Everybody loves some good music to go with their running or workout sessions, that’s science. However, given the wide array of workout-related apps and the vast selection of music services and streaming programmes, it’s nice to see proper integration between the two things.
And if that’s what you’re looking for, it sounds like Google and Runtastic have an answer for you…
Runtastic, the maker of popular fitness apps that was acquired by Adidas earlier this year, is today announcing the launch of its latest companion hardware with the new Runtastic Moment fitness tracking smart watch.
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Runtastic, developers of several popular fitness apps, today announced it has been acquired by Adidas for € 220 million. The move, according to a press release from both companies, will help Adidas bolster its efforts in offering connected products and its vision of “the convergence of sport, digital and data in an always connected and always on-demand world.” Or in other words, Adidas now has a strong software component with a large user base to integrate with its digitally enabled sports products including balls, wrist devices, apparel, and shoes.
Adidas already offers several of its own mobile apps that cross over into Runtastic’s territory, such as the miCoach train & run app and the Adidas Go app that integrates with Spotify to offer music matched to a user’s running pace. Runtastic, however, has around 20 mobile apps related to fitness and health and claims around 140 million downloads and 70 million registered users. The company also offers a few hardware products, including a scale and fitness tracking devices, that compliment its fitness apps that integrate with other third-party hardware including Android Wear devices and other wearables.
It’s unclear what Adidas has planned for the company and its apps, but Runtastic will be joining the Adidas teams and building new experiences as part of the brand going forward. What exactly that means for the Runtastic brand and integration with Adidas products remains to be seen.
From 9to5Toys.com:
Google Play is celebrating its 3rd Birthday with 33 deals on music, movies, apps and more.
There are several standout deals but the ones you should make a bee line for include $0.99 albums from Drake, Daft Punk and Beck’s Grammy-winning album, Morning Phase. On the film side you can choose from movies starting at just $2.99 including The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, and Hurt Locker. As for apps, Facetune and Runtastic Running Pro are on sale for $0.10.
Head over the the main promo page to discover all of the deals Google is offering up.
Samsung took a big step into the health and fitness market with its Galaxy S5. One of the device’s main selling points is its built-in heart rate sensor. This new feature allows users to check their heart rate using the preinstalled S Health app, but the truth is, nothing special is happening here. According to Samsung’s official Galaxy S5 page, it’s the first smartphone with a built-in heart rate sensor, but technically almost any device with a camera and flash is capable of providing this functionality. The same sensor is found on Samsung’s new Gear smart watch lineup and certainly makes more sense ona wearable device, but unfortunately it’s nothing more than a gimmick on the Galaxy S5.
The heart rate sensor found on the back is no different than what many third party apps have offered for quite some time. Runtastic’s Heart Rate Monitor app is a perfect example. This app uses the LED flash and camera on almost any smartphone to read your heart rate, and it works surprisingly well.
