Polar’s new Ignite fitness watch puts a fitness coach right on your wrist

NEWS – Polar recently announced their newest fitness watch, the Polar Ignite. The Ignite is a GPS fitness watch that tracks your walks, runs, bike rides, heart rate, and offers advanced metrics, training recommendations right from your wrist, and five days of battery life. Other new features include:

  • Sleep Plus provides insight into the amount and quality of sleep and tracks how you cycle through light, deep, and REM sleep stages of sleep and then assigns an easy-to-understand Sleep Score.
  • Nightly Recharge takes the Sleep Score and then combines it with daily recovery information from your body to let you know how well you are recovered from your workouts and offer tips to help adjust your daily plan so you can continue to improve in the coming nights, and ultimately improve your performance and fitness.
  • FitSpark is a daily training guide that provides athletes with personalized, adaptive guidance based on their fitness level, training history, and Nightly Recharge measurement. The watch suggests and guides you through exercises within cardio, strength training, and performance categories right from your wrist.
  • Serene is a guided breathing exercise from the wrist that can help balance body and mind, recover better, and even help with better sleep.

The Polar Ignite is available with a black or silver case and 3 watch band colors. It’s priced at $199.99 and is available now through Polar.com or Amazon.

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Polar’s new Ignite fitness watch puts a fitness coach right on your wrist originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 22, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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Mobvoi announces new TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE

NEWS – Supported by Verizon, Mobvio’s newly updated TicWatch Pro now comes in a 4G LTE version that is jam-packed with all the smartphone features you want and need, like GPS, NFC for Google payments from your wrist, built-in heart rate monitor, and activity tracking. It’s also IP68+ rated so you can wear it while swimming, and it has 30 days of battery life. No, you didn’t read that wrong, I said 30 days of battery life per charge!

This new 4G version of the TicWatch Pro uses the same dual layered-screen technology as the TicWatch Pro that I reviewed last year. The watch has two displays. When the battery gets low, it automatically switches from Smart Mode which uses the AMOLED display to Essential Mode which uses the mono LCD. If you have a mixed use of both Smart Mode and Essential Mode, the watch battery will last up to 5 days per charge, but using the watch only in Essential Mode will give you 30 days of use.

The TicWatch Pro is powered by Wear OS by Google and also features Number Sharing and Cloud Synchronization to keep you connected to important messages from your smartphone, without actually tethering your smartphone. This new Wear OS standalone smartwatch can actually replace your smartphone because you can make calls right from your wrist using this watch.

Available starting today on Amazon and on Mobvoi’s brand website mobvoi.com, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is priced $299.

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Mobvoi announces new TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 10, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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dokiPal announces a 4G LTE and voice enabled smartwatch for kids

NEWS – Strap this Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 powered smartwatch on your kid (ages 5 and up), and they will have a full smartwatch on their wrist with a nice set of features. The main features of the dokiPal include video calling using the built-in camera, fitness tracking, an integrated AI voice assistant, and SOS location tracking for the parent that uses GPS, LBS, and WiFi to triangulate the location. Oh, it tells time too.

The dokiPal smartwatch is available in blue or pink and is designed to last for about 48hrs per charge on the built-in 800mAH rechargeable battery. It uses 4G LTE cellular service and is compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon here in the US, and other networks worldwide. The watch comes with a SIM card that you can activate through Doki if you don’t want to purchase one directly through your carrier. Doki’s monthly service in the US is only $9.99 per month for unlimited data.

The dokiPal 4G LTE smartwatch for kids is available today (7/10/19) for $179 from www.doki.com

 

 

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dokiPal announces a 4G LTE and voice enabled smartwatch for kids originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 10, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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Casio PRO TREK WSD-F30 Android WearOS smartwatch review

REVIEW – Casio manufactures a wide range of electronic goods, from calculators to musical instruments. But I would argue, Casio is best known for their wrist watches…particularly their G-SHOCK line. For decades the G-SHOCK has been one of the goto watches for rugged dependability. A watch engineered to survive a march thru hell and back without batting an eye. Well, this review isn’t about any of Casio’s G-SHOCKs but on their PRO TREK WSD-F30, a modern smartwatch with much of the G-SHOCK’s DNA which is apparent the moment you lay eyes on it.

I am not going to be diving into WearOS in detail other than how well it works operating on this watch. Like the Apple Watch OS, Android’s WearOS is a pretty well-known quantity these days. That said, my focus will be on the watch hardware and noteworthy features this smartwatch brings to the table.

