World's best sports stopwatch app, finally launched?

"The following app has been approved and the app status has changed to Ready for Sale: Herotime – Smart Multi Stopwatch, version 2.0." This is how Apple kindly alerts you, as an app maker, that a new version has gone public. It is certainly not the first time I've seen this email. It is probably the most exciting one so far. Why?

From stopwatch prototype to product

I launched the Herotime multi stopwatch quite a while back as, honestly, a prototype. It had two jobs: to serve as a proof of concept for a pending patent application, and to be genuinely usable by sports coaches, parents, and anyone else still relying on an old-school handheld stopwatch. Needless to say, version 1.0 wasn't perfect yet — as a surprising number of early users kindly pointed out to me, amongst a lot of positive feedback.

Version 2.0 changes that, I am sure. This is no longer the proof of concept; it is the product — the version where the patented timing core, the history, and the everyday handling finally feel like one finished instrument. The version I would hand to any coach on any deck without a caveat.

The best replacement for the stopwatch around your neck

There is still much work ahead — polishing the remaining edges in usability, and moving toward the larger vision of what a connected stopwatch can become. But the most immediate work is communication: making clearer who Herotime is best for and what Herotime is best at.

In particular: Herotime is meant as a better replacement for one or several traditional handheld stopwatches. That goes especially for professional timekeepers, but also for the occasional sports stopwatch user — who today buys a cheap handheld stopwatch that offers none of the capabilities of a modern, connected device. The effect, multiplied across every training session: user time wasted, and valuable timing data from developing athletes lost forever on a seven-segment display.

Several stopwatches vs. "multi" stopwatch

One clarification I want to make head-on, because some coaches have asked. Herotime is not meant to fully automate the parallel time collection of dozens of athletes running, swimming, or rowing their monthly test series at varying start times and speeds as part of a large team. That is a real scenario, and Herotime will do better in it than any traditional stopwatch — but even with Herotime you would still need some paper or computer notes on the side. Fully supporting it would take a dedicated tool, one I might build at some point.

The 'multi' in multi stopwatch really means 'several' — the handful of athletes one coach actually times at once. What Herotime is, precisely

So for now, the "multi" in multi stopwatch really means several: the handful of stopwatches you might otherwise have hanging around your neck. Smart Several Stopwatch just has an odd ring to it, don't you think? Herotime fully replaces those several stopwatches — and then does what none of them ever could: it remembers everything.

Timing work ahead

So let me get back to that communication work right away. You'll certainly hear more from me about it in the upcoming weeks and months. In the meantime, if you have ideas for spreading the news about the best stopwatch replacement app out there, please let me know — I appreciate any help. And as usual, add any other feedback too. I am listening.