Before moving to the Windows Phone(WP) platform, I had been a longtime iOS user where I used other running applications. When I had to choose a new running app, the obvious choice fell on Adidas miCoach which is in my opinion the best running application you can find on the Windows Phone platform.
The miCoach application itself is not unknown to me. I used it from 2009 when I used to have BlackBerry device and to synchronize data from a SPEED_CELL chip. The version for Windows Phone devices has some gains as well as some disadvantages. App 1.2.1.0 is the last official version and was tested on Nokia Lumia 925 device with Windows Phone (WP) 8.0 system.
Design
The Adidas miCoach application is fully designed in the WP style. When you open the application, the first thing you see is a screen where you can choose the type of workout: free, assessment or under the coached guidance. To see other options like news or workout history you just have to swipe left or right. Navigating the app is very easy and all options are clearly visible.
Options that everyone should be set at the beginning before their first workout are personal information and voice coaching details. Personal information such as gender, weight, age will download automatically if they are entered on micoach.com. This information is essential for accurate count of spent calories and other statistics. Under the voice coaching option you can choose who you will hear auto-update information about your running stats. For now, in the WP version, you can choose to auto-update information (minimum) after each kilometer. I hope that Adidas has plans to introduce even smaller distances like 500m.
As I mentioned in the introduction, the application has one disadvantage:it has too much dependence on micoach.com web.
Using app
Options like assessment or coached workout can’t be set via the application. You have to setup everything up online on the micoach.com website. I personally do not consider this a defect, but it would be better if everything was available through mobile apps.
As far as the selection of training, the micoach.com has a broad range of sports and custom progress to be achieved in running. All training courses are designed in collaboration with a EXOS company that make training exercises for professional athletes and sports teams.
The option that will most certainly be used is the free workout. Before starting you need to choose the type of activity (running, walking, cycling) and if you want music. In addition to these two options, if someone has supported HRM or SPEED_CELL you can also connect it via Bluetooth and get more information while running. miCoach supports playlists that are previously made in Windows Phone music player and exclusive Adidas MixRadio mixes. To have access to MixRadio you need to be in a supported country.
When testing the app my GPS signal was always full and my position was always locked. Also a pleasant surprise to me was that application needs only a few seconds to find a GPS signal.
During running all the necessary information such time, distance, pace, heart rate is visible. Swiping left will show the visible map along with run distance.
After every successful workout a “run score” that predicts total run time for marathon, half-marathon,10 and 5k race is created. This option is useful because it can show you how much time you need to complete a certain race and what still needs to be done to improve.
Each finished workout can be shared on social networks directly from the application. Note that when sending to Facebook the app doesn’t send a link to the finished workout, but a link to WP shop from where the application can be downloaded. If you want to avoid this you need to setup automatic sharing from micoach.com.
Final word
As I mentioned, I think that Adidas miCoach is the best running application that can be found on the Windows Phone platform. The application is simple to use and the statistics of each workout are very detailed — especially if you are looking at micoach.com. The only drawback (which Adidas will surely correct in the future) is a high dependence on micoach.com. Also, a big plus is that the application is free and it can be download from Windows Store.
A big thanks to @PuraPuma for help with translation.