What is it?

The PRO TREK WSD-F30 is Casio’s latest flagship GPS enabled smartwatch engineered for the outdoor enthusiast. The PRO TREK WSD-F30 runs on Android’s smartwatch WearOS software, has a built-in compass/mapping/navigation/barometer/altimeter, and is hardened to MIL-STD-810G (United States military standard) survivability specifications.

What’s in the box?

  • Casio Pro Trek WSD-F30 smartwatch
  • USB charging cord
  • Power plug

Hardware specs

  • Charging time: Approximately 3 hours at room temperature
  • Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 4.1 (Low Energy support)
  • Wi-Fi: IEEE802.11b/g/n
  • Memory & storage: 768 MB RAM, 4 GB internal storage
  • Charging method: Magnetic crimped charging terminal
  • Measuring unit: 1 degree
  • 5-bar (50-meter) water resistant
  • Environment performance: MIL-STD-810G (United States military standard issued by the U.S. Department of Defense)
  • Sensors: GPS, Pressure sensor, Accelerometer, Gyrometer, Magnetic sensor
  • INPUT: AC 100 V to 240 V 50 Hz/60 Hz
  • OUTPUT: 5.0 V
  • Charger cable: Length: Approximately 0.75 m (2.46 ft) Type: AC adaptor USB Type A
  • Operating temperature: -10℃ to 40℃ (14℉ to 104℉)
  • Crystal: Mineral glass (dirt resistant coating)
  • Approx. Size (Body H × W × D): 60.5 × 53.8 × 14.9 mm (2.4” × 2.1” × 0.6”)
  • Approx. Weight (including band): 83 g (2.9 oz)
  • Included accessories: Charger (AC adaptor), Special charger cable

TOOL Apps:

Compass:
  • Measurement range: 0° to 359°
  • Measurement unit: 1°
  • Continuous measurement duration: 1 minute
  • North Indication hand, Magnetic declination calibration, Bearing memory, Gradient calibration
Altimeter:
  • Measurement range: –700 to 10,000 m (–2,300 to 32,800 ft)
  • Measurement unit: 1 m (5 ft)
  • Measurement accuracy: within ±75 m (within ±250 ft) (When frequent manual calibration is performed)
  • Shortest measurement interval: 1 minute
  • Altitude graph: Past 24 hours
  • Manual altitude calibration, Auto altitude calibration using location information*2*3
Barometer:
  • Measurement range: 260 to 1,100 hPa (7.6 to 32.5 inHg) Measurement unit: 1 hPa (0.1 inHg) Measurement accuracy: within ±3 hPa (within ±0.1 inHg)
  • Atmospheric pressure tendency graph: Past 24 hours
  • Barometric pressure measurement interval: 1 minute
  • Manual barometric pressure calibration
Tide and Fishing:
  • Tide graph: Past 12 hours + Next 12 hours
  • Fishing time (Calculated according to current location, and moon hour angle and age.)
  • Sunrise/sunset: Sunrise/Sunset times (Current location sunrise/sunset) Sunrise/Sunset directions: Accuracy depends on compass

Design

As I mentioned, the PRO TREK WSD-F30 is Casio’s latest and greatest Android WearOS smartwatch engineered for the great outdoors. The F30 is Casio’s third generation flagship in the PRO TREK line. And even though this watch is massive and hardened against the elements, it does have a well thought out and refined design to it. The watch takes many design queues from the G-SHOCK line and is built to survive many epic adventures.

The fixed bezel is thick and raised well about the face of the watch to protect the WSD-F30’s screen from impacts. The capacitive touchscreen has a mineral glass exterior layer with a dirt resistant coating. Shame Casio did not use a sapphire crystal instead for added durability, strength, and scratch resistance.

The case is well made from metal and hard plastic. The build quality is good but the design of this watch is much more about ruggedness than polish and finish…definitely a tool watch. The right side of the F30 has the main physical controls (aka the buttons 😉 ). The buttons are large and easy to find and press. The upper (mapping) and lower (tools app) buttons have a nice knurled pattern with the center button having more of a bulls-eyed pattern. The buttons work fine but are a bit squishy when pressed vs having a definitive click to them.

The left side of the watch has the magnetic crimped charging terminal and atmospheric/magnetic sensors. To add to the F30’s rugged good looks, Casio uses stainless steel hexbolts and screws to hold the smartwatch together.

