This is yet another move towards integration by the sports data providers. This partnership makes obvious sense to both parties.
‘Everyone’ (Under Armour, Sports tracker app 🙁 ) finally seems to have realised that the somewhat flawed strategy of blatantly trying to tie users in to your Data Ecosystem doesn’t quite work. IE they hope that users upgrade their device keeping to the same manufacturer when in fact what happens is that they REALLY annoy people by making it as hard to move data as possible.
This is/was true of just about every sports data provider and is a comment by no means aimed at Polar.
Actually the next trend that is happening is that companies like Under Armour and Garmin are starting to charge developers to use their infrastructures. This stifles competition and stops YOU getting as many nice apps as you might perhaps like :-(. You’ll probably not really be aware of that right now but it will get worse.
Polar’s FLOW ecosystem is actually quite good and I like it and I use it (although not at the moment as it is broken as of 28 Jun – after some new updates). However a problem comes when sharing data with a coach especially when that coach already uses Training Peaks for all his/her other athletes. Does the athlete buy a new watch/power meter or does the coach operate two data platforms or manually upload emailed data files? Faff. Integration like this is GOOD.
Edit: from @trainingpeaks “Unfortunately this announcement was made a little early. Stay tuned for the official release.”.
Well. I’m not writing this again is all I can say.
Anyway. Here’s the press release:
TrainingPeaks – Boulder, CO – June 28 – TrainingPeaks has announced that their training software platform will be compatible with Polar Flow and a variety of Polar’s latest connected products.
This integration will allow athletes training with Polar devices to seamlessly push their training activities to TrainingPeaks for tracking, analysis, and planning. After performing a one-time account sync, data tracked with a Polar device is automatically transferred from Polar Flow to TrainingPeaks.
“Polar offers several training solutions that runners, cyclists, and triathletes trust and rely on during their training,” says Marco Suvilaakso, Global Product Director at Polar. “Integrating with TrainingPeaks allows us to offer yet another opportunity for athletes to use their training data to improve performance and meet their goals.”
“This seamless integration allows the most convenient data transfer from Polar devices to TrainingPeaks,” says Dirk Friel, Co-Founder and President of TrainingPeaks. “Our mission is to help athletes and coaches achieve their goals and we are excited to help Polar users take their training to the next level.”
About TrainingPeaks
TrainingPeaks provides the complete web, mobile and desktop solution for enabling smart and effective endurance training. Products include TrainingPeaks.com Athlete and Coach Edition, WKO4 desktop software for cutting-edge scientific analysis and planning, and the TrainingPeaks mobile apps for iOS, Android and Kindle. TrainingPeaks solutions are used by world class runners, Tour de France teams, Ironman World Champions, Olympians, collegiate and high school teams and coaches around the world to track, analyze and plan their training. TrainingPeaks.com.
About Polar
Polar is the leading pioneer in heart rate monitoring, activity trackers and training computers. With nearly 40 years of experience and a proud heritage in innovative physiological and sports medical research, we cater to all levels of fitness by offering a comprehensive product range including cycling computers, wearable sports devices and activity trackers, training apps and online services. Our award-winning training computers are the number one choice among consumers worldwide, being sold through over 35,000 retailers globally. Headquartered near Oulu in Finland, Polar is a privately held company that operates in more than 80 countries including U.S. headquarters in Lake Success, NY. polar.com.
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