The gym sent me an offer for Nike+.
24 Hour Fitness was passing along a Finish Line promotion to its members. Most of the email was images and legal copy, so little of the actual offer survives as plain text. The subject line is the useful part. Fitness technology had entered the ordinary retail inbox.
Nike+ connected a small shoe sensor to an iPod nano. It could record time, distance, calories burned, and pace. The iPod could report progress during the run, store the workout, and move the results to a computer.
The kit consisted of the sensor, a receiver for the iPod, compatible shoes, and software. Nike and Apple had introduced it in 2006. The email reaching me in 2008 was a retail promotion from Finish Line sent through 24 Hour Fitness.
The offer was mostly images and legal copy. The price and detailed terms did not survive as plain text in the message. The subject line named the product and the retailer.
I was receiving member email from 24 Hour Fitness, and the promotion reached my account. I had not replied or purchased the kit in the email.
The product could collect a run without using a treadmill or another piece of gym equipment. The shoe sensor sent the information to the iPod carried by the runner.
The only action in my inbox was the promotion. Finish Line had a Nike+iPod offer, 24 Hour Fitness forwarded it, and I had not bought anything from the message.