Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This well built midrange treadmill may be called the Trailrunner 4.0, and it may run Android 2.2, but the Internet portion feels like version 0.95 beta. In other words, it's a good midrange treadmill with a not-ready-for-prime-time tablet attached to it. I got the Proform as a Gold Box buy for what a comparable treadmill would cost without the Android add-on. The Sole F80 Sole F80 Treadmill (2011 Model) is a probably a better choice if it's less money. Certainly don't pay more for the iFit Live features at this point.
PEDIGREE - Proform is owned by ICON Health, a larger corporation, like GM, which brands a nearly identical treadmill under different brand names. This one is also sold under the NordicTrack brand name, and maybe others. Proform is probably the Chevy, and NordicTrack is probably the Buick :) I've used their equipment in gyms without issue. The idea of this model is to have an Internet connected treadmill with custom workouts and google map charted jogging paths.
SHIPPING - Fair - arrived 2 weeks after I ordered, and 7 days after Amazon estimated it would. The delivery men will drop it off past the threshold of your front door. I hope you have a strong back, a strong dolly, and perhaps some other moving tools...as with all well built treadmills, this one's a 400 lb beast. Inside, the treadmill and its parts arrived well packed, well protected, and in good condition. You'll need a big garbage can, and probably a box knife, to break down the packaging to fit in the trash.
ASSEMBLY - Fair - Getting the box off was a huge pain, though I think it would be for any treadmill by mail. The lower part of the treadmill is fully assembled; most of the work involves getting the control deck attached. Make sure you have two strong-backed people, a screwdriver, and a medium sized adjustable wrench. You will have to lift the 400lb treadmill at least three times during assembly. All the parts fit together pretty well, with pretty small tolerances. Kudos to Proform for good quality control on the mechanical parts. WARNING: If you live alone, are prone to hernias, or have ANY sort of muscle or joint problems, PAY FOR ASSEMBLY. You can't order assembly via Amazon, but the treadmill packaging does contain an offer to call in some people. Even if you're strong, there's a decidedly unsafe part of the process that involves installing the support strut while the gigantic treadmill is held free-hand over your head. Proform, if you're reading this, please consider pre-installing this strut at the factory. This last step is an accident waiting to happen, though I'm not sure if any other folding treadmill would be different.
BASIC OPERATION - very good - When you plug in the machine, it takes about 30 seconds to boot the Android operating system.
It plays a very well produced infomercial on how wonderful your new treadmill is. Plugging in the magnetic safety key shuts it up. (don't lose it, or you won't be able to use the treadmill)
BUILD QUALITY - very good
Build quality is well above average, and certainly competitive for its price range. The unit does not flex or vibrate very easily. It feels solid under your feet, but the thud-thud sound of your shoes isn't muted like it is on the $3,000 Precor machines. But for a folding treadmill in this price class, it's darned good.
The motor is reasonably quiet, and the 3.8hp rating is higher than most at this price. Treadmill belt has good traction. The belt has slightly rough edges, which don't affect performance, but also don't compare well against more expensive machines. Rollers are larger than average, which should increase longevity. There's adjustable cushioning. My gimpy knees did fine on a light 30 minute run.
Large one touch buttons for speed and incline allow quick adjustments. Inexplicably, they do not work unless you are already running. On other treadmill models, such as Horizon, AFG, and even lower end proform models, these same buttons work at any time; you can hit the 5mph button from a stop and immediately start running.
The big 10" touchscreen is great for basic operation: Tap go, and a very nice display lets you run in manual mode. The touchscreen controls work great in the basic running modes, where the buttons are large and easy to read. The information displays are top notch, though I wish they had a way to cycle through screens automatically. The display is big, bright and easy to read. If you are 5'10 like me, viewing angles are great. If you are 5'2" like my wife, the screen washes out. Proform obviously opted for a cheaper TN panel, rather than the wider angle IPS panel on the iPAD and other nicer tablets.
