Nike+ Sportswatch GPS v. Garmin Forerunner 10 (FR10) GPS watch In-Depth Review - the FR 10 performs smart. TomTom is making up ground on the phone app side as well, as TomTom's iOS GPS app is far ahead of Garmin StreetPilot in features and overall operation. The Best GPS Watches for Running, Cycling and Swimming. After testing more than 2. GPS watches, we recommend the Garmin Vivoactive as the best GPS watch overall. If you want the most bang for your buck, we recommend the Polar M4. We tested these products out on runs, bike rides and, when applicable, in the pool for swim workouts. Then, we evaluated each watch based on its comfort, design, accuracy, user- friendliness and the value of the information it provided. Here are our top picks: Best GPS Watch Overall: Garmin Vivoactive. The Best Value Running Watch: Garmin Forerunner 15 Vs. TomTom Runner & Multisport GPS Watch In. The 910xt feels like its just out of the Tom Tom GPS Watch Buying Guide. Devices such as the Garmin Forerunner 15 and TomTom Runner GPS watch can get. Our rating: 8. 5/1. Price: $2. 50 (plus $5. Mobile compatibility: i. OS and Android. Data transfer: Bluetooth, USB, ANT+Features: tracks indoor and outdoor running, walking and cycling; tracks indoor swimming and golf; smart notifications from mobile device; daily activity tracking; vibration alerts; music controls. Design/Comfort: The Vivoactive combines a touchscreen with conventional buttons, which makes navigating the watch easy. It has a modern- looking square face that is easy to read and makes the device seem more like a smartwatch than a sports watch. Like the Fitbit Surge — another fitness watch with . The dimly lit screen can be tough to read in the dark, but the watch has a backlight that you can activate with the tap of a button. User- friendliness. The Vivoactive syncs wirelessly with your mobile device via Bluetooth, or you can plug the watch into your computer to transfer data via a USB cord. But if you don't feel like syncing data from your watch to some other device, you can just view your stats right on the watch itself. Workout summaries, as well as a record of your daily activity, are stored on the watch, and you can access this information by hitting the History widget on the main menu. In my experience, the watch's battery lasts about five days when you're using the GPS feature every day for about 3. That's a decent battery life that rivals those of smartwatches and fitness trackers that don't have GPS capabilities. Value of information. The Vivoactive is missing some of the advanced data tracking that you'll find on Garmin products that are devoted exclusively to running, swimming or triathlon training. For example, the watch can't be paired with a heart- rate sensor to track in- depth data about running efficiency (which is something you can do with Garmin's Forerunner 9. XT and the Forerunner 6. But you can use the Vivoactive to track your distance, pace, time, cadence and elevation gain while running. The metrics are similar for cycling, and you can even use the watch to track speed. Swimmers can also use the Vivoactive to track laps, strokes per lap and swimming efficiency (or SWOLF). All of this data is displayed in an easy- to- read format on the Garmin Connect mobile app or on Garmin's online dashboard, which features comprehensive graphs and charts, as well as workout summaries and information about your daily steps and calories burned. Enjoyment/Inspiration. The Vivoactive connects with Garmin's new app platform, Connect IQ, where you can download custom display screens for the watch and try out apps developed by other Garmin users. I really enjoyed customizing the watch. If you don't get up and walk around, the watch will buzz your wrist until you get moving. I found this feature useful for reminding me to be more active throughout the day. But despite its brawn, the watch is comfortable to wear while working out, and the device's five buttons are easy to press, even when you're running. I like that this watch comes in solid black or white. Many of the watches I tested were brightly colored and too bold for my taste. User- friendliness. Navigating the M4. I can say for many of the GPS watches I've tested. You need to press only one button to start recording a workout — and that button is bright red, so you can't miss it. I did run into some trouble when I first tried to set up the watch on my computer. However, you can use the watch to track both running and cycling workouts. Runners and cyclists can use the watch to track their time, distance, calories burned, pace, speed and heart rate (when the watch is paired with a heart- rate strap). The watch also tracks your daily step count and calories burned. All of this data is displayed in the Polar Flow mobile app and website, which is easy to navigate and features some ready- to- read charts and graphs. You can also customize the data that the watch collects and displays by creating new . This allows you to label all of your workouts properly, whether you're playing soccer or taking a dance class. Enjoyment/Inspiration. The M4. 