Since the debut of the App Store last summer, my iPhone has become an indispensable part of my workout routine. The phone makes it easy to track your workout progress both in the gym and outdoors, where applications like RunKeeper allow you to use the phone’s integrated GPS to plot your bike or running course on a map. But there’s been one annoyance that’s aggravated me (and many others) to no end: the limited control you have over your music once you’ve launched one of these fitness apps. Fortunately the iPhone 3.0 software update finally fixes this, and a RunKeeper-like application called Fitnio(iTunes Link) has managed to beat some of its more well-known competitors to the punch.
Until the release of the iPhone 3.0 software update, developers were unable to access the phone’s music library. In order to play music as you ran, you’d have to first open up the phone’s iPod application, pick a playlist, then switch over to the excercise app. Once there, you could use your headphone’s multifunction button to execute some basic commands (next song, pause, and previous song), but if you wanted to switch playlists you were out of luck.
Fitnio breaks down this barrier, allowing you to browse through your iTunes playlists and queue one up for the next time you begin a jog. It may not sound like a big deal, but it’s certainly a very welcome change. Unfortunately there’s still no way to jump to a specific album or artist’s songs, but developer Robby Walker says that those will be coming in the future.
Fitnio is a pretty barebones app, without the nice visualizations you’ll see on RunKeeper (it also doesn’t have voice overs announcing your progress, which some people may miss). But it gets the job done, tracking your movements while biking or running using the phone’s integrated GPS, and it’s only a fifth of the price of RunKeeper’s Pro app, coming in at $1.99.
Of course, Fitnio’s musical advantage over the competition will likely be short-lived. Given that all developers have access to the new features in the iPhone 3.0 software update, you can expect similar apps to include this feature very soon. That said, if you’re looking for a fix right now, Fitnio is worth checking out.
Did you just replace my favorite app?
BikeMyDrive, you must battle Fitnio for my courtship.
Jason,
Thanks for the coverage, we take any airtime on TechCrunch as a huge plus!
Just wanted to reassure our users that, in addition to the interval training workouts that went live last night, we have a big release coming soon that incorporates this and some other OS 3.0 goodies.
Did you expect any less?
Jason
If only you had the “big release” today. Jason, you got beat and that’s ok. I’ve used both and don’t think the feature set is that big of a difference. Fitnio has some features that RunKeeper doesn’t and the opposite it true as well. I hope the competition in this space makes all the apps better.
Smart, now I can set up my music depending on how I want to torture myself
Guys, get a life…
Do you take the iPhone under the shower too? I guess there must be a provider of waterproof sleeves somewhere.
Maybe I live too simple a life, without playlists and running with only the wind in my ears.
I guess I am going to have to finally give up my samsung phone and get an IPhone. Samsung just won’t get any apps going. Oh well.
I was thinking of getting an iphone. Will they ever create something to rival the blackberry?
I use iFitness at the gym. What I do is put my music on shuffle, then open up iFitness. From there, when the phone is locked, hitting the home key twice will let you change songs. From there, I just unlock the phone to record my sets and switch between workouts. It also works if you want to set up a playlist then just skip to whatever song you want, but sorting through artists won’t really work unless you close the app and open up the music player.
I use DailyMile to track my workouts, hopefully they introduce an application that offers similar control and Advanced Options like the website!
This is cool and I love all the INTENSE INTERVAL INNOVATION going on in the iPhone fitness app marketplace. We’ve got some seriously BUFF entrepreneurs flexing their biceps around here!
I use GhostRunner – simple but effective.
latest version of motion x gps does this as well. took me a while to actually run w/ my phone, but tracking workouts & entertainment in one device is nice.
How long is your workout that you actually have to change playlists while exercising? I can’t imagine giving up RunKeeper’s tracking abilities for such a small feature, and frankly if I run out of music, I’m usually too busy GETTING SWOLE to care until my next cooldown.
I thought I read about an app a while back which used the GPS to see how fast you were moving and would play faster music for biking than for walking, etc. Maybe it was just a dream.
You don’t need an iPhone app to use online fitness tools. There are great free websites like Holosfitness.com. The site is a tool for active individuals to find new workouts, share workouts, and track the progress of your workouts over time.
smart …i am in a life.
I use Cadence app. I normally plan out my routes and all that metric stuff before hand. For me , the music is what keeps me motivated and paced.
Try out Cadence, matches your speed with music that is at the same speed.
heres there website http://www.cadenceapp.com