Just do IoT? We'd walk a mile in someone else's Nike smart sneakers, but they seem to be 'bricked' Buyers of Nike's eye-wateringly expensive Adapt trainers appear to be having difficulties with the accompanying app. The sportswear giant launched its self-lacing basketball shoes, the Adapt BB, earlier this year, promising a Back To The Future 2-like experience of power laces. Ostensibly aimed at basketball players, but more …
You're prayers have been answered. Just get a pair of Krotens. Pull, slide, tuck the little dongle under the loop at the front and you're done. No Internet Connection required
> but if I don't have to dick with shoelaces, I'll pay bucks for that
Perhaps one could interest Sir in the following?
https://www.silverts.com/shoes-for-elderly-shoes-for-seniors/
[icon: service with a smile]
"if I don't have to dick with shoelaces, I'll pay bucks for that."
You've been able to avoid tying shoelaces for years now, at a much lower price, thanks to velcro.
...but Is tying shoelaces is so difficult that it's a problem worth paying real money to avoid? Sure, if you're a toddler or incapacitated, that makes sense. Otherwise, I don't see what the big hassle is.
...but Is tying shoelaces is so difficult that it's a problem worth paying real money to avoid?
Shoelaces can be a safety issue. There can be times and activities where having dangly loopy things that can get caught in equipment can be dangerous, e.g. as per the post replying to, riding a motorbike.
That's why one should learn how to tie laces before learning to use a bike.... never had a issue using a bicycle and shoes with laces. But that's also why once city bicycles were different form sport bicycles - then came those who wanted to use a sport bicycle wearing a suit.
Still lots of shoes with different types of "locking" without using laces - none of which requires an electric motor and an Internet connection.
They'll have to tread carefully not to alienate their customers.
Maybe but I doubt it. If you're an Olympian, spending three hundred on a pair of trainers might make sense, for the rest of the world, it just shows an imbalance of money and common sense. So I'm offering the hypothesis that the buyers of this product bought it purely because (a) it was 300 bucks, and (b) it was new and shiney and IoTish.
People like that take a VERY long time to learn. Hell, Apple's only just managed to break the camel's back of idiot loyalty by charging over a grand for a mobile phone.
"(b) it was new and shiney and IoTish."
I first saw that as IoT Tosh ;-)
Sometimes, when I see a new fangled thing on sale at a ridiculous price, I find it instructive to have a gander through something like Autotrader to see what kind of s/h car I could get for similar money. For 300 quid I could buy two Vauxhall Astras, one for each foot. Not that I would ever contemplate such a purchase, but it adds a little perspective [ Currently, there's a (probably very dodgy) Merc CLK320 cabriolet going for £450, if anyone's feeling adventurous ].
£300 quid is a lot, but I could just about justify spending up to £100 on footwear if I felt sure they'd last me for years.
That's not likely with a pair of trainers though, and I expect these Nikes will be looking tatty and grubby within a year or so if they are actually used for running about.
Someone who plays sports competitvely would be about the only folks that need this. I cam see how trackable feedback for your feet would be invaluable to a runner. Anyone else though, not so much. For them it's just a big shiny, or maybe an excuse. I'm sorry Boss, I can't come in to work today, I forgot to plug in my shoes. Or worse, the batteries in my shoes exploded.
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> Buyers of Nike's eye-wateringly expensive Adapt trainers appear to be having difficulties with the accompanying app.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
I've not read anything more than about these shoes than this article but surely they just use Bluetooth to connect to the phone rather than to the internet proper./pedantic
Must say that it would be mildly amusing if the phone app was hacked so that shoes could be remotely controlled . . .
I have no plans to purchase these trainers but at $350 they are similar priced to some smart inserts for ski boots from Carv.
According to my teenage son the in crowd kids are all wearing limited edition Yeezy Boosts that start at ~$250 and can go up in price and hopefully value depending on how limited and popular they are. So $350 for trainers with the tech (if it worked reliably) is not an outrageous price for the target market.
Yeah, the target market is gullible children who will ask their parents to spend silly sums for goods that are made in Vietnam for a few dollars...
"Limited edition" in these contexts is always a synonym of "limited awareness" on the consumer side.
"...the in crowd kids are all wearing limited edition Yeezy Boosts that start at ~$250..."
Sweet waltzing Lord. £250 for a pair of white running shoes personally anointed by Kanye West? Christ on a Bike I'm in the wrong industry.
I'll admit to a well stocked shoe rack but nothing cost anywhere close to that.
.. or he may not even make it out of the changing rooms before they fail, if my experience with Nike is anything to go by.
On the plus side, the aggressive lack of interest in material defects that could affect more than one pair of trainers by what they jokingly call their Customer "Service" ensured I stopped buying Nike and switched to Adidas about 4 years ago.
Haven't had any problems with those at all.
I don't need my shoes hacked. I can see it now, people getting their feet amputated after their shoes are hacked, causing the laces to tighten to 32 tons* instead of 32 pounds. Or muggers hacking your shoes to cause your laces to come undone when you try to run away. Or even bookies hacking shoes to affect scores.
*I know, the shoes won't be that strong, but that ain't the point though, is it?
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