Track your fitness

The author tries out a fitness watch and two fitness bands to find out what works best

TomTom Spark Music GPS

The review sample was a black bulky watch with a rubber strap, which felt a tad uncomfortable on my sweaty wrist after a particularly long run. Those with small wrists wouldn't particularly like wearing the watch, as my wife told me.

Instead of a touchscreen, TomTom has stuck with its square direction pad. Strapping the Spark on one wrist and a Garmin Vivosmart HR fitness band on the other, I went for my daily jog. But first I switched on GPS on the Spark; thankfully, the signal locked on fast outside my home.

After the hour-long activity ended, and I switched off the exercise mode, I was flabbergasted to find no readings. Turns out, one needs to start a new run and scroll up for stats on the previous run. The steps taken reading was quite that of Garmin's, give and take a few hundred steps.

Wearing the watch all day, I was happy to see the no-nonsense dull home screen, which didn't scream for attention. A pity the steps taken aren't displayed and one has to scroll left for that. The Spark also tracks sleep, but only by the hours you have slept; plus the watch is uncomfortable to wear to bed.

As for the music function (where it connects to earphones over Bluetooth), I ended up using the supplied Running Trax mix most of the time. Otherwise, one needs to transfer playlists (not tracks) to the Spark within the app on the PC. Also, there are minimal music controls on the watch - one can only skip tracks; the rest has to be controlled with the headset. On a single charge I could get through five days when not listening to music and about four days with music.

The TomTom Spark Music GPS is for serious runners who would like to leave their phones behind.

Price: Rs 17,999

Garmin Vivosmart HR

Garmin Vivosmart HR

Garmin has gone with the curved display and a strap for the Vivosmart HR, which, while not being too bulky, may be overwhelming for narrow wrists. The usual bits such as notifications, music playback control etc. are present. What's extra are the heartbeat monitor (thus the moniker HR) and a barometer to check the floors you have climbed.

The step counter was present and it egged me on to walk further. The readings were more or less accurate. The heartbeat monitor seemed to be doing a good job but sometimes was way off the mark. Another grouse is the vibration; when the Move Bar filled up after I had been at my terminal, it made me jump out of my skin!

The barometer was singularly responsible for pushing me to climb the stairs at the Metro station. A caveat: On a visit to a multi-storied mall, the steps climbed counter went berserk.

The band tracks sleep automatically and it syncs easily with the phone app. But there's no support for GPS. Switching off the HR monitor, I could get through a week on a single charge.

The Garmin Vivosmart HR is a good pick for a casual runner who wants notifications and isn't too worried about accuracy.

Price: Rs 14,999

Jawbone UP 3

Jawbone UP 3

The review sample came in "curved Indigo", and thankfully fitted my hefty wrist. Unlike other bands, this one believes in simplicity and is devoid of a screen. But the lighted icons (or LED visual indicators, as Jawbone calls them) look cool and after syncing it the app, worked quite well.

The headline feature of this band is Smart Coach, which makes sense of all the stats that are logged. I especially liked the detailed sleep tracking and analysis; also, the vibration is just right.

The heartbeat monitor, which like the Garmin, tracks the resting heart rate - a measure of how healthy you are - was consistent; the heart health coaching seemed novel.

The band was so unobtrusive that I often forgot I was wearing it! Battery life was good as well, with me getting through five days with a single charge.

The Jawbone UP 3 is for those who want a non-nonsense fitness band which is focused on what it does; and does it well.

Price: Rs 14,999