Smart health and fitness wearable devices for 2015

Smart technology and wearables are certainly a big market coming into the year of 2015. Some of the major technology shows across the world have been able to showcase these new technologies. The following is a small look at some smart technology and wearables that are geared for the health industry and the health and fitness industry that are on the market in 2015.

 Timex Sport by Ironman

The Timex Sport by Ironman is a smartwatch that is for that ultra athlete. The great thing about this product as far as the new smart wearables industry goes is that you do not need to have a companion app or smartphone in order to be able to access the smart features. This watch comes in various varieties and has versions geared for men and women. The Timex Sport by Ironman is able to track sporting times, has fitness tracking, and also has the speed and distance and GPS ability that is well known in this market these days. This watch really doesn’t look much different than a high quality Ironman watch from years past its just it has more internal and innovative features. Another great thing about the Timex Sport by Ironman is that it is relatively inexpensive. Most models and color combinations will run the consumer between $40 and $70. There are high end versions that have somewhat of a Apple Watch or Android Wear like interface and they are in the $350 to $450 range. All of the industry wide features are here and it will have something for just about everyone.

Forerunner 920XT by Garmin

The Forerunner 920XT is a smartwatch that seen it being revealed in November of last year just before the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. This watch is engineered for the triathlete in the family. It is waterproof and can be used for swimming and is very comfortable when being worn. The Forerunner 920XT is BlueTooth compatible and also has a companion app which a person can use to track certain fitness and goal stats. The compatible app is called Garmin Connect. Some of the other features that come with the Forerunner 920XT are a barometric altimeter, heart rate monitor, fitness coaching, unit to unit transfer, calorie computation, step counter, and swimming stroke counter. This is another watch that is tailored for the ultra athlete in the family. The Forerunner 920XT by Garmin retails for about $450 and can be found at various retail outlets online.

TICKR Heart Rate Monitor by Wahoo Fitness

Chest strap monitors are becoming a huge thing in the smart wearables market for 2015. A very fine example is here with the TICKR Heart Rate Monitor by Wahoo Fitness. This device simply straps easily across the chest in order to take the heart rate measurements that it is engineered to do. The TICKR Heart Rate Monitor is BlueTooth compatible and also has a companion app that will work with both iPhones and Android powered smartphones. It can track heart rate and also has memory analytics and other various fitness trackers. Another nice feature here is through the companion app and it is a coaching program called Burn and Burst. They are 8 week training programs that are geared to make a person’s training and workouts and even set you up with dieting plans. There are various trackers that can be purchased from the company website at eu.wahoofitness.com. The TICKR Heart Rate Monitor will run the consumer a cost of €59.99.

Magellan Echo Fit Sports Watch

The Magellan Echo Fit Sports Watch is one of those smart wearables that is very simple in look and design but has all of the function inside that you as a fitness athlete would want. The unique thing about this smartwatch is that is companion apps are all sports related. Real time data is recorded through the companion app which keeps track of heart rate, workout times, distance traveled, and other various tracking data. The Magellan Echo Fit Sports Watch also has the sleep tracker that is so common in these smart wearables these days. Another great thing here is that it runs on a low battery which means that the battery can last in upwards of 8 months before it has to be recharged through its USB port. The Magellan Echo Fit Sports Watch is also compatible with both iOS devices and Android devices. The Magellan Echo Fit Sports Watch also comes in various colors and retails for $129. This product is certainly a good buy for its price and functionality.

FitBit Surge

The FitBit Surge is a device that is starting to gain more and more popularity over the course of 2015. Something that consumers will constantly see and hear about these new smart devices are the simple looks with amazing functions. The FitBit Surge certainly fills that description. It has the smartwatch abilities of being able to get notifications from your smartphone. Then there are the fitness tracking abilities such as heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and the estimated amount of calories burned during a workout. The FitBit Surge is also waterproofed and has been approved to be able to be worn while taking a shower. The FitBit Surge also has a long battery life for its market with one that will last for about seven days before it has to be recharged. It also has wireless syncing which allows for you to be able to access the companion app from any smartphone or computer. The FitBit Surge is BlueTooth compatible and is also iOS and Android compatible. It also has a touch screen as well. FitBit is starting to become a well known name and it is here with the FitBit Surge that they will start to become an even more known name. The price here may be steep for some at $249 but the brand name is starting to become well known and you will certainly be paying for that luxury.

