Garmin Vivoactive HR is a new GPS enabled smartphone cum fitness tracker, made for GPS enabled sports and activities (outdoor running, biking, swimming, golfing etc). Vivoactive HR also has a heart rate sensor to redord heart rate data to get more accurate calorie details. Garmin has created specialized applications that made full use of the GPS enabled activity recording. Available from 2Q16, the Vivoactive HR will cost $249.99. Accessory bands will be available for retail price of $29.99 each.
Vivoactive HR, like VivoFit 3, is compatible with Garmin Connect and syncs with the online community. Vivoactive HR is also compatible with Connect IQ™ platform for endless customization options. Vivoactive HR has eight day battery life if you do not use GPS and if you enable GPS, the battery will last up to 13 hours.
“The vívoactive HR builds on the incredible versatility and multi-functionality of its predecessor by adding wrist-based heart rate and a barometric altimeter – allowing it to track even more data essential to workouts and day-to-day activity,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “All your efforts to stay active are accounted for from taking the stairs at the office to going on a run or ride.”
Garmin’s GPS-enabled sports apps include:
- Running – Using a built-in accelerometer and GPS users can track runs either indoors or out. Additional features include Auto Lap®, Auto Pause®, and vibration alerts for heart rate, pace, run/walk intervals, and more. Post-run summaries include stats such as total mileage, calories, average pace and overall time.
- Cycling – The cycling app measures time, distance, speed and calories. It is compatible with speed and cadence sensors, and the Varia® lights and radar (sensors and radar are sold separately).
- Pool Swimming – In addition to tracking total and interval time, distance, pace, stroke count and stroke type, the swimming app also features easy pausing for rests, complete with rest timers, and can calculate swolf, a measure of swimming efficiency.
- Golfing – Users can view a simplified view of the green, measure shot distance and be pointed in the right direction with PinPointer while golfing on one of the 40,000 course maps worldwide available for download from the Garmin golf course database.
- Stand Up Paddleboarding and Rowing – Users can easily track and view pace, time, distance, stroke count, stroke rate and distance per stroke. When using an indoor rowing machine, users can track time, stroke count and stroke rate.
- Skiing and Snowboarding – The skiing and snowboarding app measures 3-D speed by calculating the speed and distance on an incline versus latitude and longitude. It also provides splits automatically and features Auto Pause, which freezes the timer automatically when users stop or ride the lift.