Here you can see the proprietary charging cable and magnetic crimped charging terminal.

The charging system works well though the cable does have a habit of popping off too easily. The back of the case is a large stainless steel plate held on by six screws.

The WSD-F30 has a dual-layer OLED/monochrome display. The monochrome display shows the time, power level, and either the day/date and your step count or sensor information (altitude, barometric pressure, and compass heading) while saving power by turning off the full color display. The 390 × 390 pixels OLED layer provides a vibrant viewing experience when using apps. The touchscreen’s clarity and responsiveness is excellent.

Outdoor Features

Casio includes a handful of very outdoor-centric functions on this smartwatch including: digital compass, mapping & navigation, altimeter, and barometer telemetry. And even though this watch can provide you your notifications, music, current news, etc…one of its main missions is help you navigate and survive when you’re getting back to nature, escaping the modern world. Even though the screen is pretty small, the mapping and navigation capabilities of the F30 are impressive with the ability to download offline maps, preset routes, and waypoints, backtrack, etc. Barometric pressure data lets you know of a potential change in the weather. And the usefulness of the compass and altimeter when you’re lost in the middle of nowhere are pretty obvious.

Just one thing is missing…

I would say the most glaring omission on the PRO TREK F30 is the lack of a built-in heart-rate sensor. For being such a get out and get moving, outdoor and explore smartwatch not having an HR sensor could definitely cause the fitness crowd to pause when considering the F30 as their next wearable purchase. With the likes of Apple, Polar and many others doubling down on accurate, always monitoring fitness, I think Casio probably should have added this function by the third generation of this watch. That said, the F30 does count your steps, monitor activities, and does include Google’s and other various fitness apps.

Setup

The Casio WSD-F30 is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. Setting up the F30 with my iPhone was quick and easy. Since I already had my Google WearOS app setup, getting the F30 talking to my iPhone didn’t take long at all. The app configures all my preferences, info, and music nearly seamlessly, though music transfer did take a bit of time.

Performance

Overall the performance of the WSD-F30 is surprisingly good. I have tried/reviewed more than my fair share of smartwatches and most, if not all, of the WearOS devices fell well short in the performance category (especially compared to the Apple Watch). The F30 is relatively responsive with less lag than previous WearOS devices, apps don’t crash, and the special features/tools actually work as advertised.

With its dual-layer display technology you can get one to two days of use out of the PRO TREK before needing to recharge it…pretty standard for today’s smartwatches. The F30 has an Extended Mode for when you don’t have power and need to stretch battery life for many days. Extended Mode does limit functionality but can be switched off when need be.

Comfort & Wearability

Even though the F30 is smaller than its predecessors, this watch is HUGE. The width is 54 mm with a lug-to-lug wingspan distance of over 60 mm. I typically wear 38 – 40 mm diameter watches with a lug-to-lug distance under 50 mm, so this watch does feel large and a bit cumbersome. Here you can see the watch on my 7 inch wrist and the lugs overhang the sides of my wrist. The F30’s dual layer display measures 1.2 inches with much of the watch’s overall diameter coming from the thick bezel.

The WSD-F30 is pretty thick as well. The watch sits 14.9 mm high on the wrist and does occasionally bump into things while moving through the world. Though at 83 g / 2.9 oz, the WSD-F30 feels light on the wrist especially when you consider its overall dimensions.

Here you can see the WSD-F30 compared to the 42mm Apple Watch, Polar Vantage V Pro, and Mobvoi TicWatch S2. The PRO TREK wears bigger than the other three though it is pretty comparable to the TicWatch in size.

The band is made from a black plasticky rubber material with a carbon fiber-like look on the exterior. The watchband is OK, definitely not my favorite, feeling more like plastic than rubber. The band wears fine but not nearly as comfortable as my Everest or RubberB watchbands or even the bands of my Apple and Polar watches.

The F30’s watch band has many notches for a precise/better fit as your wrist expands and constricts due to weather conditions and effort level.

A nice feature of the WSD-F30 band is that Casio uses a quick release spring bar system for easy tool-free removal/swapping of the wristband. Funny thing is, the tiny quick release slider is recessed into the band and after a minute or two I gave up trying to make it work with my fingernail. My spring bar tool made quick work of getting the band on & off of the watch. But in reality, if your fingernail wasn’t working a paperclip or toothpick would work just as well.

