Aiming to shed a few unwanted kilos, or maximise your active lifestyle? There's an app for that, and the Nike+ Running one is hoping to be your go to choice. Nike+ Running has been around for a few years now, but only recently has the American sporting giant shifted its focus from the purely iOS space. To that end, Nike has partnered with a number of global sports device manufacturers to deliver Nike+ Running to more platforms and users. Four manufacturers in particular have joined the Nike stable, with Garmin and TomTom being the two brands overwhelmingly familiar to South Africans. Also joining are Wahoo Fitness and Netpulse.

Partner Up

This collaboration has been in the works for quite some time according to Nike, with several months of development going into the integration of Nike+ Running for devices like Garmin's Forerunner range and TomTom's Runner series.

“Whether it’s an athlete’s first or fastest run, Nike+ has been there to provide inspiration and information to motivate all runners. Together with best-in-class partners like Garmin, TomTom, Wahoo Fitness and Netpulse, we can now deliver these experiences to even more runners, regardless of where they run or the device they prefer to run with,” says Adam Roth, VP of Nike Global Running Brand Marketing. Roth adds that, "These partnerships are all about the runner – giving him or her even more ways to access the rewarding benefits of being a Nike+ Running member.”

Multiplatform

Nike+ Running has also received several new enhancements for first-time users to get to grips with. One of the more important, but perhaps less thought of, is greater app stability in landscape/armband mode. This is especially significant when trying to operate the app while running, and as such plays a large role in the app's user-friendliness.

Added to this, is improved music playing controls while in-app. As our gaming music feature highlights, music plays an important part of how well we can perform, and making the controls easier to handle will aid in this regard. Lastly, Nike+ Running has always been an iOS-optimised app in recent years, but this new update will bring enhanced functionality to Android users. These features include better shoe-tagging for any Nike+ sporting shoe, as well as an Auto Pause function that stops playing music as soon as the runner comes to a halt. The newly improved app is now available to both iOS and Android users to freely download.