00 is one of the easiest GPS watches to navigate, which makes it a pleasure to use. And for people who are interested in connecting with other athletes to stay motivated or swap workout advice, the Polar Flow website seconds as a type of social network. You can use the site to find other fitness fanatics in your area and see how you measure up to the competition. And unlike most watches with buttons along the outer edges, this watch has a single button located underneath the display that can be pressed up, down, left or right. While unconventional, this design makes it easy to navigate the watch during a workout. User- friendliness. Not only is the watch easy to navigate while running, but it's also easy to figure out how to work the Runner Cardio without reading any kind of instruction manual. You can upload data from the watch to your computer by plugging the device in with a USB cord, or you can upload data wirelessly to a mobile device via Bluetooth. But the most user- friendly feature of this watch is its built- in heart- rate sensor, which lets you leave your heart- rate chest strap at home and track your pulse right from your wrist. Value of information. This running watch provides all the information you need to track your progress, whether you're a seasoned runner who's training for a race or a beginner looking to monitor your improvement over time. The watch tracks distance, time and pace, along with calories burned, elevation gain and cadence (steps per minute). Unlike the Forerunner 6. Garmin, the Runner Cardio doesn't collect data about your vertical oscillation (movement up and down, or . But running- efficiency data can actually be more overwhelming than it is useful, which is one of the reasons we chose the Runner Cardio, not the Forerunner 6. GPS watch for runners. The heart- rate data that the Runner Cardio collects is displayed in an easy- to- read format in the Tom. Tom My. Sports mobile app and on the company's website. It's easy to analyze your average heart rate, as well as your heart rate over the course of your run, in both the app and the online dashboard. Enjoyment/Inspiration. The straightforward design of this watch makes it enjoyable to use, even during intense workouts. The watch is missing some of the motivational features that come with watches from Polar and Garmin — like . The watch does have one great motivational feature: the . And though it's large, it's very comfortable to wear when you're working out, and the device's four buttons are easy to press. The watch also has a bright backlight that makes it easy to read, even if you're underwater. User- friendliness. The FR9. 20. XT tracks all three triathlon sports (running, cycling and swimming) and is loaded with features. You'll want to spend a bit of time getting to know the FR9. XT before using it during a workout, but once you familiarize yourself with the watch, it's easy to navigate. Garmin's website also has some great video tutorials that can help you get started with the watch. Unlike most GPS watches, the FR9. XT connects to Wi- Fi, which makes it easy to upload data from the watch to your mobile device or computer. You can also transfer data to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, or plug the watch into your computer with a USB cord to upload your workouts. Value of information. The FR9. 20. XT tracks a lot of data, from the most basic stats (e. VO2 max (maximum oxygen consumption during a workout, a good measure of physical fitness). All of this data is displayed in an easy- to- read format on the Garmin Connect website or mobile app. Both the site and the app have a few features to help you make sense of the data. For example, if you use Garmin's HRM- Run heart- rate strap, you can collect information related to running efficiency (such as vertical oscillation and ground contact time). This data is graphed out and color- coded in Garmin Connect. I really liked this feature and found that it kept me motivated during workouts. Garmin Connect also doubles as a kind of social network for fitness lovers, and you can use the site to connect with athletes in your area or get some insight into how others are training with their GPS watches. You can also pair the Ambit. Sport with a heart rate monitor that tracks your pulse both on land and underwater. However, the Suunto app isn't as well designed, or as comprehensive, as apps from Garmin and Polar. Our rating: 7. 7. But this watch also lets you track dozens of other sports, ranging from soccer to yoga, and you can use the V8. However, the V8. 00 is very bulky and may not be a good fit for people with small wrists. Our rating: 7. 5/1. This means you can track your pulse with the watch without wearing a separate heart- rate monitor around your chest. However, the Multi- Sport Cardio isn't the best option for those who prefer swimming in lakes or oceans, since it doesn't track open- water swims. Our rating: 6. 5/1. However, the watch (and compatible heart- rate strap) is the same price as the Tom. Tom Runner Cardio, a GPS watch with a built- in heart- rate sensor, which was our pick for the best GPS watch for runners. If you'd rather not wear a chest strap during your workouts, Tom. Tom's product might be a better option for you. Our rating: 6. 