What I like

  • Well made rugged design
  • Solid build and material quality
  • Created for the outdoor enthusiast
  • Pretty responsive for an Android WearOS smartwatch
  • Feature rich
  • Offline navigation and compass
  • Good dual layer screen design
  • Decent battery life

What I’d change

  • Make it smaller
  • Lower the price
  • Watchband is too plasticky
  • Include a heart-rate sensor
  • Charging plug disconnects easily

In addition to the orange-red color I received, the PRO TREK WSD-F30 is also available in blue and black.

Final thoughts

Even though it is not perfect, I really like the PRO TREK WSD-F30 smartwatch. It is unapologetically big, bold, and engineered to weather whatever Mother Nature throws at it. Casio has done a good job combining the latest wearable technology and navigation/survival tools into a rugged, mil-spec watch. This smartwatch provides the outdoor enthusiast tools to get around the middle or nowhere with confidence. It would have been nice if the F30 had a built-in heart rate sensor but if I had to choose, I’d rather have a map and a compass than know my calories burned when lost out in the woods.

One more thing: the Gadgeteer Kid is heading off to college soon and will be attending the Colorado School of Mines, located in Golden. Along with studying engineering, he plans on embracing all that Colorado has to offer: skiing, hiking, rafting, etc. while he’s there. I can’t think of a better tech-tool to hand him as he walks out the door and heads off to God’s country.

Price: $549.99
Where to buy: Amazon or directly from Casio.com.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Casio.

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Casio PRO TREK WSD-F30 Android WearOS smartwatch review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 24, 2019 at 10:18 am.

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Polar Vantage V Pro multisports watch review

REVIEW – I love receiving new fitness gear to review…nine times out of ten, it amps up my desire to get/be/stay in-shape, workout, pound pavement, etc. As the years roll by, it gets increasingly difficult to be epic but I am a firm believer in that you get what you sow. Today’s tech-world gives us countless gadgets, websites, apps, and support systems to exercise more efficiently and effectively. Hopefully motivating and empowering each of us to reach our goals from wanting our pants to fit to gaining a six-pack. In this case, Polar has sent me their latest and greatest professional multisports training watch: the Vantage V to checkout for this review.

This review will be coming from the perspective of a fifty-something who isn’t nearly as energetic as they use to be back in the day. I will never run a marathon or do a triathlon but do try to workout daily, including running, walking, stairs, elliptical, weights, tennis, etc. For me the key is the long-game, to enjoy exercise but not to the point of injury. Typically I wear a mechanical watch throughout my day and swap it out for a fitness device when I workout, usually an Apple Watch for music and pace/duration. But for the next month or so, I’ll be focusing on the Vantage.

What is it?

The Vantage V is Polar’s flagship multisports training watch engineered to help top-level triathletes, marathoners, hardcore runners, etc. improve their performance and achieve their goals. The Vantage V is Polar’s replacement for the V800. In addition to upgrading the technologies within, Polar has change the overall aesthetics of the watch, going from a rectangular, utilitarian design to a the more classic round form factor.

What’s in the box?

  • Polar Vantage V pro multisport watch
  • Charging cable
  • Polar Vantage V user manual
  • Information note

Specifications:

  • Measurements: 46 x 46 x 13 mm
  • Weight: 68 g
  • Display: Always on color touch display with Gorilla Glass. Size 1.2”, resolution 240 x 240.
  • Battery: 320 mAh Li-pol battery. Battery life up to 40 h in training mode (GPS and wrist-based heart rate).
  • GPS & Barometer: Integrated GPS & GLONASS. Assisted GPS for fast fix times. Barometric altitude, incline, ascent and descent.
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth Low Energy. Custom USB cable for charging and data synchronization.
  • Watch: Time & date. Alarm with snooze.
  • UI languages: English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Indonesian, Czech 
  • Sensors: Compatible with Polar BLE heart rate sensors.
  • Water resistance: Waterproof (WR30)
  • Wristbands: Durable and comfortable silicone.
  • Sizing:

    • Small: wrist circumference 130-185 mm
    • Med/Large: wrist circumference 155-210 mm

Design and features

As I said, the Vantage V is Polar’s flagship, GPS enabled sports watch engineered to track nearly any and all sport and fitness activities: running, swimming, cycling, elliptical, yoga, martial arts, tennis…to name a few. Like a majority of past and present Polar products, their latest & greatest can also track your daily activities including heart rate, steps taken, and calories burned.  But like it’s predecessor, using the Vantage “as a fitness band would be like taking a Ferrari to the grocery store to buy milk”. It works and you’ll look getting there but there are certainly lower priced, just as effective alternatives 😉 .

