Friday 1 June 2012

Suunto Ambit – A Two Sided Review



Ambit is a surpassing addition to the series of Sports Computers by Suunto. Although there are so many things about Ambit that you just cannot get enough of it, yet there are some areas where Suunto needs to pay a little heed and improve their product. This review is aimed at presenting both sides of the story, so read on!


The healthy side of the product!
First and foremost, it has a fully featured GPS that uses the innovative SiRF star IV technology. It has a gigantic range of suite of tools for athletes from all sorts of outdoor sports. There is a three dimensional compass in Suunto Ambit Silver that presents you with readings on the go. Barometric altimeter is used to aid navigational efforts by endowing user with vertical and climbing data while it also features temperature readings.

With the integrated accelerometer you can measure speed and distance even more precisely. Pairing with Suunto’s soft strap Heart Rate belt and foot pod it gives you an even vast view of your performance stats. Where Peak Training Effect aims to guide you to optimal training intensity, Recovery Time lets you know whether you are ready for the next exhaustive workout or still need to relax yourself.

Even superior training facilities are available on Suunto's Web community (Movescount.com) for fine tuned analysis, discussion and planning on your workout routine and targets. You can use the 2-way USB cable both for recharging the unit and also for data transfer from Suunto Ambit.

Rechargeable lithium-ion battery and user adjustable back light are two more adorable features of Suunto Ambit. With the watch functionality you can avail a battery life of up to 30 days but if you are making use of GPS tracking then you will have a battery of up to 50 hours. Sturdy mineral crystal lens makes the casing even more strong and water resistant to 100 meters.

Now the other side too!
Suunto Ambit has a vast range of features and can support almost all outdoor sports but there is no easy switching between sports modes, which means that the Suunto Ambit is not designed to maintain multiple sports mode. Swimming (open water or lap /pool) are not what Ambit can withstand.

Suunto Ambit does not have power meter support for ANT or for that case, any power meter at all. And if you are looking out for workout support, you will find it missing in this device too. Suunto Ambit is really good in showing the real time activity performance, but just when you want to view your previous activity or your history, Suunto Ambit is going to disappoint you seriously. 

Run Along With Polar RCX5


Turn on Polar RCX5 and set it up for Running, Cycling, Swimming or Other sports and you are good to go. It has a suite of features that support various workout activities, and provides performance monitoring for each one of them. Let us get into depth of how it can make your run stats better.



Start running
Once you are over with the initial set up of the device, all you have to do on each subsequent run is to press the red huge button, and your Polar RCX5 device is ready for your run.

Customize display
You can personalize the exhibit of your device to any setting you want on display. Polar RCX5 Bike Sports Watch gives you the selection to get as many as four data fields on each page, so that on a single view you can have all the metrics that you need instantaneously. In addition to this, you can customize up to six pages, so that you can swap between displays in order to view a different data set as and when you need.

Enhance further
You can further enhance the functionalities provided by Polar RCX5 by coupling the gadget with compatible products like Polar Heart Rate Monitor strap, G5 GPS sensor and s3+ foot pod.

Get your hands free
You can use the hands free option on Polar RCX5 watch while you are running and want to concentrate on the trail ahead of you. All you have to do is to swipe your watch unit near your chest transmitter and it will adjust its display and settings accordingly. You can choose from a variety of options and guide it to change exhibit, get next lap, show time attribute or just to switch on the light. In this way, your hands are pretty much free, and you do not have to fidget around with the buttons while on the run.

Automate your laps
In case you do not wish to press the red button on the device each time you cover a predetermined distance, you can make use of Auto Lap feature of Polar RCX5. All you have to do is to mark a distance, and each time you cover that distance, it will mechanically mark that as a complete lap interval, and determine your performance on each successive interval.

Check your pace
A new feature imbedded into Polar RCX5 Sports Watch is Race Pace; using it you monitor your performance results against a set distance and goal. It then informs you in real time of how your run stats measure against the set targets. In this you can see both during the ride, and after you are done whether you have lived up to the expectations.

There are so many new and old ways in which you can improve your run stats with Polar RCX5 bike women, so get going!


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Monday 14 May 2012

What to Look Out For In Garmin 610



Garmin 610 is a complete gadget in all dimensions. The series of Sports Watches by Garmin has everything to offer for everyone. Road runners are bound to love the features of this apparatus. Let us have a brief view at the attributes of this watch by Garmin.

The basic purpose of this device is to measure accurately distance, altitude, speed, heart rate, time and pace. Coalesced with a foot pod (as an additional device), 610 Garmin watch can be used to measure displacement and cadence too. Settings of the device can be adjusted through scroll, tap, swipe and touch features available on the device. It is resistant to rain, sweat and other spills. The touch feature of widget can even be operated with running gloves on. You can also set vibration alerts for soft reminders on your device.

Athlete trainers can benefit by continuously monitoring their data through the display on the device, also they can upload this data through USB to their personal computer and manipulate it through training software. By using sensitive reception of GPS chip, data can also be transferred and shared through satellite connectivity. A data log can is thus created for each user to monitor health by analyzing this data. Real time evaluation of speed and other checks enables you to set goals for future work outs.

Garmin Communicator Plug-in is another add-on which is an internet browser plug-in offered for free by Garmin 610. You can upload track details and work out performance log on this software and share it with millions of other users online. You can compute you feat against a static pace that has already been fed to the device.

With the training software easily available at hand, you can measure your current exercise effectiveness based on your user profile, which considers many different phenomenon including your previous attainments and also the dimensions of your current exercise, that might include toughness and duration of that activity. Customization of work and rest plans gives you more control over your well being, and how you manage achieving your set goals by letting Garmin 610 help you on the way.

Another incorporated feature of the device is its ability to remember tracks for you. Through satellite connectivity, it locates your current position, and remembers the path that you have traversed. You have the wonderful potential of discovering new routes, instead of travelling on the same one each day; and your Garmin 610 would direct you back to your starting position through the available paths.

Although some of the high tech features are missing from this version of Sports Watch by Garmin, yet it is simply lovable because of its ease of use and accuracy. So, get going, race and compete against your own prior races, or with other users on the Garmin Connect network.

Read More about Garmin 610 on my Squidoo Blog

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