FAQ
Why can't I lock my phone?
It's dumb, but as of now Apple automatically disables the accelerometer (which is used to detect how fast you're walking) as soon as the screen turns off. I have a new version of SynchStep coming out soon that automatically prevents the device from sleeping (so you don't have to change your auto-lock settings) and turns the backlight off after a few seconds. This is a decent solution that saves a lot of battery life, but still isn't perfect. You can turn the screen off if you want to have SynchStep only sync when you ask it to (by pressing resync) to save battery. So, wait, how do I use it?
Open SynchStep and put your device in your pocket. Then just start walking. A song will come in once your pace stabilizes, which usually takes 6-10 seconds. Which pocket should I put the iPhone in?
Right now, you need to put it in the front pocket of a pair of pants, right or left pocket. It doesn't seem to work well in the back pocket of a pair of pants, and it definitely won't work in your shirt pocket. Basically, it needs to be as close to your leg as possible. All I hear is a metronome. What's wrong?
SynchStep matches your pace very precisely to your music. You probably don't have enough songs for SynchStep to choose from. I recommend 50 or so, but more is always better. The more songs you have tagged, the better. Will it detect running? Can I use an armband?
Patience, grasshopper. Right now I've only tested it to work with walking with the device in your pants pocket. I'm working on running, armbands, and belt-mounted versions. If it works for you while running, cool, but I it's not tested to work well in those conditions so your mileage may vary. What happens if I get a phone call, email or an SMS while I'm using SynchStep?
SynchStep plays nice with all the other functions of the iPhone. Calls will pause SynchStep, you'll hear a notification that you've received email or SMS. It functions identically to the iPod app. How do I know if I'm on beat?
If you aren't on-beat with the song for a while, the song's volume will start to fade out. That's your cue to either get with the beat to keep the song, or let SynchStep match whatever tempo you're actually walking at. How long does it take to match my pace?
You'll hear a startup sound once SynchStep has started listening to your pace, and, depending on how stable your pace is, after a few seconds you should hear a metronome kick in that's pretty close to your walking speed. If you don't hear it after 15 seconds, either your pants are really, really baggy or SynchStep crashed. Once you hear the metronome start, you should just keep walking until a song starts to play. Once it has detected my pace and is playing a song, how do I get it to detect a new pace?
You'll need to significantly change your pace (> 10bpm) for a long enough time (6-7 seconds). Once you do that, the current song will start to fade out and a new one will come on. I'll be adding at option that allows it to detect a new pace only after a song ends, and another option that detects a new pace only when you explicitly ask SynchStep to do so. Should I follow the song or should I just walk and let the song follow me?
Both. Using SynchStep is a bit odd at first, because youre adapting to the iphone as the iphone is adapting to you. You should try to follow the song, but know that the song is following you too. Why do I have to tag my songs with a BPM?
SynchStep needs to know the BPM's of all your songs before it starts so it can choose songs to match your pace. Have you thought about doing time-stretching to the songs?
I did that in the original version of this project, but found that it wasn't significantly helpful, and actually kind of ruined the song. While you're walking, if a song starts playing that's very close to your walking tempo, having that song as an anchor is surprisingly helpful and easier to use. I may explore bringing this functionality back in later releases, although I'm limited by the Quicktime framework and its capabilities at this time (I could convert the whole thing to use LibMad, but that would use more power and not allow you to have nice things happen like having SynchStep pause when you receive a call, etc.). Road Map

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