TomTom Spark GPS Fitness Watch launched in India

TomTom Spark GPS Fitness Watch launched in India

TomTom today launched a new series of fitness watches in India. Called the TomTom Spark GPS Fitness Watch, the new series comes with integrated music player, heart-rate monitor and bundled Bluetooth headset among other features The basic variant is priced at Rs 13,999, while the top-end one costs Rs 25,999. We spent some time with them and here are our first impressions.

TomTom has launched six variants – the Spark GPS Fitness Watch (Rs 13,999), Spark Cardio GPS Fitness Watch (Rs 17,999), Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch (Rs 17,999), Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch (21,999), Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch + Headphones Bundle (Rs 21,999) and Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch + Headphones Bundle (Rs 25,999).

The lowest-end variant, Spark GPS Fitness Watch, comes with basic features such as GPS support, activity tracking, Bluetooth support, water-resistance, multi-sports mode, and sensors such as Accelerometer and Gyroscope. The Spark Cardio GPS variant features built-in heart monitor along with basic features and sensors. The Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch model comes with basic features along with 3GB built-in storage for music.

Similarly, the Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch has built-in heart rate monitor and music features whereas the Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch + Headphones Bundle misses out on the heart rate monitor but adds a bundled Bluetooth headphone. The top-end model, Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch + Headphones Bundle, has all the features including heart rate monitor and storage for music along with bundled headphones.

Targeted at pure fitness enthusiasts, the new TomTom watches come with a range of features, which allow users to monitor their physical activities to set and track daily and weekly goals. Users can even switch to different modes such as running, cycling, swimming, tread mill and gym workouts to track their calories burnt. Users view and manage their stats through a MySports app.

Another important feature of the Tomtom Spark is that you can compare your results with goals you have set. The watch also shows you live stats of time, distance, speed, pace and calories. The built-in GPS allows you get more precise information on time, location, pace and distance covered during your workouts.

The main highlight of the series is the built-in music player which you can access through the bundled headphones or any other Bluetooth-enabled headphones. The watch has 3GB of storage, and comes pre-loaded with a Running Trax curated by Ministry of Sound. Playlists can be downloaded to TomTom Spark from iTunes or Windows Media Player. There’s also a realtime audio guide, which is aimed at keeping you motivated during workouts.

In terms of design, the TomTom watch comes in two strap options — 121-175 mm and 143-206 mm — for smaller and bigger wrists. The strap is removable and comes in different colors. The TomTom Spark series doesn’t have a touchscreen, therefore the navigation is controlled via a four-way button placed on the watch.

TomTom says touchscreens aren’t really comfortable during workouts. During our brief usage, we didn’t find the button really intuitive, as you have to tap on the edge of the buttons to navigate. This may take a while to get used to. We are not really sure but similar to Apple Watch’s crown could have been a better idea. The company could have gone with a touchscreen, which is available on the likes of Fitbit Surge and Garmin Forerunner. Another thing that users might not like is you have to separate the watch from the strap to charge it. However, removing and setting up the core isn’t really difficult.

The LCD display has supposedly improved, however the one on the demo unit continued to go off after a short interval of usage, and was bit slow to come back on. The music feature is quite interesting and sets it apart from the usual fitness bands that are available in the market right now.

At a starting price of Rs 13,999, the TomTom Spark will take on the likes of FitBit Surge, which is available online for Rs 19,990.

The FitBit Surge comes with similar set of features such as GPS tracking, heart rate monitor, activity tracker, multi-sport mode, water resistance and activity tracker among others. It can also connect with your phone over Bluetooth, to show notifications and control music playing on it. One of the differences is that it comes with sensors such as Altimeter for measuring the altitude (for elevation stats). It has a touchscreen monochrome display.