of its interface. For some reason i also felt its data was inaccurate when it came to calculating the distance i ran because the place wherr i run is of 800m in length so i know roughly how much i run but the numbers didnt match at all. I havent really tried the others, so id from the few i used, Nike + running.
How much would it cost to make an iPhone app with a GPS locator; for instance, if I wanted to have an iPhone app built that could show a map of your location and events happening around you "right now"?
For an estimation - more details are required. Brad is right!However, if we just assume that you are going to get the "events happening right now" details from a third party DB via an API and that is "not in the development scope" of this project, then an App would be having mostly following functions:1. A splash screen and A login page (may be mandatory or not).2. Map page - showing your location, any calendar integration?3. Event venues spotted as dots (or with any other icon) around user's location.4. Clicking on each dot will open event detail screen, and it will have event's detail blurb, a URL link, contact details, timings etc. (assuming so).5. Alternatively, the events happening around could be shown in a list page screen as well (along with map display), and also stating "distancing" from user.6. Event category label (if our API provides that) - i.e food event, music event, fun event and so on7. Any pictures/ video to come with the event's details?8. Setting page (with basic settings).9. QA work, memory leak optimization, instruments reports and so on...10. Any other third party integration like with testflight, google analytics etc.11. Design/ graphicsSo a basic version of such iPhone App (fully tested and working) should take 4 to 6 weeks of delivery time (if contracted to third party dev companies in India preciously, a US based dev would take 6 to 10 times more cost obviously), and 5 to 6 K USD. Adding more functionality, more integration, more advance views will make it going on and on...In case, you want to get created a Backend (DB of events, CMS for events entry/ storage/ publishing, their APIs etc.) as well, then the cost will be way more - such backend ideally take 10 to 20 K cost, and support & maintenance too.Vote up if my answer helps you.Best-Sudeep Bhatnagar
What is the best iPhone app for runners?
I will add another vote for RunKeeper Pro on my iPhone. The good: Easy to use and super-easy to have an online record of your runs, including time, distance and pace over time. Reasonable estimate on calories. Also handy to have it "shout out" your splits at each mile with total time and pace. Could be better: Take the distance estimate with a grain of salt in certain remote/hilly geographies. Sucks your battery, so make sure you charge before/after. Also, hard to pause at stoplights, etc, so you are best to keep it running.Addendum: I bought the Wahoo Fitness run pack which has a small iPhone attachment and heart rate monitor (chest strap) which works well, so now I have achieved the holy grail of automatically tracking all my fitness data. And, for kicks, I bought the Withings scale which is internet enabled and automatically updates my weight within RunKeeper, too. Based on Rich Hatch's comment below, I turned on autopause which works well while waiting for stoplights,etc.
How can the Nike+ Running iPhone app be improved?
I think there should be a lot more Top Routes in the Places section of the site. I live in Belgium and there are only 10 Routes for the whole country. Yes Belgium is quite small but still. Also once you create a map (on the site), it should be available in the app with the GPS tracker giving you a warning if you're deviating from your intended path.