The Vantage V is definitely a well-made device, constructed from aircraft aluminum, gorilla glass, and solid yet comfortable rubber. These premium materials combine to give this multi-sport watch a quality look and feel. The 1.2 inch 240×240 color touchscreen is protected by gorilla glass and is surrounded by the aluminum case that flow nicely into its rubber back.

Fit and comfort

As with a majority of fitness watches, the Vantage V comes on rubber strap.

The rubber is soft, flexible, and overall the band is very comfortable to wear. The strap has a knurled texture to it with a standard buckle and locking, logoed free loop to keep the end of the strap in place.

For being a 46mm watch that sits 13mm high, the Vantage V doesn’t wear too big or heavy on the wrist. Here you can see it in comparison to the Suunto Elementum Terra and larger of the two Apple watches. The Vantage wears very nicely on my 7 inch wrist and compared to a stainless steel watch, it’s so light I barely know I have it on.

Setup and Configuration

The first step I did in the setup process was to charge the Vantage using its proprietary charging pad.

There are four metal plates on the back of this fitness watch engineered to make contact with the corresponding pins on the charging pad. This is definitely a bit old school when many of the big players in smartwatches use inductive charging that can be done on any wireless charging pad.

The watch has to sit in a specific orientation to charge. There is a red tab on both the Vantage and charger that align.

The watch and pad are held together magnetically.

As the watch was charging, I (re)downloaded the Polar Flow app onto my iPhone and logged into my account I setup for previous reviews. All of my preferences were still there, so other than confirming all my info hadn’t changed…getting everything dialed in was quick and easy. That said, 99% of configuring the watch happens either in the app or on the Polar Flow web-interface (I recommend the website. I found it easier).

Setting up your Polar world can be anywhere from a relative short effort to a long and detailed one. The Polar Flow app/website enables you to tweak many facets of that ecosystem, down to how your watch face presents your data and what sensors are being used/enabled during each specific activity.

Once you have your activities arranged and personalized as you want them, you simply sync your watch and smartphone or computer. For you newbies to Polar, I can almost guarantee you that you’ll continue to tweak your profile and watch configurations as you become more accustomed to how you use your multisport watch and what data/stats are important to you as you workout. The more time, effort, and thought you put into this, the more you ultimately get out of using the Polar experience.

Operations

The Vantage V can be controlled by it 1.2 inch touchscreen or 5 physical buttons along the sides of the case. The Vantage products have an MIP display (memory in pixel) with a resolution of 240×240. When I reached out to Polar regarding the Vantage’s screen this was their response:

We decided to go with the MIP display instead of OLED, because an OLED display consumes a lot of power and is not very readable in bright sunlight. We figured extended battery life and the ability to see the display continuously when training (during indoor and outdoor sessions) are important for athletes.

After using various Apple, Samsung, Android Wear watches (not to mention smartphones) over the years, I’ve become relatively accustom to OLED displays and how much they pop especially in low light. But I 100% agree with Polar on this one, I’d rather not have to charge my watch every night and be able to see my time on a bright summer run.

Like its casing, the Vantage V buttons are constructed of aluminum with a ridged pattern machined into their surface. The buttons are easy to find and use while working out. The left side has the LIGHT and BACK (pauses/ends the workout) buttons.

The right side has the page UP and page DOWN buttons for navigating thru the user interface and the red START/SELECT button is for beginning activities, laps and selecting/confirming objects in the various menus.

The six main screens all display time, day, and date. The other information you can have at the glance at your wrist is: percentage of your daily activity goal, heart rate, training arch, nag reminding how long it’s been since you last worked out, and sleep data.

In a recent firmware update, Polar has enable smartphone notifications which works very well across the board from my emails and messages to when my security cameras detect movement.

Performance

The Vantage V works as you would expect in today’s high tech world. The Polar OS, while be it a bit old school, is zippy enough, lag-free, and gets the job done. I’d call it direct, usable, and to the point.

The Vantage series has Polar’s new Precision Prime fusion heart rate sensor engineered into back of the watch.  The sensor array has 9 LED that accurately monitors your heart rate during your workout or 24/7 throughout your day. I tested the Vantage’s accuracy against my Apple Watch and elliptical’s handle grip sensors and on average all correlated nicely though there was a bit more variability in the wrist sensors when compared to the fixed grips.

