Continued...

With the combination of an iPod Nano, a pair of Nike+ shoes, and a Nike + iPod Sport Kit, you'll be ready to roll... or run, in this case. The Sport Kit contains a sensor that fits into a special compartment of your left Nike+ shoe, and once that's in place, you then attach an included receiver to your iPod Nano. This establishes a wireless connection between the sensor in your shoe and your iPod Nano. Now, when you walk or run, the data about your physical activity is streamed to the portable audio device so that you can see what type of progress you're making. Vocal feedback is also provided to inform you as to what your time, distance, pace, and calories burned are, which eliminates the need to have to look at the screen to be filled in as to what's going on. You'll also get an audible pat on the back once you've accomplished a personal best in a certain area. Brilliant! This is one of the best combinations since peanut butter and jelly, but it gets even better.

Once you're done being the amazing athlete that you are, you can then sync your iPod with iTunes, and all of your data will be pulled off of the device and sent to NikePlus.com. From here, the data will be archived, and you can occasionally check out what your results have been over a period of time. Of course, you're not the only runner out there, and you'll be connected with the community of foot soldiers online, allowing you to compare results and compete with others. Not only will your shoes be high-tech, but they'll also be interactive. That's more than you can say about that beat-up pair of Converse shoes that you have.

This new venture between Apple and Nike is just one example of what the possibilities of pairing a disconnected product with a connected product can be. It's been proven that these things can get along well together, but once you include the operating system, then you're opening up a whole new world of possibilities. Just think about the access to various hardware, software, and web services that would be yours for the taking. We've seen sunglasses that contain MP3 players and refrigerators with USB ports, so this convergence is happening right before our eyes. With the amount of creativity that is evident in life and business today, who knows what we'll be plugging into the back of our computers in the near future.