TomTom Designs Fitness Watches for Music Lovers
Fitness watches are facing tough competition from the new crop of smartwatches that can monitor the user’s activities while also doing a variety of other tasks. That’s why we can expect those fitness bands to become more specialized and aimed at a specific audience.
The latest line of fitness watches from TomTom is created with the music lover in mind as they allow the user to stream his or her tunes via Bluetooth headphones. The first running watch from TomTom came out two years ago and a heart monitor was added last year. The new models have added full activity tracker capabilities plus the ability to play music.
The collection is called the TomTom Spark and has three versions. There’s the basic Spark GPS Fitness Watch, the Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch, which offers 3GB of audio storage, and the Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch with an integrated heart monitor.
The last is TomTom’s flagship model and does a long list of tasks to justify its $250 price tag. The Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch uses the heart rate monitor to track just about any type of workout including running, lap swimming, interval training and cycling. The device can then export those workouts to Runkeeper or other fitness apps. An update is coming soon that will add smartphone notifications and persistent heart monitoring.
Preorders for the Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch will begin on October 1 with the other two models becoming available on October 15.
So is the TomTom Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch worth $250 when you could get a more versatile smartwatch for about the same price? That depends on how dedicated you are to your fitness routine—and how much you enjoy doing it with a background of your favorite tunes.