Nike stores pushing iPod-less Nike+ solutions

After years of touting the tight integration between the Nike + iPod Sport Kit and various iPod nano models, Nike has taken a surprising and seemingly anti-iPod position in its holiday marketing of a new Nike+ product. Touting “the freedom of running without music,” new Nike signage brings shoppers’ attention to the Nike+ SportBand, an iPod-less wristband solution that tracks distance, pace, time, and calories burned using a USB-ready dongle rather than the iPod nano. Given the previously close development relationship between Nike and Apple, it is unclear whether this is merely a push by Nike to bolster awareness and sales of the SportBand, or a negative reaction to Apple’s devolution of the latest iPod nano model, designed to undermine the value of music during workouts.