There is some hefty competition going on in the watch world between smart watches and GPS running watches. Both can do similar things with varying degrees of efficiency, but for many having two watches simply wasn’t worth the money. However, in the wake of GPS tracking and heart rate monitoring being added to various smart watches, TomTom has responded by adding music and activity tracking to its own watch.
This week the Dutch company introduced several models of the TomTom Spark GPS Fitness Watch, some of which will include the ability to store, stream and play music directly from the watch without the need to tether to a smartphone. The watch comes with Bluetooth and can be paired with most Bluetooth headphones for wireless music while on runs or other exercising routines.
“We know that music plays an important role when it comes to motivating and improving sports performance, but relying on a smartphone is all too often an uncomfortable experience,” says Corinne Vigreux, Managing Director, TomTom. “…TomTom Spark makes it easier than ever for people to get more from their workout, and improve their overall fitness level.”
The watch itself has 3 GB of space for music storage and comes preloaded with Running Trax, a thirty-minute mix of upbeat, motivating music curated by Ministry of Sound. The watch can be used with both iTunes and Windows Media Player.
In addition to music playback, the watch itself is your typical mix of activity tracker and GPS running watch. It can track various stats in both the daily activity tracking category (ie. steps, calories burned, time active, sleep duration) and actual exercise monitoring (ie. time, distance, pace, speed). The watch has a built-in heart rate monitor as well and various connectivity options for uploading stats and information to TomTom MySports, RunKeeper, Nike+ and more.
There are various models of the TomTom Spark Fitness GPS Watch which will be available in the coming months. I am not really sure if there is much of a price difference between these models or any additional features on the watches lacking music. Anyway, here are the models TomTom has announced:
- TomTom Spark GPS Fitness Watch
- TomTom Spark Cardio GPS Fitness Watch
- TomTom Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch
- TomTom Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch
- TomTom Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch + Bluetooth® Headphones
- TomTom Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch + Bluetooth® Headphones
The TomTom Spark Cardio +Music is available now for preorder in the UK and costs 249 Euros. The full range should be available in October. USD price hasn’t been officially released, but I expect it to be under $300 as well. You can sign up for updates on the release of the device on TomTom’s website.
