Garmin has been at this running-watch thing for a while. Most recently, the Forerunner 10 was the company’s best attempt at a simple, easy-to-read watch, but, for all that, it still wasn’t as simple to use as it ought to have been. Enter the Forerunner 220. It’s the 10’s younger, smarter, better-looking, more sophisticated brother, and it’s well worth some wrist space.
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There’s plenty of commotion surrounding the smartwatch space these days, but let’s not forget that some of us have essentially been strapping tiny computers to our wrists for years now. GPS-enabled running watches are a serious tool in a runner’s arsenal, and Garmin recently outed two new ones — the Forerunner 220 and 620 — to help runners get a better grip on their performance.
Both gadgets offer a similar level of basic functionality — each pack a 1-inch color display (which is somehow a first for these things), an accelerometer for tracking motion, Bluetooth 4.0 low energy support for smartphone syncing, and alerts for when you’re pace gets shaky. Both also look substantially better than their Forerunner forebears, to the point where you wouldn’t feel totally out of sorts wearing these things out on the town.
The 620 takes it even further though with the addition of a curious Recovery Advisor, which gives runners a rough estimate of how long they should take it easy before embarking on their next one. Throw in support for Wi-Fi syncing (which seems a little extraneous considering that a solid chunk of users probably bring smartphones on runs anyway), and the ability to estimate the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use while in motion, and you’ve got yourself a pretty tidy package. Of course, all those extra training tidbits will cost you — while the more basic 220 watch retails for $249, its more robust brother will cost $399.
Still, I have to wonder how much time these standalone running watches have before they get completely overshadowed by their smarter cousins. After all, devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Gear have already gained the support of a few fitness and running app developers (think Runkeeper and MyFitnessPal) and that nebulous Apple iWatch supposedly plays up the exercise angle in a big way. Don’t get me wrong — professionals and hardcore runners will never give up their standalone devices, but when future Couch to 5Kers finally graduate to a higher level, the smartwatch landscape could look totally different. On the other end of the wearable gadget spectrum, quantified self players like Fitbit and Jawbone could pave the way for increased pressure on Garmin, especially since the latter has been snapping up startups to boost the potency of its wearables.
Some of us like the feeling of running – it makes us feel extremely light, not to mention that running happens to be great exercise for one to burn all those additional calories that have accumulated around the waist. Having said that, Garmin, a name that is synonymous with GPS navigation devices, has just unveiled a couple of GPS running watches, and they are known as the Garmin Forerunner 620 and Forerunner 220. Both of them are said to be the lightest, thinnest, most advanced offerings for runners from Garmin, making it your very own non-living personal running coach.
Let us take a look at the Forerunner 620 first – it will arrive with a bunch of advanced features including recovery advisor, race predictor and VO2 max estimate that will come in handy in helping runners train smarter and to achieve new race goals. When used in tandem with the NEW HRM-Run monitor, the Forerunner 620 will also be able to deliver the relevant feedback on running form. Assuming you prefer to hit the treadmill instead of pound the pavement, both the 620 and 220 will feature a built-in accelerometer that is capable of tracking distance and pace, meaning you do not need to obtain a separate sensor. Either way, these two models will come with Garmin’s special one-inch Chroma color display.
Not only that, equipped with Bluetooth Smart wireless upload capabilities, the Forerunner 620 and 220 are capable of sending runners’ run data to the Garmin online community known as Garmin Connect, all without requiring one to be tethered to a computer as a compatible smartphone will do the job. Not only that, the Forerunner 620 and 220 are pretty tough, being water-resistant to 50m with rechargeable batteries that are said to last up to six weeks in watch mode and up to 10 hours in training mode. Expect the Forerunner 620 to arrive in blue/black and white/orange color configurations, while the Forerunner 220 will feature black/red and white/violet shades. Depending on whether you are picking up the HRM-Run Bundle or Heart Rate Bundle, they will retail for $399.99/$449.99 and $249.99/$299.99, respectively.
Press Release
[ Garmin delivers two more GPS running watches – the Garmin Forerunner 620 and Forerunner 220 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Garmin has long been working to design GPS-equipped watches
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