GPS maker Garmin has gone back to basics with its Forerunner 110 sports watch: the GPS-enabled device aims to offer the most essential exercise information—essentially, how far you went and how quickly—while letting users monitor their heart rate and calorie consumption. The ForeRunner 110 has a SiRFstarIV receiver so runners and exercisers can easily keep track of their location even in woods, canyons, and urban areas, and also features auto-lap, alarms, and user profiles. But that’s about it: no confusing add-ons, complex interfaces, or lugubrious setup.
“Forerunner 110 fills the needs of runners of all levels by focusing on simplicity without sacrificing accuracy,” said Garmin’s VP of worldwide sales Dan Bartel, in a statement.”Within seconds of stepping outside, you simply press start and instantly know your distance, pace, and time—all without any complicated setup or excessive accessories.”
The Forerunner 110 aims to be an entry level device for folks getting into supplementing their runs or walks with GPS: it’s almost as simple as pushing “start” when users begin a run, and pressing “stop” when they’re done. The watch can show average pace per lap or for the duration of a workaround, can be used with a heart rate monitor so users can do calorie-burning computation based on their heart rate. Users upload their collected data to Garmin Connect to log their workouts and see their totals and progress—users can also share workouts with family and friends via the service. Garmin Connect also handles all the map display work, letting users see street, photo, and elevation maps of their routes along with time, speed, elevation, heart rate, and other data all plotted out.
The Forerunner 110 is water resistant and will be available in three colors (black/grey, charcoal/red, and grey/pink) and Garmin seems to think it’s stylish enough to be worn as an everyday watch. The unit stores up to 200 hours of saved history so users can look at their totals without having to hook up to Garmin Connect.
The Garmin Forerunner 110 will be available in the second quarter of 2010 at a suggested price of $249.99.
