Garmin, the company behind GPS navigation systems and fitness related equipments, has launched their new smartwatch during the ongoing CES 2015 event today. The Garmin VivoActive smartwatch is focussed towards fitness, but can also serve important notifications from your smartphone.
Garmin VivoActive Smartwatch specifications and features
- 1.13 x 0.80-inch sunlight-readable display, 205 x 148 pixels resolution, and colour touchscreen
- Activity and Sports tracking via inbuilt apps, Water-resistance (up to 50 meters)
- Notification Alerts, Smartphone music player controls, Smartphone Locator, Customisable Watch Faces, Widgets
- Connect IQ application store
- Bluetooth v4.0 and GPS
- Battery Life: up to 3 weeks with activity tracking mode/up to 10 hours using GPS
The device is quite thin, 8mm to be exact, and features a "sunlight-readable" touchscreen for easy operation. It also features GPS for accurate fitness tracking for activities like running, walking, or jogging. It can vibrate for reminding you to be active or while serving notifications for calls, messages, emails, and more.
It pairs with smartphones using Bluetooth and can control the music player or could be used to locate your smartphone. It can be customised using various watch faces, widgets, and apps from Garmin's Connect IQ store. Garmin claims that the device can last up to 3 weeks on a single charge if it is only used for activity tracking without activating the GPS. If you want to use the inbuilt GPS, the battery drops to 10 hours.
The Garmin VivoActive can be connected to external sensors such as a heart-rate sensor, a bike-speed sensor, or can act as a remote control for Garmin VIRB Elite action camera. The device is available in black or white colours with customisable straps in five colour options; red, blue, berry, purple and slate. It is priced at $249 without the heart-rate monitor or at $299 with it, and will be available in Q1, 2015. Flipkart had launched the Garmin VivoFit fitness tracker in India last year, and we think that VivoActive might also be launched in the country.