5/1. While you can't use the watch to track your heart rate, you can use it to track your routes as you walk or run, and it will also help you monitor your total time spent working out, as well as your pace. Polar, Garmin, Timex etc have all been around for a while so the fuinctionality is more stable but they probably had similar issues when starting out and they've all got quite a few negatives also. The Tom. Tom is thin and easy to wear, easy to see when swimming, has cadence etc for the bike, great when running, no data recorder, no gps pod etc that you have to lug around. There's so many good features about this watch. I've swum, cycled and run in it using many of the features and think it's great. Many of the Garmin and Timex GPS watches are laughably big and can only be worn for training (and many aren't waterproof). The Tom. Tom's a great everyday watch also. If your wife isn't conservative and likes trying new things this is a great option. My wife doesn't do sport but I'd definitely buy my daughter one as my experience with the Tom. Tom Multisport has been excellent. Tom. Tom: Which GPS Should I Buy? The good news is that both are tops in the class. Garmin still holds the lead in sales, but the two are so close in feature sets, pricing, and routing accuracy, that you generally can't go wrong with either one. In this article I'll try to break it down further, so you can see where the specific differences between the two lie. Most basic devices hover around the $1. Every decent Garmin and Tom. Tom PND manufactured in the past several years has text- to- speech conversion to speak street names, 3. D map views, comprehensive points of interest (POI) databases, and automatic rerouting. Some lower- end models lack multipoint routing and Bluetooth cell phone connectivity features for hands- free, in- car calls. MP3 playback has largely disappeared, now that car stereos and phones easily handle that task. For example, both Tom. Tom and Garmin offer models with glass capacitive touch screens, which are more responsive than the older, plastic resistive screens found on nearly all PNDs to date. But Garmin and Tom. Tom have been designing touch interfaces for many years, with large buttons that are easy to hit even on plastic resistive screens. Based on our years of testing, Garmin's user interface is still unparalleled. It offers clear, easy to read icons and colorful map graphics. Tom. Tom has been improving with font readability, but Garmin always makes everything large and easy to glance at quickly while behind the wheel. But where Tom. Tom pulls ahead is with its real- time HD traffic service. First, it's more accurate than Garmin's, at least in our anecdotal testing across several reviews. But while HD traffic costs extra, Tom. Tom often throws in a year for free, and the regular real- time service also does a good job. Finally, Tom. Tom is making up ground on the phone app side as well, as Tom. Tom's i. OS GPS app is far ahead of Garmin Street. Pilot in features and overall operation. It's not clear why this is the case, but Garmin got started on i. OS really late, which is probably the best explanation. Garmin avoids bundling everything under, say, . Garmin's POI search updates in real- time as you're driving, complete with compass directions. You can run a search for, say, the nearest Starbucks; it will display them all in a list, and then as you drive, show you which ones are getting closer and which ones are further away, and in which direction. That means you can aim for the one that's straight ahead, instead of trying to get to the . And that's the primary obstacle Garmin and Tom. Tom are facing now: a declining overall market for standalone devices since many smartphones and tablets will give you free turn- by- turn navigation. In fact, Garmin and Tom. Tom have seen the writing on the wall, and are branching out into other markets, such as GPS devices for fitness, hiking, and golf, as well as swim training watches and in- car infotainment systems. As we've said in the past, one other problem with shopping for a GPS device is that older units tend to stick around in retail channels. That muddies the waters, because they all have similar sounding names. At a glance, it's very difficult to know if a model is six months old or three years old. So at this point, it's best to go with whatever deal looks the best at that time, but to also get one with lifetime maps and traffic if possible. This way, you'll always be up to date, and you won't have to worry if a particular unit has been on the shelf for two years. It has a beautiful, high- resolution 5- inch glass screen with 3. D terrain mapping and a very fast frame rate. It can also show a useful split- screen view for 3. D lane assistance while keeping the regular map view visible with all current trip information. It also delivers a beautiful 3. D lane assistance review, and you get lifetime map updates and real- time traffic with no ads. It also doesn't display ads. But the screen is of the older, 4.
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