TomTom Runner Cardio GPS

The TomTom Runner Cardio GPS is a smartwatch that is designed for runners. One great thing about this watch is that it has one button control that makes it very easy for you to navigate through the menus on the watch. If you even get lost while running, the TomTom Runner Cardio GPS has the patented QuickGPS Fix Technology that will help you get back on track and find your way back home. Then there is the TomTom Sports mobile app which allows for you to be able to keep track of running stats, heart rate stats, and the amount of calories that you may have burned during the course of your run. The wireless sensor that is embedded in the watch is wireless and is also BlueTooth compatible. This device can also be customized to be able to display nearly a dozen well known languages that are used all throughout the world. The TomTom Sports app is compatible with both iOS and Android operating system devices. The TomTom Runner Cardio GPS usually retails for around $269. This is another one of those devices that banks on its well known brand name but the feel and look and all of the innovative technologies that come with it are well worth the price. It certainly holds its own in the current smart wearables industry for health and fitness these days.

Sunnto Ambit3 Sport

The Sunnto Ambit3 Sport is another entry into the large market of fitness tracking smart wearables that are on the market for 2015. As you can see here, this watch looks very good and sleek and you can expect to pay for it as it retails on the European market at around €275 and can be purchased at the company website at sunnto.com. The Sunnto Ambit3 Sport has all of the tracking abilities that you want as it can count steps and can analyze sleep patterns and recovery. The iOS and Android compatible Sunnto Movescount app can be used to store and keep track of all of your workout information in real time. It also has a voice coach that will help throughout your runs and workouts to inform you of goals that you have met and how far you have ran. The Sunnto Ambit3 Sport has advanced tracking for swimming and cycling as well. Then there is also the Sunnto Smart Sensor that comes with this device that is a chest worn strap on device that monitors the heart and its functions. The Ambit3 Sport that comes with the Smart Sensor will run the consumer about €400. The Sunnto Ambit3 Sport is also BlueTooth capable as well.

Polar V800 Sports Watch

The Polar V800 Sports Watch is another one of those smart fitness tracking wearables that has its base in Europe. This device can be used for indoor running as well as outdoor running. The Polar V800 Sports Watch can be wirelessly synced for BlueTooth ability as well. The compatible app is the Polar Flow and its coaching abilities could possibly be some of the best that is out there in this market this year. It has the fitness goals, orthostatic testing that can tailor your workouts and runs to exactly how you are feeling on a particular day, real time activity feedback, and recovery status. The Polar V800 Sports Watch is certainly a very innovative product for 2015 in the smart wearables industry. The dual mode transmitter and integrated GPS allow for the best in performance tracking that anyone could ask for. With the Polar V800 Sports Watch you can also get a heart monitor that straps to the chest for those sophisticated heart monitoring stats. There are a whole host of other devices that you can purchase through the Polar company that goes with the V800 Sports Watch. This is certainly one of those highly innovative devices in the smart wearables industry for health and fitness and could be a game changer in the years to come. Consumers can go to the company website at polar.com and expect to pay about €375 for the high end device here. It is certainly worth the money though for all that it can do and perform. Polar will be talking about this and many other topics at the upcoming conference in Milan the 29th of April!

Fenix 3 by Garmin

Garmin is known for its innovative watch technology and the same can certainly be said here with the Fenix 3. The smartwatch here is certainly a high end one that retails for about $450 and you will pay about $70 for the heart rate monitor strap that goes with it. Still you are going to be getting a high quality product here. Some of the features and specs that are for the Fenix 3 are a patented stainless steel antennae that has GPS and GLONASS capabilities for precise locations during training, oxygen sensors and monitoring, smart recovery advisor when used with the heart rate monitor, altimeter, barometer, 3 axis compass, and companion app. Connect IQ is BlueTooth, iOS, and Android compatible and the app allows for the user to search through various other apps and data tracking information. The Fenix 3 is very ultra light and sporty and is certainly an ideal smartwatch when it comes running and training in today’s world. The Fenix 3 has all of the abilities that you want in smartwatch for fitness these days. You certainly cannot say anything about the Fenix 3 from Garmin.

Mio Alpha Heart Rate Sport Watch

The Mio Alpha Heart Rate Sport Watch sets itself apart from most of the other devices here on this list because it can do its heart rate monitoring without the use of a heart rate strap. An electro-optical cell that is embedded in the heart rate monitor that can track the volume of blood that is under your skin. The sensor then uses a list of algorythyms in which it then can give precise heart monitoring stats. The stats that are measured are in real time and the EKG results are very precise even at performance speeds. The Mio Alpha Heart Rate Sport Watch has BlueTooth accessibility and the companion app here is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Without the continuous heart rate monitor on, the battery here can last for up to two months. It can last 20 hours with it on. The Mio Alpha Heart Rate Sport Watch is water resistant up to 30 meters. The great thing here about the Mio Alpha Heart Rate Sport Watch is that it is relatively low in price in its competing market at about $169. This device can be found at its company website and can be found online at various retailers. The feedback from its launch has been very good which means that 2015 looks to be a breakout year for the Mio Alpha Heart Rate Sport Watch.

