At last years Google IO we were shown a Life Fitness Life Cycle conncted to an Android phone and whilst the connectivity with existing Life Fitness equipment and Android devices has not eventuated, Life Fitness has today announced that they are launching a new range of Elevation Series Discover SE and Discover SI Treadmills, Cross-Trainers, and Lifecycle Exercise Bikes which will come with a mini-USB connector which will now allow Android devices to be connected.
Features may vary by Android model but once connected, Android owners will be able to charge their device as well as access their music, videos and books on the ultra-responsive 19″ touch-screen which incorporate Swipe technology for superior navigation.
As well as the new hardware Life Fitness is also looking to release an Android version of their LFConnect app which will arrive on iOS in November. LFConnect is a cloud based solution which allows users to customise their home screen on Life Fitness equipment allowing them to display statistics such as calories, pace, time remaining or heart rate. Users or their trainers can set up workouts which can be stored in their personal library and include presets for incline, speed and duration and also allow for monitoring of your heart rate while exercising. Entertainment is also key with the ability to setup bookmarks for websites also available so you can check email and your favourite websites whilst working out and you never miss a workout again with the ability to export your workouts to various calendars such as Google, iCalendar, Outlook and Yahoo included.
For Gym owners the LFConnect app allows them to customise and manage their machines from generating reports on individual machines to setting up the entertainment system which includes on-demand video content through to setting up and branding the machines to their facility. The app will also allow them to add up to nine customised workouts per machine and easily update the software on each machine.
In another first for fitness equipment manufacturers, Life Fitness has also announced that they will launch an Open API called LFopen so that third-parties can create new applications that work directly with Life Fitness machines. LFopen will provide developers with access to future Life Fitness software and the ability to create apps that with workout pre-sets, results and monitoring. If you’re interested in accessing the API to develop apps for the platform head over to the LFopen API page.
I have been using Life Fitness equipment for a little while now and found it easy to use although staring at the iPod connector that has been on the earlier generation Life Fitness equipment I have been using has been a bit hard to swallow so the sight of a Life Fitness machine at last years Google IO sparked an interest that has today finally been satisfied, the Android connectivity that I have longed for whilst exercising in the Gym is finally here.
