Computers in Shoes
Adidas
In the early part of 2005, Adidas introduced a whole new kind of shoe. The adidas_1 was the first production shoe to have a microprocessor built into the shoe, this allowed for an automatic level of cushioning, adapting to its environment. The technology behind this is a 5 million calculations per second microprocessor that adjusts the compression characteristics for each stride. It has a replaceable battery that allows for 100 hours worth of running use.
Later that year on May the 2nd, Adidas announced the sale of their 8 year partner, Salomon Group. This included the related subsidiaries of Salomon Group including Salomon, Mavic, Bonfire, Arc’Teryx, and Cliché. The manufacturing company that originated in France was sold to Amer Sports Corporation of Finland for a grand total of 485 million euros (roughly 623 million dollars). Adidas decided to sell Solomon because Adidas wanted to focus on their core strength in athletic footwear, apparel, and golf.
In August of 2005 Adidas announced that they were buying long time rival Reebok for $3.8 billion. This was done because for the last several years, Reebok and Adidas competed against each other for 2nd and 3rd slots behind Nike. Eventually the two companies decided that it would be better for the two companies to join together to better compete with their rival Nike. This was seen by many investors as a great fit and the stock of Reebok and Adidas surged upward after the announcement. The acquisition of Reebok allowed Adidas to better compete with Nike in the US as well as abroad.
On November 25th 2005, Adidas released an improved version of their adidas_1, thus the adidas_1 intelligence 1.1 was born. The improvements allowed for an increased range of cushioning as well as being stronger and faster. It allows the shoe to become even more soft or firm than its predecessor, and the new motor provides 153% more torque thus quickening the speed of which the shoe adjusts to its environment.
In addition to developing the adidas_1, Adidas introduced several new types of shoes. The A3 (2005) was designed for NBA’s Kevin Garnett, which provided lightweight cushioning and durable support. Also developed was the new +Preadator Absolute (2005). This was a new version of the older Predator that included PowerPulse technology as well as being lighter than ever before.
http://www.adidas.com/campaigns/whatsnext/content/microsites/adidas_1/launch.asp?strCountry_adidascom=com&strBrand_adidascom=performance&CMP=&site=