Unlike most Android phones and tablets, the screen does not appear to cycle off to save power. The off switch is inconveniently located at the bottom front of the treadmill. (for safety reasons, I don't think ANY treadmill has a convenient power switch)
Sound quality of the built in speakers is fair, fitting somewhere between a good laptop and a bad boombox. You're not going to rock the house with these, but more than acceptable while jogging. There is an easy to use 3.5mm "aux-in" and an included cable to plug in any mp3 player. The stickers say "iPod compatible", but this aux-in is not as well integrated as other treadmills which include the proprietary Apple dock connector and integrated music controls. (I bet that incurs a hefty Apple licensing fee, which is why it isn't here) Besides, Apple changes their docking plugs every year, anyway.
ADVANCED OPERATION - Poor - Frustrating, especially since the problems are easy to fix.
Speaking of Apple, I hate their corporate culture, and I refuse to buy their products. However, they didn't sell a zillion iPads and iPhones making bad product. A two year old can figure out an iPad, and millions of non-tech people happily consume iPhones. You don't need manuals to run most Apple products to most of their potential. I should also say that I'm an Android fanatic, and that had a part in my choosing this treadmill. I have the original Motorola Droid, and I have it customized and hacked to it's utmost. So I'm no stranger to electronics.
There's no way on earth a non-technical user would ever figure this machine out. Basic menus are too basic, and configuration is difficult to find. There's no initial setup wizard. The product manual could be written better; it seems to expect you to jump to page 27 for this, then remember to come back to page 4 for that. Again, from a product design perspective, well designed products should not require the manual for at least 80% of their functionality...and most other treadmills succeed in this regard. Setting up wireless was relatively simple...once I found it...and once I managed to get my fricking password typed in.
This exposes you to the single greatest failure of the product: the lousy resistive touchscreen. Typing is aggravatingly inaccurate, even with the treadmill at 0mph. The letters are gigantic compared to a phone, but nowhere near as precise. You either press one letter lightly and get the next letter over, or you can push hard and get the correct letter twice. The delete button works about one fourth of the time. Unlike what the paid shill reviewers have said, pushing hard or soft doesn't improve the accuracy. It took me an eternity to enter a 14 character wireless password. Registering for the iLive account (which requires entering a 16 digit alphanumeric code) was even more frustrating. Do yourself a favor and register the iFit account on the website using your desktop or laptop. Pick a short username and password, because you still have to put it into the treadmill at least once.
Proform's manual says to calibrate the touchscreen. I did manage to find the two separate calibrator programs. The first is relatively easy to find in the configuration menu. The second is on the Android desktop in the app drawer to the right. No way a non-techie person would find these. The improvement was marginal; it's still far worse than any phone or tablet I've used so far. Leagues away from the standard that non-technical people have come to expect from the capacitive touchscreens in iPhones, iPads, and pretty much all recent smartphones. You can make it tolerable by using a pencil eraser instead of your finger. For your safety, I would only use the eraser head of an unsharpened pencil, and even then, only when the treadmill is parked.BROWSER - Poor
Even after I updated the firmware (which has warnings about known bugs) and calibrated the touchscreen (both of which are tricky to find), the browsing experience is simply does not live up to Proform's video hype.
As previously mentioned, the resistive touchscreen is pitifully poor. Entering web addresses is frustrating and inaccurate. Multi-touch pinch to zoom is not supported, meaning that this could be a lower cost resistive touchscreen. Half the time when you are trying to scroll, it clicks links instead. The stock Android browser isn't as fast as your modern 1GHz smartphone or tablet. There is no apparent way to create your own custom bookmarks, though the Android browser does auto-remember your history. Android fanatics, you'll probably recognize the browser as the stock 2.2 browser. Because Icon cheaped out and put in a resistive touchscren, pinch to zoom doesn't work, nor does scrolling about a fourth of the time. Just frustrating, especially since spending $20-50 more for a quality capacitive touchscreen overlay is all it would take to make this a much better product. Shame on you, Icon Health,...Read more›
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