The webisphere has been going crazy the past few months speculating over the release of Nike’s new Nike+ heart rate monitor. Referenced originally in an 5th generation iPod Nano user’s manual, both Apple and Nike have been mum on the details of the heart rate monitor until today. It looks as though Nike has teamed with Polar to deliver the heart rate technology.
Polar’s new Nike compatible WearLink+ heart rate monitor will work with the Nike+ SportBand and the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit. As with other Polar products, the WearLink+ chest strap will transmit your heart rate information wirelessly to the Sport Kit or the SportBand.
You will be able to see your beats per minute (BPM) or hear spoken feedback of your BPM during your Nike+ iPod workout. You can transfer your recorded heart rate data to the nikeplus.com web service in order to track how long you ran in your target heart rate zones or see your progress over time.
The good news for all you Polar and Apple users, the Nike compatible Polar WearLink+ chest strap will also work simultaneously with most of the other Polar training computers (5 kHz ones) or Polar enabled gym fitness equipment.
So now all you Nike+ runners can train with heart rate monitoring for the first time. The Nike compatible Polar WearLink+ will be available this month in the US, followed by Canada and Europe in July. The heart rate monitors will be sold through Polar retailers, Nike retail stores and through the Apple store.