The latest GPS running watch to hitch the growing TomTom team, the TomTom Cardio Multisport follows the Adidas miCoach good Run in providing period pulse rate trailing while not the necessity for a separate chest strap. The intrinsic optical pulse rate device detects your metronome marking from your gliding joint, serving to you tell that coaching zone you are in - whether or not you are burning fat or boosting your aerobic capability as you run.
All of your information syncs over Bluetooth good to associate degree easy-to-use smartphone app and TomTom's MySports internet trailing tool. This Multisport waterproof version bundles in lap-tracking for swim-bike-runners however there is a pared down version – the TomTom Cardio Runner – that comes for at a additional appetizing worth while not the waterborne skills.
Features and style
The TomTom Cardio Multisport is that the follow up to 1 of the foremost promising running watches of last year – the TomTom Multisport. The watch is sort of fully redesigned with one more optical pulse rate (OHR) device thrown into the combination.
These sensors use a super-bright crystal rectifier to watch blood flow through the skin, saving the trouble of a probably chaffing chest strap.
The bracelet (which comes in either red and black or red and white) is way lighter to wear for extended periods, whereas the watch face currently stays in situ, a substantial improvement on the previous model that was liable to returning apart in an exceedingly gymnasium bag with very little provocation.
One slight disappointment is that the face is not a touchscreen; it's really managementled from a mini thumb stick control. this can be utterly sensible, particularly in lightweight rain or terribly perspiring conditions, however still feels alittle archaic.
Software options area unit clearly geared toward triathletes, with easy-to-use interval coaching setups for each pool work and running - sadly the guts rate smarts do not add the pool tho'. athletics accessories like cadence, power and speed sensors are often paired via Bluetooth good to feature professional-levels of knowledge on 2 wheels.
All your collected stats are often transferred on-line via distinctive USB dock and a few slightly gawky internet tools. as an alternative they will by synced to the iOS app via Bluetooth. humanoid users can sadly have to be compelled to wait with patience for theirs.
Activity trailing
After a brief setup session, wherever you enter language, height, weight, age and gender similarly as metric or imperial units (essential), you are sensible to hit the track.
The TomTom Cardio Multisport Running coaching mode has six settings: Free Run, Goals, Intervals, Laps, Zones and Race. In Zones, you'll be able to choose Pace or Heart. Pace are often set with a minimum and most to the second.
Heart rate zones associate with a spread of pre-set functions: speed, endure, fat burn and simple. as an alternative you'll be able to opt for custom pulse rate zones wherever a minimum and most pulse rate are often set to a spread of one beat. this can be additionally associate degree improvement on the first TomTom Runner that had less specific bandings.
The watch vibrates on the gliding joint otherwise betting on whether or not you are over or underneath your pace or pulse rate. At constant time, associate degree arrow seems on the screen, though this is not quite therefore intuitive with the 'You're running too fast' and 'Your pulse rate is just too high' arrow inform up. However, once down it's associate degree simply followed system, and you have got the vibrations as a guide too.
There's less excellent news in interval coaching mode, however. it is easy to control however does not offer a separate stopo watch feature or reset the clock so you'll be able to see the time of your latest interval.
This makes it more durable to use on the track than it ought to be, and we're hoping that this may be thought of in any code updates.
Additionally, no lap information is displayed on the watch, therefore you would like to correct your watch to check what your splits area unit. On the track you simply get time, distance, average pace and calories. It's enough for general data, however not enough for specific coaching, that may be a shame because the information is all there.
In general there is a lack of post-run information offered on the watch itself. not like the Garmin Forerunner 620 or apps like Endomondo or RunKeeper professional, you are restricted to some basic stats; frustrating if you are the reasonably one who likes instant feedback on a number of the additional elaborated analytics.
When we tested it, on many occasions the guts rate additionally took a substantial quantity of your time to cool down. Up to 2 miles in some cases. However, we have a tendency to additionally place it up against a medical grade electrocardiogram and therefore the metronome marking scan outs were imposingly inside one beat, allaying fears that wrist-borne pulse rate observation may lack accuracy.
App and internet tools
The free TomTom mobile app for iOS is definitely downloaded via the app store. you will need a compatible phone (iPhone 4s or newer, or the second generation iPad or later) because of the necessity to support Bluetooth good.
Once synced via Bluetooth, the app can show your most up-to-date stats, whereas at the same time uploading all the information to your TomTom MySports website. the opposite choice for uploading is via USB, that may be a much more fiddly method requiring you to transfer TomTom MySports software package.
The web tools have a delightful simplicity to them. they are straightforward to navigate and nice and clear for people who wish the additional accessible topline information from their runs. However, if you are when elaborated analytics of the type you get from Polar and Garmin, you will likely be thwarted.
Battery life
Battery life is usually a giant technical school question, particularly for watch-sized GPS devices. The TomTom Cardio Multisport hit a runtime of eight hours in our testing, therefore slightly down on its predecessor's ten hours.
However, there area unit a series of key tricks required to spin it out. participating flight mode as usually as doable once not really trailing associate degree activity isn't solely wise however virtually essential, as annoyingly there isn't any thanks to flip this device off.
TomTom Cardio Multisport, With One More Optical Pulse Rate (OHR) Device