Sports Watch Informant » iControl

Timex Ironman iControl Watch. Take Control Of Your iPod

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:00:18 +0000

It is common knowledge that music can help runners or cyclists find their “zone” or to get athlete’s adrenaline pumping and so improve one’s motivation.

Since the emergence of Apple’s line of iPod solid-state devices, MP3 players are small enough, with large enough battery life and hard drives with low enough prices are low enough, that just about any athlete can have access hours of audio content wherever their workout takes them. Sleek and portable, runners, cyclists and rowers from all over the world have made their iPOD shuffle, or nano a standard accessory for their regular workouts.

In fact the popularity of the iPod has become so widespread that large sporting companies have created new products that cater to this market. The Nike+ is an example and can interface with an iPod nano and transmit data from a standard running shoe to iPod.

Timex, a reknown innovator who have always designed their sports time-pieces to be as intuitive and natural as possible have caught onto the trend and have engineered their own iPod interface technology that offers some great advantages to runners who find it difficult to access their iPod while in motion.

The iControl IRONMAN watch is visually identical to the sleek 50-Lap IRONMAN watch T54281, with the exception of a few more buttons, but is fitted with a small receiver that connects with an iPod and effectively puts you in control of your music . This feature has great benefits. You might, for example be in the habbit of having your iPod strapped to your arm – a potentially awkward position to reach when working out, with the iControl, you can control your audio in an an easy button press or two. You might prefer to store your iPod out of the way in a backpack with just the ear phones attached, the iControl is a perfect solution, here too.

Not that, the iControl need be limited to only fitness activities, for example the iControl serves as a remote control when you are in your car, or around the house if you are a user of an iPod audio sound system such as the Altec Lansing inMotion iM600 Audio System for iPod.

As you would expect, the iControl possesses Timex’s highly functional standard features, plus a few extras including highest contract display, chronograph mode with a resolution of 1/100th of a second and recall with 50-lap memory, a Countdown Timer up to 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds, 3 programmable Alarms, Water Resistance, INDIGLO illumination, Night-Mode, Multiple Time Zones and Interval timers.

The iControl is offered in five color options: blue green, orange, black, gray and silver. The new buttons are not obvious, so the iControl can easily pass for a standard IRONMAN.

The iControl is compatible with the first generation 1, 2, and 4GB iPod nano, second generation nano (aluminum) 2, 4 and 8GB and the 5th generation (video) 30, 60, and 80GB iPods.

If you wish to purchase a Timex iControl IRONMAN Watch, or would like to learn more there are seven attractive color options to choose from. Simply click on the one you like and you will be transferred directly to Amazon’s secure product page.

Buy Timex Ironman iControl Watches

Timex iControl – No more fumbling for Buttons or Tangled Wires

admin — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:34:22 +0000

Do you like to mix in a little musical inspiration on your morning runs?
It is common knowledge that music can help runners or cyclists find their “zone” and their adrenaline pumping so as to improve one’s motivation.

Since the emergence of Apple’s line of iPod solid-state devices, MP3 players are small enough, with large enough battery life and hard drives at a cheap enough price, that just about anyone can have access to hours of audio content wherever their workout takes them. Sleek and portable, runners, cyclists and rowers from all over the world have made their iPOD Shuffle, or Nano a standard accessory in their regular workouts.

In fact the popularity of the iPod has become so widespread that large sporting companies have created new products that cater to this market. The Nike+ is an obvious example with the ability to interface with the Nano and transmit data from a standard running shoe.

Timex, a renown innovator who have always designed their sports time-pieces to be as intuitive and natural as possible have caught onto the trend and have engineered their own iPod interface technology that offers some great advantages to runners.

The Timex iControl watch is visually identical to the Sleek 50-Lap IRONMAN watch T54281, but is fitted with a small receiver that connects with an iPod and effectively puts you in control of your music.

Naturally, this feature has great benefits. You might be in the habbit of having your iPod strapped to your arm – a potentially awkward position to reach when working out, with the iControl, you can control your audio in an an easy button press or two. If you jog to work, you may prefer to store your iPod out of the way in a backpack with just the ear phones attached, the iControl is a perfect solution, here too.

The Timex iControl need not be limited to only fitness activities, for example the iControl can serve as a remote control when you are in your car, or around the house if you are a user of an iPod audio sound system such as the Altec Lansing inMotion iM600 Audio System.

As you would expect, the iControl possesses Timex’s standard features, plus a few extras.

Features include:

High contract display
Chronograph Mode with a resolution of 1/100th of a second
Lap recall with 50-lap memory
Countdown Timer up to 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds
3 Programmable Alarms
Water Resistance
INDIGLO illumination
Night-Mode
Multiple Time Zones
Interval timers

The iControl is offered in seven color options: blue, green, orange, black, black/silver, gray, blue and silver. The new buttons are not obvious, so the Timex iControl can easily pass for a standard IRONMAN, but is compatible with the first generation 1, 2, and 4GB iPod Nano, second generation Nano (aluminum) 2, 4 and 8GB and the 5th generation (video) 30, 60, and 80GB iPods.

If you would like to take control of your music with a Timex iControl, or simply learn more, there are seven attractive color options to choose from. Simply click on the one you like and you will be transferred directly to Amazon’s secure product page.

The debate continues: Should Mp3 players be banned in races?

admin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:53:56 +0000

Certain event-specific rules have started ban iPods and other Mp3 players from races. Should race organizers hold the right to enforce such ban? The issue is not clear cut.

I discovered an interesting debate going on at the Runners World UK website about certain event-specific rules that ban the use of iPods and other Mp3 players from races.

Now the question they have raised is, should race organizers hold the right to enforce such ban?

There are arguments on both sides:

Mp3 players are anti-social and part of racing is being part of a community, therefore music and headphones spoil the community spirit.

Many runners will tend to zone out when listening to music making them unaware of what is going on around them. This may cause you to impede other runners and perhaps even be life threatening.

Many runners in mass participant events will even stop dead in their tracks to change a tune, totally unaware they are blocking other runners.

One individual mentions how they went out of their way to change their schedule and travel to support a friend running a 10K. Cheering wildly at three separate spots along the course, she was completely oblivious due to blaring music in her ears.

This point was echoed by a race commentator who put in a lot of effort into identifying runners from their numbers so he could give them a boost as they crossed the finish line. Unfortunately his troubles were wasted on many runner in the field because they were wearing the earphones.

On the other side of the argument…

If used at sensible background levels, people will be more aware of their surroundings, reducing the number of incidents caused by music.

If you wear earphones, you have the responsibility of sticking to a basic set of guidelines. If participants act responsibly why the need for a ban?

Many runners don’t expect in-depth conversation during a race, so what is the harm of wearing earphones?

Some are turned off by the heavy breathing of a competitive event anduse music to block this out.

Music helps many athletes achieve an uplifting experience that leads to them picking up their pace.

If earphones are banned where will it stop? Will the banning of watches be next because people get distracted because they are checking their times?

Isn’t it a choice for the individual to ensure they understand the safety risks when they listen to music during a run?

Just because someone is wearing an earpiece doesn’t necessarily mean they are listening to anything. One runner claims he finds it difficult to read his watch in the middle of an event, so uses a device that interfaces with their iPod and feeds race data directly to the iPod display screen.

My thoughts on this issue are that that everyone considering listening to music in their next race should go out now and purchase the Timex IRONMAN iControl watch which links to your iPod and lets you control it through the watch eliminating the need to ever stop dead in the middle of a race.

But what do you think?

The Runner’s World UK website have an active thread running where you can voice your opinion.

Why not have your say? or read the full article here.