Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The State of the Art in Smart Watches



Apple's smart watch isn't nearly as smart as this guy, the Garmin Forerunner 920XT.  I can't wait, despite the fact that it'll cost ~$500 with the HRM-Run heart rate monitor.

I've owned a Forerunner 405 for about six years and I've enjoyed having access to the data from both running and biking.  The 920XT takes things up a notch and if I bought one, I could see myself never wanting to take it off.  From the 405, it steps things up by adding:

  • Activity tracking (good bye fitbit?)
  • Running form (when used with HRM-Run monitor)
  • Swimming!  Laps and cadence and stroke
  • Color display: seems nice but not necessary
  • Smart phone integration (will show a text).  Not sure that I care about this.  Often, I'm running with my watch to avoid having to lug my phone around.  But who knows.
  • Battery life: claimed 24 hours in normal mode.
  • Power-meter compatible (though I don't see myself dropping $1500 on pedals)

Much of this look genuinely useful.  Now, this is only based on what they say it'll do.  Who knows.  But I would love to find out.  Maybe this'll have to be my Christmas present to myself.

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