We at Wareable are massive fans of the Garmin Vivofit and so were delighted to hear that the Swiss company is back for more wearable tech action, this time in the form of the Garmin Vivosmart.
Wareable review: Garmin Vivosmart
Hot on the heels of the Sony SmartBand Talk, that was also unveiled in Berlin at the big IFA tech expo, the Garmin Vivosmart offers users a combo of smartwatch and activity tracking features in one slick looking device.
However, unlike the new Sony SmartBand, there are no calling features on the Vivosmart, although the awesome looking curved OLED display more than makes up for that.
On board, you'll find the same fitness tracking feature set that was on the Vivofit; so steps, distance, calories burned, move bar, goal countdown and more, as well as smart notifications from your smartphone for things like incoming calls, emails, texts and social media messages.
“With its activity tracking features, additional workout support including timed activities, and smart notifications Vivosmart is like having a personal coach and assistant right on your wrist,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “It challenges and motivates users to stay active and create lifelong healthy habits, while keeping them connected to family, friends, work, and more.”
Guide: How to run better with Garmin Connect
The alerts come by way of vibrations in the wrist and you'll see an overview of what's happening on the OLED screen. You can then swipe that alert to see more. It's all powered by the Garmin Connect app.
Like the Vivofit, the Vivosmart is also designed to connect with Garmin's other connected devices such as its heart rate monitor and the Virb action camera range.
See also: Adidas miCoach Fit Smart review
With a 5ATM waterproof rating (that's good for 50m), seven day battery life, and compatibility with the popular MyFitnessPal, it looks as if Garmin has another wearable winner up its sleeve with the Vivosmart. We can't wait to properly test it out.
It'll hit shops later this month, priced at $169. It's $30 more if you want the heart rate monitor thrown in.
Wareable is reporting live from the Messe Berlin trade show floor this week – check out our dedicated IFA 2014 hub for all the latest news and analysis from the big tech expo.
How we test
By Paul Lamkin
Wareable Media Group co-CEO Paul launched Wareable with James Stables in 2014, after working for a variety of the UK's biggest and best consumer tech publications including Pocket-lint, Forbes, Electric Pig, Tech Digest, What Laptop, T3 and has been a judge for the TechRadar Awards.
Prior to founding Wareable, and subsequently The Ambient, he was the senior editor of MSN Tech and has written for a range of publications.