Dutch navigation manufacturer TomTom is furthering its partnership with footwear and apparel giant Nike by integrating the Nike+ mobile applications into its Multi-Sport GPS Sport Watches.

This is the next step in TomTom?s expansion of platforms available to users. It will allow users the ability to connect with friends, track fitness progress, earn Nike fuel points, Nike?s measurement of activity and connect with the Nike community.

?This announcement marks the continuation of TomTom and Nike?s history of partnership,? said Maggie Murphy, assistant account executive at Cercone Brown Company, Boston. ?Two brands [are] committed to helping people stay motivated, track goals and progress and be better athletes in a simple, streamlined manner.

?TomTom?s goal is to provide the best, most-effective and simple forms of technology to amplify what they already give to their users, which is the best-of-the-best in heart-rate training,? she said. ?The partnership with Nike+ is just one of the ways that TomTom is continuing their mission.

?In addition, TomTom is the only company that Nike+ has partnered with that has heart-rate monitoring capabilities through the wrist."

Cercone Brown Company is the marketing agency for TomTom.

Wearable technology
The Multi-Sport GPS Watches inventory consists of at least eight different wearables to assist in fitness goals. The partnership taps into Nike?s three fitness-related apps available for iOS and Android.

Athletes wear these watches during a run or other physical activities. The watch then tracks details of the activity such as heart rate, calories burnt, time, distance and speed.

The Nike apps include Nike+ Running, Nike+ Fuel, Nike+ Move and Nike+ Training Club.

Nike+ Running app homepage

MapMyFitness, Jawbone, TomTom MySports, RunKeeper, Endomondo and Strava are a few of the other apps with which the sport watches connect. 

TomTom started its company in 1991 with the manufacturing of personal digital assistants. Ten years later it focused on navigation products for in-car use and created the first portable navigation device.

With the popularization of smartphones, the navigation company had to evolve and started expanding its merchandise with the development of its sport watches.

Fierce competition
This partnership should help in the competition with other popular wearable technology brands such as Fitbit.

With the upcoming release of the Apple Watch and Android?s collection of wearables, 2015 will be a big year for this technology.

TomTom's Multisport Watch in various colors

Even Nike is staying au courant, having recently partnered with (Red) and Bank of America for a campaign in the fight against HIV (see more).

?TomTom realizes the prevalence of app use in the fitness community and that fitness consumers want to be able to easily track their data across different platform communities,? Ms. Murphy said. 

?That said, TomTom is always looking for ways to incorporate mobile technology into their offerings, for example, the Nike+ partnership," she said.

Final Take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily, New York