Micro_Mart_-_January_7_2016_

App Battle

Runkeeper Versus

MapMyRun

M

uch like the animalsof Noah’s

biblicalark, popularappsoften

comein two by two.If there’s

a job that can be achievedby an app on

your phone,there are probablytwo – if not

more – companiescompetingto corner that

particularmarket,in direct competitionto

one another.

As we continuetryingto separatethe

digitalwheatfrom the chaff, we’re focusing

in on two of the mostpopularrunning-

themedappsin the business:Runkeeper

and MapMyRun.

MapMyRun– attachedto the sportswear

companyUnderArmour– camefirst and

has gathered over 30 millionmemberssince

its launchin 2007.Runkeeper, on the other

hand,has beenknockingaroundsince

2008 and has amasseda communityof 45

millionusers.Bothare availableon Android

and iOS systems.

Each app is hugelypopular, then.If you’re

into running,chancesare that you use one

of thesebig nameapps to keeptrackof your

fitnessregime.Of course,the questionto ask

is this: whichone is the best?Only an App

Battlecan find the answer.

We put theseapps throughtheir paces,to

save you the troubleof tryingboth...

RunTheWorld

Runkeeper’s aim is simple:to makethe whole

worldyour treadmill.The app achievesthis by

monitoringwhere you run, estimatingeach

jog’s calorie-burning total,encouragingyou

to set targetsfor yourselfand compilingall

this informationinto an easy-to-understand

personaldatabaseof informationthat you can

browsethroughwheneveryou fancy.

It’s very easy to set up an accountwith

Runkeeper. Onceyou downloadthe app,

you’llbe askedwhetheryou wantto sign up

afresh or simplylink up with your Facebook

accountto save a bit of time.I chosethe

latter, and withinno time I was in and ready

to go. To start a basicrun, you just hit the

‘Start’buttonat the centre of the menubar

and select‘StartFree Run.’As long as you

have GPS signal,the app will find you and

showyou where you are on a map.

As you run, Runkeeperwill tell you how

manycaloriesyou’re burning,how long

you’vebeenrunningfor, and how far you’ve

gone.It also keepstrackof inclineand your

miles-per-minuteratio.Afterthe run, all this

informationwill be sent to your personallog

of information,and you can see how your

latestjog compares to all your others.I did a

10K run last summer, and I foundRunkeeper

really useful.

MapMyRun’s set up systemis muchthe

same.You can create an accountfrom scratch

or simplystick in your Facebookdetailsand a

few facts aboutyourself(height,weight),and

you’re away. Onceyou’re in, you’re givena

guidedtour that tells you everythingabout

how to get the mostout of the app.

Similarlyagainto Runkeeper’s design,you

simplyclick ‘Record A Workout’from the

menuto get started.From there, you can

choose‘StartWorkout’,and the app will

start monitoringwhatyou’re up to. You’ll

get all the samestats as you go – distance,

duration,current paceand caloriesburned.

At this stage,it really is impossibleto tell

theseappsapart.

If there’s a criticismfor MapMyRun’s basic

interface,it’s that it maybetook a minuteor

two more than Runkeeperto get started.But

to be fair, the vast majorityof savvyapp users

couldeasilyskip the tutorialand still workout

how to use MapMyRuna bit quickerthan

someonelookingfor thingsto criticise.

Winner:In termsof monitoringa basic

freestylerun, there’s virtuallyno difference

It’s each running app for itself

asRob Leaneputs Runkeeper

andMapMyRuntothe test...

PA

ISAN

HOMHUAN

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