Adidas MiCoach Smart Run

Adidas is known for their running shoes and gear so it only makes sense that they venture into the smart wearables market with the Adidas MiCoach Smart Run. This device has the easy to use one button feature for manuvering through the face screen and it also a highly sophisticated sensor embedded in the watch behind the face for all of the heart monitoring and other fitness tracking options that are so common with these products these days. The companion app keeps real time data and also has a sophisticated voice enabled coaching system that helps a person get the best out of each and every run and jog. Another great thing here is that for the heart monitoring technology that you do not have to get an extra heart rate monitor or strap on device. The heart rate monitoring and coaching can be seen right from the face of the watch. It is also a system where you can store your favorite music and access it right from the face of the watch. It has BlueTooth connectivity and has up to 4GB of data memory with 3GB of it being devoted to being able to store music. Consumers can expect to pay $299 for the Adidas MiCoach Smart Run but again this is a product that you are going to get your money’s worth. Adidas presented this and other wearables at the WT Conference in San Francisco last year.

Sensoria Technology Smart Sock

The device is certainly different as it is the Sensoria Technology Smart Sock. This device is engineered to be able to help a person to improve cadences, foot landing, and even the type of shoes that a person wears when running. The sock is embedded with textile pressure sensors that will inform a person in real time when they are using the heel or the ball of their foot when running. The Sensoria Technology Fitness App gives you real time data and will let you know and coach as to if you are running correctly. The company says that about 65 percent of runners get injured every year because they run the wrong way and have improper foot striking patterns. An anklet is allowed to be connected to the sock so it can track running performance and then send the real time information to the companion app. The Sensoria Technology Smart Sock is certainly an innovator in 2015 when it comes to wearable smart technology and they will speaking at the upcoming WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in Milan the 29th of April. The app is both iOS and Android compatible. It can be ordered through the company website and has a bundle for two socks and the anklet for $199.

runScribe

The runScribe is a crowd funded project that is being run on Kickstarter. It is small sensor that is embedded on to the back of the shoe. It is engineered to be able to record 13 different kinetic type measurements and also gives the user 3D real time feedback when it comes to running. The data that the runScribe can measure are steps, pace, impact G force, contact strike, and the type of footstrike that the person who is running is utilizing. All kinds of track coaches and other running coaches have embraced the runScribe big time. The runScribe app is one that is compatible with both iOS and Android devices and allows for real time data tracking. The runScribe is able to break down running data like no other device before it and is certainly looking to be the trendsetter in its market. This device is currently in pre-order mode and can be seen on the company website at www.runscribe.com. The device here requires BlueTooth capabilities and can be purchased for $149. There is no exact word as to when the runScribe will be on the market for full scale purchase.

Nike + Sensor

Nike steps into the smart wearables and fitness running business with the Nike + Sensor. It is a wireless in-shoe sensor that is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. It is actually engineered for a person to be able to track the real time running data through their iPod but other devices can be used. It has all of the industry leading running measurements and voice coaching. It has a companion app and website called the Nike + and it is here where users can track their real time data. The product here really is not much different than the runScribe except that here with the Nike + Sensor it will set you back money wise a lot less. It can be found all over the internet and at various Nike retail outlets for only $19. By far, this is the best product as far as the embedded sensors for shoes go in 2015. Users have been saying that it is very simple to use and that it works flawlessly and gives real good data and feedback. Apple teams up with Nike here for this product so even with Apple being attached to it the price it is very, very low. This is certainly a good product to purchase right here.

Stryd

Finally we have the Stryd which is another Kickstarter and crowdfunded project. Stryd likes to pride itself as the world’s first power meter for running. It is a simple clip on monitor that will give a person real time data and stats through any iOS and Android device. The companion app will allow for a person to be able to get synched data and look at such things as the power of steps, pace control and power, and will give you an analysis of your runs and workouts after you complete them. The app will allow you to get structured coaching and workout programs so that you can get the most out of your workouts each and every time. StrydConnect is the compatible app and it’s here where you can compare your stats with other Stryd users. You can set and achieve goals with the utmost of ease with Stryd. Again, not much else is known about Stryd but a person can go to their Kickstarter page or their company website and learn about how you can invest in the product. Some of the top running publications across the world have endorsed the Stryd and it certainly looks to be a strong product as the course of 2015 runs on through.

So there you have it. Here is a nice look at some the smart wearables that are going to be on the health and fitness market during 2015. This industry will certainly start to make a name for itself during the course of the year as more and more innovative products and technologies start to come out and be available to the consumer market. This smart sensor technology will only get better and the possibilities are endless as far as the industry here will go. The sky is the limit here for the smart wearables health and fitness market for 2015 and years beyond.