Runtastic

Runtastic GmbH
Type of business Private
Type of site
 Social Networking
Available in 18 languages including: English, Russian, German and French.
Founded Pasching, Austria
Area served Worldwide
Owner Adidas
Website www.runtastic.com
Alexa rank 8,389 (January 2015)[1]
Registration Required
Launched 2009-10
Current status Active

Runtastic is an Austrian mobile fitness company that combines traditional fitness with mobile applications, social networking and elements of gamification as a logical reaction to the Quantified Self movement.[2] Runtastic develops activity tracker apps, hardware products, and services, such as: online training logs, detailed data analysis, comparisons to other users, and many more functions to help users improve their overall fitness.

On August 5, 2015, Adidas bought Runtastic for $239 million.[3][4]

History

The initial idea was born during a project at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria for tracking sailboat races.[5] As the target group was too small, the founders decided to focus on more popular sports, such as: running, biking, or walking. Subsequently, Florian Gschwandtner, Christian Kaar, René Giretzlehner, and Alfred Luger founded the company, Runtastic, in October 2009 in Pasching, Austria.

In August 2015, it was announced that Adidas had acquired Runtastic for €220 million ($240 million), this included the 50.1% stake Axel Springer bought in the company back in 2013, making Runtastic entirely owned by Adidas.[6]

Products

People can use Runtastic apps in combination with original Runtastic hardware to collect activity data directly within the app. Users can then synchronize the data to Runtastic.com for additional analysis, tracking and sharing.

Apps

Runtastic offers a range of apps that track outdoor, indoor, and fitness activities, primarily known for its namesake GPS fitness-tracking app. On November 12 Runtastic announced Runtastic Results, a bodyweight training app consisting of a 12-week customized bodyweight training plan, but also has standalone workouts that can be completed outside of the training plan. As of November 2015, Runtastic had surpassed 150 million downloads across its apps. With Runtastic mobile apps (iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone), users can track their progress and set goals. The Runtastic app, the core product, tracks a variety of metrics, such as: distance, time, pace, calorie consumption, and it is available in 18 languages.

Social Fitness Platform

Runtastic offers Runtastic.com as part of a comprehensive fitness platform, together with their mobiles apps and proprietary hardware. Here, users can find an even more complete and detailed analysis of their fitness activities. The information can be shared with friends and used to generate social interaction and encouragement. The fitness site is available in 12 languages. As of January 2014, over 25 million registered users access and make use of Runtastic.com on a regular basis.

Hardware

In the first quarter of 2012, Runtastic launched hardware products in order to broaden their reach in the health and fitness industry, rather than simply remaining a software development company.

This was a strategic move planned and carried out in accordance with Runtastic's vision and strategic planning. Providing users with hardware has contributed to Runtastic's growth and has offered the mobile-first company new streams of revenue. European users can purchase Runtastic hardware products in Runtastic's online shop and via select retailers. In the spring of 2013, Runtastic's hardware products became available for purchase in the United States via Amazon.com.

In July 2014, Runtastic launched a 24-hour fitness tracker device, Orbit. The fitness band consists of a removable module and silicone band, and monitors activity and sleep quality. The device was also introduced with a new app to analyze physical activity and sleep cycles, Runtastic Me.[7] On September 4, 2015, Runtastic announced their second wearable device, Moment. A 24-hour wearable that looks like an analogue watch but has their Orbit technology inside, tracking users steps, active minutes, calories burned, distance and sleep cycles. It also contains vibration alerts and an LED for notifications, Moment is also compatible with the same as app as their Orbit.[8]

Reception

The broad acceptance of multi-functional mobile devices generally helped reviews of products that make good use of all the extra functionality (e.g. GPS-tracking, audio and video recording and playback, web-syncing, social sharing). This can be seen in reviews of runtastic products, for example from The Verge,[9] TechCrunch,[10] VentureBeat,[11] TechCrunch[12] or The Next Web.[13]

The New York Times, in an article on mobile fitness apps, especially acknowledged the innovative character of the gamification elements of the runtastic-app: Runtastic’s interface has some qualities the others don’t (...) Athletes who allow themselves to be tracked can receive "applause" or a "Go, go, go!" over their headphones from viewers. A little creepy, but cool.[14]

Bibliography

Runtastic and its products have been covered in books and articles, some of which have been listed and commeted here (APA 4th Ed.):[15]

References

  1. ↑ "runtastic.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  2. ↑ Courtney Boyd Myers (17 September 2011). The Future of Health and Fitness. The Next Web. Retrieved from http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/09/17/the-future-of-fitness-and-health/ (21 February 2013).
  3. ↑ http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/05/adidas-buys-runtastic//?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
  4. ↑ "Why Adidas Just Bought A Little-known Running App". Fortune. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  5. ↑ Jahns, Ralf-Gordon. "Interview with Runtastic team in 2013". research2guidance. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  6. ↑ Lomas, Natasha. www.techcrunch.com. TechCrunch http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/05/runtastic-acquired-by-adidas-for-240m/. Retrieved 5 August 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ By Alice Truong, Fast Company. "." 31 July 2014. 20 August 2014.
  8. ↑ By Adario Strange, Mashable. ""
  9. ↑ Bryan Bishop (28 July 2012). Runtastic Pro for Android turns your running routines into movies courtesy of Google Earth. The Verge. Retrieved from http://mediacenter.runtastic.com/en/external/runtastic-pro-android-turns-running-routines-movies-courtesy-google-earth/ (21 February 2013).
  10. ↑ Rip Empson (30 October 2012). Aiming To Be A Full-Service Fitness Platform, Runtastic Launches New Indoor App Suite; Hits 14M Downloads. TechCrunch. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/30/aiming-to-be-a-full-service-fitness-platform-runtastic-launches-new-indoor-app-suite-hits-14m-downloads/ (21 February 2013).
  11. ↑ Rebecca Grant (1 August 2012). Runtastic Pro lets you see and feel the burn with 3D video footage of workouts. VentureBeat. Retrieved from http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/01/runtastic-pro-lets-you-see-and-feel-the-burn-with-3d-video-footage-of-workouts/ (21 February 2013).
  12. ↑ Akismet (13 February 2012). Runtastic launches hardware line, enters U.S. TechCrunch. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/13/runtastic-launches-hardware-line-enters-u-s/ (21 February 2013).
  13. ↑ Paul Sawer (30 October 2012). Runtastic sprints past 14m downloads, and launches four new fitness apps for homebodies. The Next Web. Retrieved from http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/10/30/runtastic-sprints-past-14m-downloads-and-launches-four-new-fitness-apps-for-homebodies/ (21 February 2013).
  14. ↑ Tom Sims (10 August 2012). Global Athlete: Don't just map your run, Earn Points for It. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/sports/11iht-athlete11.html?_r=0 (21 February 2013).
  15. ↑ Please see Google Books for more results. Retrieved from Google Books Search Page (25 February 2013).
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