Jumping with an app, it turns out, is a lot more work than just using an app.
This was the lesson I learned when, sweaty and out of breath, I collected myself on the surface of a Springfree Trampoline for a tech demo that sounded a lot more fun before I got winded.
The company, which is based in Toronto and has one of its four U.S. stores in Austin at The Domain, is rolling out an app called "tgoma" (stands for "Taking Gaming Outside And Make It Active") that allows an iPad or largish smartphone to keep track of trampoline bounces, play games and follow exercise routines.
Tom Zinn, market and store manager in Austin, said it's one way for families who buy a Springfree Trampoline to get more use out of the devices and to combat the increasing amount of time kids spend in sitting in front of screens.
"Kids spend 60 hours or more on their devices each week and less than 60 minutes outside each week playing," Zinn said. "We're trying to embrace the technology to change that sedentary indoor activity and make it an outdoor healthy activity."
Tgoma works on iOS devices such as Apple's iPad and on Android and includes seven activities, from a simple sticker app for young kids to a whack-a-mole-style alien game to "tgoma Fit," which sound like it hopes to do for trampoline exercise what "Wii Fit" did for game consoles almost 10 years ago.
Tgoma doesn't come with the tablet hardware; buyers of the trampolines, which range in price from $1,649 to $2,499, would install it on their own iPad or other device for free.
All trampolines sold by Springfree now come with the mount and sensors on the trampoline to use tgoma. It also works with some previously sold models for $499, though Zinn said Springfree is waiving installation and offering discounts.
The mount is durable and in the store, Zinn said, an iPad has survived a direct soccer ball hit without cracking.
In trying the simple app games and "tgoma Fit," however, the real test was which would last longer: me or the short activities.
Zinn says that 10 minutes on a trampoline equal about 30 minutes of jogging and that bore out when after only a few minutes of squat-jumping I was ready to escape for non-bouncing land.
Springfree plans to continue showing off the technology at a few outdoor events at The Domain, including a music event on May 28 and a Father's Day celebration on June 19.
Catherine Prystup, who runs LiveMom.com, was given a Springfree Trampoline with tgoma about a month ago and says that despite all the recent rain, her 9- and 4-year-old kids have taken to it.
"It's nice because I feel a little less guilt when I give them screen time," Prystup said. "It's fun because there are family challenges. One of the first things my daughter did was run upstairs to tell me how many jumps she got. It motivates us all to be a little more active."
Here's what some of the apps look like:
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