The Vantage V can also calculate Running Power using the heart rate monitor, GPS and barometer data from the wrist – no additional foot pods or sensors needed. This calculation is done with Polar’s proprietary algorithm and it helps you monitor the external load of your running (aka during intervals, hills, or to maintain a constant effort level during a race). The Vantage V can also use Running Power to calculate your Muscle Load, the load that your training session puts on your joints and your muscular and skeletal systems.

GPS distance and pace both seemed relatively accurate from my initial survey standpoint. I ran or walked several known routes and the distances & times were within a few percentage points of what I believe it should have been.  I hope to review this and a few other features more in-depth this summer as I workout more out side.

Polar’s Sleep Plus feature automatically detects the timing, amount, and quality of your sleep in hopes of better rest to ultimately improve your recovery and performance. Or in my case, Sleep Plus let’s me know when my wife’s snoring interrupts my sleep.

Battery life is incredible… Compared to my Apple, Samsung, or Wear OS smartwatches I have used thus far, the Vantage lasts many times longer than the any of the competition. In addition to using the GPS during my outdoor workouts, I had the watch continuously monitoring my heart rate 24/7 and my sleep quality at night and it still latest nearly a week before needing to be recharged.

To conserve power, the Vantage V doesn’t automatically sync with your smartphone, 99% of the time I had to force the issue by long pressing the lower left button on the watch.

Ecosystem

If I had to select the best part of the Polar experience, it would be the Polar Flow ecosystem it creates for its users. I grant you a system is only as good as the data being fed into it. But Polar engineers work diligently to not only provide you a worthy training companion but a place to nerd out over the data it collects.

The Polar Flow app/website enables you to dive very deep into the details of your training and performance metrics.

The Vantage V wirelessly syncs data from the watch to your mobile device which then updates your flow account with your most recent efforts. Without the app, data syncing must be done by plugging the watch into your computer via the charging cable.

Is It a Smartwatch…

That is a question I have been asked about this watch more than once during this review…and my answer is sort of. It doesn’t do apps or pay for stuff or even play music while you run. But like I mentioned above, it does give notifications, provides pace/distance/HR/etc on the fly, and does a great job gathering fitness and physical performance data then transferring it back to the mothership (aka Polar Flow) for further, more detailed analysis. As a modern day digital watch goes, the Vantage V is smart enough and does everything that I need, less music while pounding pavement. That said, I believe Polar will ultimately have to get on the bandwagon like others and produce less niche devices and cater a bit more to the mainstream. Cause lets face it, Apple is kicking @$$ and taking names. But that is just my 2 cents…

What I like

  • Well made hardware
  • Comfortable, light-weight form factor
  • Very sport-/training centric design
  • Polished, integrated fitness ecosystem
  • Smartwatch functionality has been added thru firmware updates
  • Collects huge quantity of data and presents it in a well thought out Polar Flow interface
  • Excellent battery life

What needs to be improved

  • Expensive
  • Can’t stream music
  • Isn’t a true “smartwatch”

Bottom Line

For this review, I wore the Vantage V nonstop for nearly two weeks then on and off when I exercised for approximately a month. I hate to say it but the Polar Vantage V is out of my league…that is the cold hard truth of it. For how I use a fitness smartwatch, this bad-boy is definitely overkill. It has been fun to try out but the realist in me knows I’ll never truly use many of the features of the Vantage or Polar Flow ecosystem. I’m definitely more of an Apple Watch, Samsung, or Wear OS kind of athlete. I like my motivational tunes streaming thru my earbuds and I would trade that over the differential the Vantage V gives you over the more mainstream fitness/smartwatches.

Final thoughts

The Vantage V and the Polar ecosystem that support it are an extremely powerful training tools that really anyone could use to improve their personal best in whatever sport or exercise regime they live in. That said, this flagship fitness and training watch is tailored more for the true athlete wanting to optimize their performance at the very far end of the curve. Though Polar, via firmware updates, has and continues to add smartwatch functionality to both variations of the Vantage. The Vantage V is impressive, with really have zero complaints other than no wireless music capabilities but that is a known quantity going into it.

As I said, I’ll continue to use the Vantage V this summer and will hopefully have a follow on review that discusses its accuracy and niche capabilities this Fall.

Price: $499.95
Where to buy: The Vantage V is available directly from Polar and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Polar.

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Polar Vantage V Pro multisports watch review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 8, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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