TomTom unveiled its 4th generation of fitness trackers including TomTom Spark, TomTom Spark Cardio and TomTom Spark Music + Cardio. Here is everything you need to know.
I used to have a new TomTom every year. Big screen, good built quality, great screens, very accurate, it was my number one choice. Just that it was a GPS system in my car and not a fitness tracker. And here we are, TomTom, the GPS maker wants me to leave my car and get to the office running as the company has announced that it is making now fitness tracking devices. More fitness tracking devices.
TomTom unveiled at IFA 2015, its fourth-generation of smart sportswear called TomTom Spark. There are four new models including the TomTom Spark, TomTom Spark Cardio, TomTom Spark Music and TomTom Spark Music + Cardio. Confused? Don’t be. Let’s talk about the range.
TomTom Spark – The Range
This range combines a music player, a watch, an activity tracker, the heartbeat monitor and a GPS, all on your wrist. Forget Apple Watch. The magic here is that you can leave your smartphone at home (or in the car) and go for a run with just a pair of bluetooth headphones and the TomTom Spark. Any of them.
“The unique combination of an integrated music player, built-in heart rate monitor, 24/7 activity tracking, multi-sport functionality and GPS in TomTom Spark makes it easier than ever for people to get more from their workout and improve their overall fitness level,” says Corinne Vigreux, Managing Director, TomTom.
TomTom Spark – More Motivation For A Perfect Workout
I’ll detail a bit on the TomTom Spark Cardio + Music form the whole range as it is the most complete from my point of view.
This device has as the main addition, the music function. Everyone loves a backing track for workouts and music has been shown to enhance performance in some circumstances.
Now here is the exciting part. Through a partnership with Ministry of Sound, TomTom offers a free collection of classic dance tunes to keep you happy and get your muscles pumping. One downside here is that the device only works with wireless headphones. Good news, TomTom Spark Cardio + Music is compatible with a huge range of bluetooth headsets, already on the market.
Exclusive pre-loaded playlist, curated by Ministry of Sound – a motivational, high-energy mix of upbeat dance anthems from some of the world’s biggest DJs.
The device has 3GB of storage, meaning you’ll be able to store over 500 songs previously uploaded via either iTunes or Windows Media Player.
TomTom Spark – The Perfect Fitness Companion
Moving beyond the music feature, the TomTom Spark Cardio + Music is a solid fitness tracker. It has GPS capability for plotting your runs or cycles on a map and it accurately tracks your distance covered, steps taken, calories burned, minutes of activity and sleep. The watch picks up the intensity of your sessions too, thanks to the built-in heart rate sensor.
Image wise, TomTom Spark Cardio + Music looks sporty. Sporty to extreme. The smartwatch is quite solid, with a monochrome display and there’s a large square on the strap under the screen, which houses the GPS unit.
Deliberately placed there, as you tend to have that part of your wrist pointed skyward, the size of it helps with easy access and control even in the middle of the run; easy and quick navigation system, even with sweaty fingers.
Scroll left to see your daily progress, scroll right to set your activity for a session and left again to see the weekly readout. It displays the numbers for steps, calories, and so on, with a circle around the outside that fills in as you meet your preset targets.
The “control square” allows full menu access on TomTom Spark
The TomTom Spark Cardio + Music comes in plain black but can be assorted with two-tone strap variants. To be released in US, Europe and here in the UK this October on a price, closer to £150.
TomTom Spark range has a great companion in TomTom MySports app, available on both iOS and Android ready to sync your progress, then have it displayed in a attractive graphs, pie charts and maps.
TomTom Spark range offers support to third party popular apps, like Runkeeper for example. The syncing process is quick and easy and the app appears to work pretty well.
One missing feature is smartphone notifications, as apparently fitness knows no disturbance from technology but TomTom, in their kindness mentioned that support for incoming calls and messages is being developed.
TomTom, the GPS maker wants me to leave my car and get to the office running
If you need a solid, reliable, well priced fitness tracker with latest tech and music incorporated, look no further. This is a beast. TomTom Spark range can be ordered from TomTom website and will be available on retail stores starting next month, October 2015.
