SYDNEY: Garmin Vivoactive has launched a sports-based smartwatch which aimed to keep you fit and active. This smartwatch includes six sports like running, cycling, and golfing and others.
Most fitness bands fall short in their ability to track specific sports, but this watch gives you data specific to running, cycling, and golfing, including access to 38,000 golf courses.
Vivoactive is also water resistant for swimming and lets you set the pool length to track the number of strokes and the distance you’ve covered.
For blokes, the watch size works. The sophisticated square is 42mm wide and a wafer-thin 8mm thick; it’s not a monstrous fashion statement like the Moto 360 or Google offerings.
But for a daintier wrist, even at a mere 38 grams, it’s a cumbersome fit that not even the cool custom interfaces can remedy.
The watch and phone app Connect IQ appear a rock solid team, with Bluetooth sending your day’s calendar, call, text and email messages seamlessly to the screen with a vibration. Find My functionality is a genius feature that sounds an alarm on your phone if it’s gone missing and is still in range of the watch (check the couch cushions).
Charging involves a simple USB powered cradle in which the watch attaches by magnet with a satisfying clip.
You’ll have to buy the heart-rate monitor separately, which is clearly the trade-off for the lightweight design.
There’s some minor lag when swiping between screens, but overall this is a clever, classy watch for fitness buffs. Bring on more content in the Connect IQ store – including more watch faces and data fields – and the data miners will have a field day.
