Nike whisks athletes into the digital age

JAKARTA (JP): Nike Inc. is taking athletes into the digital age with a new high-tech sports gear division called nike[techlab - where athlete-inspired innovations and technology collide.

Several years in development, nike[techlab combines a top- notch design staff with some of the premier engineering minds in technology, according to www.nike.com.

Nike[techlab pushes the limits of sports technology to create cutting-edge tools for the sports and fitness consumer.

"Essentially, Nike has stuck a wire in sports," said Clare Hamill, vice president of Nike Equipment.

"Keeping the athlete in mind, [techlab will pioneer products that fuse sports and technology for the benefit of today's digital athlete."

The first of five new products from nike[techlab is the Personal Sport Audio (PSA) Play 120, which appeared in overseas retail outlets late last year with a price tag of US$299.

No word yet from Nike whether the gadget is available in its outlets in Indonesia.

A collaboration with S3's industry-leading Diamond Multimedia division - makers of Rio Audio - nike[techlab's sleek PSA[Play 120 combines digital audio technology with extended memory features.

The player's solid state design means no skipping, reduced size and increased battery life.

Here are some of the details:

* Delivers up to 120 minutes of digital quality music with 64

megabytes built-in memory.

* Multiple format digital audio technology plays various

digital formats, either downloaded from the Internet or

converted from the user's own CD collection.

* Full function wearable remote control with dot matrix LCD

display improves sport utility when in use, streamlines

package when not in use.

* Ergonomic oval shape improves comfort while being worn on

body or in pocket.

* Audible cues confirm button functions with audible feedback

for "blind" operation.

Package includes all necessary software and cables, belt clip and arm band, premium headphones, plus player and remote.

The PSA[Play will be followed by four other new products scheduled to arrive in retail stores abroad soon.

These additional precision-performance products include real- time speed-distance and heart rate monitoring devices, as well as an industry-leading digital compass and handheld sport communication products.