Not sold on the idea of buying a smartwatch from a company that makes phones and laptops? One of the biggest brands in the watch space is taking a crack at this whole smart, internet-connected thing.
The new IronMan One GPS+ smartwatch from Timex has a sunlight viewable screen, up to 3 days of battery life, and built-in GPS and 3G so the watch isn’t just an extension of your phone… you can use it without a phone.
The Timex IronMan One GPS+ is a durable device with a waterproof case, up to 3 days of battery life (or 8 hours if GPS is turned on), and a 1.5 inch, 288 x 192 pixel color touchscreen display that uses Qualcomm’s Mirasol technology.
It has 4GB of storage which you can use to hold music or other data. You’ll need to pair a set of Bluetooth headphones to listen though: there’s no speaker or headphone jack on the watch.
The watch won’t display notifications from your phone, but it uses GPS and built-in sensors to track your distance traveled, speed, and plot your course on maps. It’s a smartwatch for fitness buffs who don’t want to wear a fitness tracker and carry a phone during a run or workout.
Since it has an integrated 3G radio and works with AT&T’s wireless network and a few built-in apps including instant messaging, SMS, and social media. But the IronMan One GPS+ doesn’t support third-party apps.
So while it has a few features you won’t find on competing devices from LG, Samsung, or Motorola, the Timex IronMan One GPS+ is clearly a niche device at this point… especially when you consider the price tag. It’s available for pre-order for $399Â and if you want a heart rate sensor you’ll have to pay an extra $50.
via USA Today
Ugly. Expensive. Ugly.
Show me another GPS smartwatch that can double as a bluetooth MP3 player… Adiddas MiCoach Run is the only other one, and it has bad battery life and the GPS has been widely known to not be very accurate. These watches are designed for runners to wear while running, not someone to just wear 24×7 so how it looks is not very important, as long as everything works well, the GPS is accurate, etc.
At least one (former) runner is shallow… 🙂 And I rarely-to-never run with music both for safety and zenness. In the not so distant past, I had the Nike/TomTom watch, which I did indeed also wear as a “real” watch. Currently, I have a little fanny pack that I use to carry an iPhone for RunKeeper.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H1RB5LS/
Granted, I’m not much of a runner these days – though do have a few marathons under my belt. Will be interesting to see what Timex/AT&T charge for cellular service after that free first year.