Then the unthinkable happened — the company went bankrupt. It wasn’t for lack of trying. The company had 39,000 rabidly loyal customers who went so far as to offer to band together to raise the money to bail out the company. To no avail — by September it was bye-bye SportBrain. And bye-bye exercise program. We both bought mechanical pedometers but it wasn’t the same. Our walking tapered off and eventually trickled to nothing.

Every once in a while I would get a message promising that the company was restructuring. And it finally came true. SportBrain is back.

What changed? The Web-based service, which used to be free, is now fee based, costing $14.95 a month or $99 for a year paid up front. The dot.com commentators generally agreed that the Brain people couldn’t sustain the business based on the sale of the hardware alone. As old “brainiacs” we got a few weeks of free service thrown in to lure us back into the fold, and I think we’ll both stay.

As I wrote in my previous review, the SportBrain works like a pedometer. You exercise, or just bop around doing whatever you do all day. At the end of the day — or ten times a day, if you’re obsessive, at least once a week if you’re forgetful or out of town  — you slip the SportBrain into its Sport Port. The data zips through your phone line for display on your own personal and private Web site. Once online you can view charts that display how many steps you took (accurate to +/- 1%), get an estimate of the calories you have burned, and compare this data to your previous performance and the performance of others in your age group. 

Technically, the SportBrain is a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). It doesn’t hog a computer port — it hooks up though the telephone. The Sport Port has two connectors in the back — one plugs into the wall and the other plugs into the telephone. As soon at the pedometer gizmo is seated into the cradle gadget it automatically dials into a local number, tying up your line for less than a minute. There is no software to install — everything is Web based.

The average person who works in an office and doesn't exercise walks about 4,000 steps per day. To start, SportBrain assigns a goal of 10,000 steps a day, which works out to about five miles. You can change this whenever you want to a number between 3,000 and 20,000 steps. A little “happy heart” icon gives you a quick status report: 2,999 steps and below marks you as seriously in need of more activity. Three thousand to 5,999 steps is not bad, but more would be better. Six to ten thousand steps is a terrific job and more than that — you’ll live forever. 

Is this just for jocks? Hardly. The SportBrain site notes: 

The same day I activated my SportBrain the Express-News reported on a Centers for Disease Control study that claimed that 92 percent of retirees get no meaningful exercise and more than half of retirees are completely sedentary. Mall walkers take note! Athletes can and do use the SportBrain but it might be just the nudge a couch potato needs.

All the cheapskates have their mental calculators clicking away. I can hear them. Yes, you can do most of the same things for less money with a regular pedometer (about $25) and a simple spreadsheet program. And there are other services on the Internet. The Walking Club offers a $40/year service that allows you to manually enter your walking data and interact with other walkers in forums, clubs and chats. But you’d miss out on some of the SportBrain motivators. For me, having the data sent to the Internet and stored there forever is a powerful incentive to keep walking. Corny as it sounds, nudging my happy heart from “not bad” to “terrific” can send me back to the treadmill for another half mile. And, if like me, you’re the kind of person who cheats at solitaire, the Brain keeps you honest. The automatic uploads of your data cannot lie.

Many people get a boost from the forums, chatrooms and clubs. During Sport Brain ver. 1 I belonged to a San Antonio online walking group for motivation.

In the earlier edition of SportBrain there was a rewards program, which the company says it will reinstate. For example, if I averaged 15,000 steps a day between March 12 and April 1, 2001, I could have been rewarded with a baseball cap. 

Sportivities — sustained activity of 10 minutes or more — get displayed on supplemental charts and also show speed and distance. Medical professionals recommend at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity each day, and this is a gentle reminder to do that. If I really wanted a kick in the pants I could invite friends to view a stripped-down version of my data and use their cheers and jeers to keep me on the move. There’s a SportFolio that lets you record daily information, from waist measurements to fiber intake. 

There is an optional heart rate strap ($49.99) that you cinch next to your skin right under your chest. This data is also transmitted to the Web site. If you already have another brand of strap it might work with the system. A list of compatible devices is available on the Web.

I have a few minor gripes. Positioning the SportBrain is tricky. They recommend you wear it clipped to your waistband, about half way between your zipper and your hip. The first time I used SportBrain with my treadmill it worked perfectly. The second time it failed to record the 20-minute session. There is a little green light that blinks with every step but the parts of me between my eyeballs and my waist block the view. 

In my laid-back life I don’t dress up much, but if I were in the habit of wearing dresses or other apparel without a waistband I would have to pin the Brain to my underwear. The device isn’t waterproof, so don’t try to count laps your swim in the pool. It measures hip movement and won’t work well with exercises that don’t engage your hips, such as cycling. You’ll have these problems with any pedometer.

I had trouble with the SportBrain popping off my waistband. It comes with a dummy cord — a BrainChain — that can be intertwined with a belt loop for added security. My sweat clothes don’t have belt loops so I bought a safety pin.  The device is resilient; I have dropped it onto our saltillo tile floors several times with no ill effects. 

The previous version of Sportbrain offered a starter kit, one SportBrain and one SportPort, for $99.99. Now the port and the brain are sold separately, for a total of $159.90 (ouch!) A better deal is the partner pack, two brains and a port for $159. If you buy a used brain, from eBay for example, they will charge a $20 initiation fee. As I mentioned, service is $14.95/month, or $99/year if you pay upfront. New brains will come with 30 days free service. If you register more than one brain on the same credit card (my brain and John’s brain, for example) the second brain is only $49.50/year, half price.

Installation was literally a snap — log into the Web site, record your serial number , snap the SportBrain into the SportPort and start walking. The little manuals were excellent — plenty of pictures and clear instructions. Tons of supplemental data is available on the Web site.

In order to view the SportBrain Web site, use Internet Explorer 4.0 or above, Netscape 4.0 or above, or AOL 5.0 or above. The SportBrain Web site is not compatible with WebTV. You will need an Internet connection. The phone line has to be POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service — a digital (DSL) line won’t work. The phone line and computer don’t have to be co-located — you could cradle the Brain on your phone at home, then view the data on the Internet connection at work or at the library.

You can only buy SportBrain on their SportBrain on their Website. They can also be reached at SportBrain International Inc.1415 Panther Lane, Naples, FL 34109.

The reaction in the SportBrain community is mixed about the reincarnation of the product. Many people feel the monthly service cost is excessive. The service agreement sounds a little weasely — no refunds, ever. For a management team that’s only been on board for a short time (even though the product itself has a longer track record) that takes chutzpah. I don’t think many will fork over a full year’s fee until it’s clear that the company will remain viable.

So far I’m pumped. I blew the cobwebs off the treadmill and put in a few miles yesterday. The SportBrain is still keeping me honest with my exercise program and motivating me to go just a little bit farther every day. But before I commit to a long term contract, I’m going to take it one month at a time. It’s the sports-brainy thing to do.