Couch to 5k App for iPhone – Review

Posted: March 25th, 2010 | Author: Mark | Filed under: Gadgets!, Training | Tags: c210k, c25k | 1 Comment »

The last few days, my wife and I have been doing Week 1 of Couch to 5k as a way of getting her into running. We’ve enjoyed it, and it’s been a nice break for me with shorter runs, and I anticipate these turning into ‘inbetween’ runs while training for the 10k.

There are two popular C25K apps for the iPhone, and the one I use is that published by Felt Tip Inc. Felt Tip also do a Couch to 10K app, which I’ve also been using lately.

Generally, I’m happy with it; it’s been updated recently to allow one to control music playback within the app; previously, you had to start music via the iPod app on the iPhone, and then launch the app; decide to change the playlist or album, and you would need to quit the app and go back into the iPod. A pain in the bum.

This latest update removes that requirement, but the couple of times I’ve tried it, it’s been temperamental. Perhaps it doesn’t like my taste in music :) ¹

The voices and alerts within the app are nice and clear, and one can hear them clearly above the music; you can also change the voice and volume of same, which is nice. Personally, I’ve just left it on the default.

It doesn’t update your Twitter or Facebook automatically, which I believe the other app (called C25kapp²) does, but this shouldn’t be a make-or-break issue IMO, since I personally update my Twitter after a run so I can put my little touch of genius on my tweets rather than a templated message, but it’s quite clear that a number of people use the automated posting (see those tweets referencing @c25kapp, so best of luck to them.

If you have an iPhone or iPhone Touch, and feel that having something guide you through these specific programs would be helpful, then you can’t go too wrong with either of these apps.

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