After the recent discovery of a 41-page patent filing, news has been circulating on the web this week that “Apple appears to be working on an activity sensor similar to the Nike+ iPod sport kit geared towards skiers, snowboarders and mountain bikers that would be capable of determining their “air time,” “speed,” and the amount of “power” or energy absorbed during those sporting activities.”

Apple probably noticed all the iPod addict kids wearing headphones while riding and identified them as the next target after their successful incursion in the running world.
There are a few devices on the market already, but if the Apple product becomes reality, you can trust them for coming up with unexpected functionality, cool tweaks and improved usability.

With the popularity of the iPhone and the release of the third generation (iPhone 3GS) featuring voice control for music and phone functions, it could really be ok in terms of timing.
Now what is really the value in measuring a rider’s speed, route, air time and distance?
Would riders be keen on uploading their data on a website (like runners do on the Nike+ website) to store and share their stats, participate in challenges etc…
Personally I am not sure I would be so interested in knowing that I rode 80kms in a day, at an average speed of 31km/h, and spend in average 1.8 seconds air time on my jumps, I like to ride for fun, not for some performance….
Would you use such a device and if yes why?

Ultimately are we going to see more contests judged on air time, like at the Red Bull Gap Session? A lot of questions…but at the end of the day the real question is: How do I synch up my iBoard to iTunes?