1. Adidas MiCoach Smart Run
The miCoach series of products is expanding constantly, each looking to revolutionise a particular part of sports. The Smart Run watch delivers coaching and data on your performance, customisable work out views and even a music player. There’s a ton of sensors, including a heart rate monitor and GPS, along with easy sync to the online miCoach client.
2. Polar M400
Targeted mainly at runners, though there are a few specific settings for cycling and other outdoor sports, Polar’s second fitness focussed timepiece tracks steps, calories and your runs through GPS. Set-up is easy and the Smart Coaching features are great for getting a summary of how well your run went, though we felt the sporty design made it hard to wear all the time. The battery should last you about three weeks, or eight hours if you’re using GPS, while a microUSB charging port makes it super easy to juice up, no pesky charging cradle here.
3. Runtastic Orbit
Another cheaper option, the Orbit plugs right into Runtastic’s fantastic smartphone app and uses the GPS tech in your phone to accurately track your run. It measure all the usual bits, like time, distance, calories and pace, syncing all the info back to the app. Sleep tracking is included too, plus it’s water resistant, so you can keep it on in the shower.
4.Polar V800
Polar’s top of the line fitness watch is more than double the price of the excellent M400, though it boasts an even wider feature set, including beefed up smart coaching features, support for swimmers and a nifty Recovery mode that’ll tell you how long to wait before getting back on the track again. There’s of course GPS for accurate step tracking, a HR monitor and easy profile switching depending on your activity.
5.Nike+ Sportswatch
Nike has stepped up its tech side in recent years, spearheaded by the Nike+ Fuelband, though the SportWatch GPS also has some nifty features. Powered by mapping veterans TomTom, the watch accurately tracks your run data and then motivates you to do more. A USB connection gives an easy computer link-up so you can upload your winning stats and there’s also social functions, so can battle it out with your mates.