First Review: Nike+SportWatch GPS

Update 4/20: Ran the Boston Marathon with the Nike+SportsWatch and it was 99.05% accurate, 26.45 miles vs. 26.1 miles. Excellent! See my post here for details including unofficial status from Nike on average pace on SportsWatch.

Update 4/23: Added the Polar Wearlink+ heart rate strap to my SportsWatch. Watch instantly acquired the sensor.  Despite a 2000 mile change in location from my last run the GPS was acquired in less than 20 seconds. Some spikiness in the heart rate capture the first 1.5 miles then a smooth capture the rest of the way. See post here.

I have now taken 10  runs with my recently purchased  Nike+SportWatch GPS

Some Impressions:

Very easy to set up, see, and use on the run.  They got the user interface on the watch just right. Total of 3 buttons (left on picture): up, down, and select. Tap screen to mark laps or bring up backlight. You set up your "key stat"-distance, pace, elapsed time, etc.. when the watch is connected to the computer. It will show up in big numbers on the watch. Your other stats are in smaller but very legible numbers above. These are selectable as well. I omitted calories. You use the up down arrows to display them. The figures are preceded in a scroll by their title. Very useful. When you end your run all stats are displayed and lap times scroll, no need to hit a button to "view" each lap as on the Garmin.

1. Size is far less bulky than the Garmin 205. It can also serve as an everyday watch.Watch is rated at 40 days of use in non GPS mode. There is no alarm clock or audio alerts for pacing targets as of yet. 

   

   Side by Side Nike+SportWatch GPS and Garmin 205

2. Unlike my Garmin there is no way, at present at least, to see your run's entire average pace. Pace displayed is a momentary pace and is goofy and highly variable. miCoach pacer also lacks average pace. A potential workaround is to set your auto laps to less than a mile, say 0.25 miles. I will be talking to Nike about when and if such a feature will be available.
3. The Nike+ auto laps but there is no way at present to combine auto laps with a manual lap capture, say half marathon in a marathon. I may set the watch to manual for the Boston Marathon as the mile markers will be easy to see. You mark laps by tapping the screen. It does take a firm tap not a brush of the screen which takes some getting used to. I have also found what may be bug in the manual mode. Pressing the up down keys to see your top of screen data points (pace, distance, calories)  more often than not marks a manual lap which it shouldn't and seems to lock the watch into lap times. 
4. The USB connector to upload data and change watch setting may be fragile. It may also be a bit thinner than a normal connector. I found that on my older Mac with likely a worn computer side connection that connection, particularly using the cable, can be problematic. Direct connect without the cable and a bit of jiggling to get the contacts right works fine. With my side by side 2 USB port older MacBook I had to get a small USB hub to be able to connect the watch and any other USB device due to the width of the clasp. 

   

   USB Connector and Strap Closure
   

   

   USB Connector in the open position. Left Flap snaps over the connector

5. The Nike+ web site now includes maps (Beta) of your route. Very similar to Garmin Connect or miCoach.  Clicking on the red Map Beta triangle in the "Classic" Nike+  below top right... 

Nike+ Route View

...brings one to a new route view complete with elevation, route, splits, and HR if you captured it.  Very nicely done but not obviously found at first. Beta site appears to be built differently than current cartoonish and slow Flash route and pace screens. Much faster to load.

Nike+Beta Maps

Turning on the Heat Map feature shows your relative pace through the run in colors. It would be better if  the heat could be matched to laps to make the data less granular:

Nike+ Heat Map

Finally, I was able to upload the results of the run for Nike+ to the popular Daily Mile site but route/map information did not travel over to Daily Mile. Might have done something wrong and will have to try again.

Accuracy and Performance:

1. Foot sensor was found instantly. GPS was found in about 70 seconds for the Nike+ on my second run and 60 seconds for my 4 year old Garmin. The Nike+SportWatch has a very neat QuickStart feature. Activate the foot sensor, chose QuickStart, start your run and when GPS locks in it will take over. No waiting for GPS. Will try this on my next run.
2. GPS accuracy when combined with the included foot sensor equivalent to my 4 year old Garmin 205 on a totally straight wheel measured mile of a certified race course with no tree cover. 1 mile measured=1.01 miles on both units or about, 40-50 feet over the actual measured mile,  6-10 seconds per mile at 8:30-9:00 pace.  Accuracy with the foot sensor alone 1 wheel measured mile=0.98 miles on the sensor. Apparently the sensor is calibrated when combined with the GPS. I wonder over time if the sensor will split the difference and approach accurate 1 to 1. There is no ability, as of yet, as with adidas miCoach Pacer or NIke+SportBand to  adjust the sensor manually based on results on a measured course. 
3. Update 4/8: I spoke to a friend who is telecom engineer about GPS and foot sensor. He says the GPS knows how accurate- how many satellites it is locked onto at any time. My Garmin has such a score configurable to display Settings>General> Data Fields>Accuracy He thinks the Nike+ will calibrate the foot sensor when accuracy is high. Update 4/9: Confirmed by Nike. See my post here. When GPS accuracy is low does  the calibrated foot sensor take over?  Remains to be seen if this is the case. I would recommend running with both foot sensor and GPS activated.
4. GPS accuracy on a longer run on a winding road course with somewhat more trees but no leaves showed the the Garmin at 7.59 miles and the Nike+ at 7.53 miles with the greatest difference in mile 2. I did not have the foot sensor for this run. Nike claims that the combination of foot sensor and GPS improves accuracy with foot sensor picking up for GPS when signal is weak. All of my later test runs with combination GPS and foot sensor were far closer Garmin to Nike, albeit on a very straight road. Tomorrow I will test side by side on the same windy course with foot sensor on. 

Nike+ SportWatch Splits

Garmin 205 Garmin Connect Splits

Pros: The ergonomics and usability of the watch are outstanding. Very easy to see and use. It can be an everyday watch as it is not as bulky as currently fashionable "big" watches and in 2 days of runs and always on clock function the battery has barely budged.   The ability to run with heart rate monitor,  GPS, sensor for indoors and under deep tree cover or winding trails, or combining both without the need for a heavy extra foot pod is very useful and practical. Accuracy seems equivalent to my Garmin and may improve as the foot sensor calibrates. New and somewhat hard to find Maps Beta is outstanding in its depiction of your route and performance data.

Cons: Important data, especially average pace for the run and average pace for the current lap is currently lacking. Not able to mark a manual lap when auto laps are on. Manual laps seems to more often than not  block out access to other data points accessed through the up down buttons. Pressing these buttons marks another lap, an apparent bug. Heat Map of run performance should match laps. USB connector may prove fragile.

More to come and clarifications from Nike when I receive them. See my earlier post about the SportsWatch.
Link to Support Page for Nike+SportWatch GPS. Includes download of user manual which illustrates various watch screens and set up very well.

4/7  Update:
Currently showing sold out at nike.com

If you have the Nike+SportWatch GPS please feel free to comment, correct me, add here to help others. This is one of the first reviews of the Nike+SportWatch out there and I have only had it a few days. Wanted to get the info out to all interested as quickly as possible.