tom.tom runner display screens free sample

TomTom announced their first athletic GPS units back in April, but it’s as of today that you can finally buy them (well, at least the Runner edition). These two units were produced solely by TomTom (previously they had a partnership with Nike on the Nike+ GPS Sportwatch). The first unit out of the chute from an availability standpoint is the TomTom Runner, which is aimed at the mid-range running market (from a price standpoint at $169). And the second unit is the TomTom Multisport, which is $30 more, but covers cycling and indoor swimming.

There are two different units available from TomTom: The Runner and the Multisport. The Runner is targeted at, well, runners. Whereas the Multisport is aimed at those who swim/bike/run. While I’ll be reviewing both in this review, I only have the full unboxing experience for the Runner, as the Multisport final box isn’t quite yet complete (though the watch hardware I have is complete). This is very typical of most products I receive early in the release cycle.

Finally, many folks will (rightly) draw similarities to the Nike+ GPS watch. And the similarities are pretty striking. It’s no secret that the team that worked on the Nike+ GPS watch was this TomTom team. And while they had to start from the ground up with the TomTom Runner and Multisport watch, the two units really do feel more like brothers than distant friends from separate companies.

The unit will always be recording when you’ve started an activity. You’ll see at the top (assuming you haven’t changed any display fields yet) your total time and total distance increasing:

I’m not sure I entirely understand the value of the Goals mode. Given the watch displays distance, I’ve personally never had a problem understanding that when it shows ‘Mile 2’ and I’m running a marathon, I thus still have a crap-ton of distance to run. I don’t really need a Pac-Man pie chart to show me that.

The Swimming functionality is part of the TomTom Multisport unit, and is not included in the Runner edition. As of this writing, this section is still somewhat heavy in beta, thus some aspects may not be finalized yet. So consider this more of a preview than the ‘end-all-be-all’.

Once you’re ready to begin swimming you’ll tap right again to start the counter. While swimming you’ll get distance and time information display along the top (assuming default fields), though you can modify both of those based on the fields above.

Additionally, just like in running and cycling you can iterate through the different data fields by pressing up and down. For example, you can see lengths displayed here:

Or distance, as shown below. The distance on my unit looks a bit funky because it’s a 33-meter pool, being displayed in yards. Thus it’s not going to be any of the pretty round-numbers you’re used to in 25/50 m/y pools.

The TomTom Multisport unit supports gathering speed, distance and heart rate data while indoors on a trainer (the Runner edition does not). To do so though you’ll need to get a Bluetooth Smart speed/cadence sensor. Today, pretty much the only choice on the market is the Wahoo Fitness Blue SC.

Once that’s done, you’ll have accurate speed and distance. While riding, you’ll see your speed and distance displayed. Note that the speed sensor will always override the GPS sensor.

Update – Winter 2014: TomTom has added the ability to sync from your phone directly to the TomTom Runner and Multisport watches.  Here’sall the details in this post.

Today, TomTom announced that they’ll be releasing mobile apps (iOS and Android) that will allow the TomTom Runner and Multisport watches to upload completed workouts to the TomTom website.

I’ll be getting access to the app later this week to start poking at it.  In the meantime, TomTom shared some screenshots of it, which I’ve included below.  Note that the display units can be changed between Metric and Statute.

I think this is a big step forward, and hopefully the starting point of things to come – especially if they can extend the phone functionality forward to match that of the Garmin FR220 (basically adding in Live Tracking), which the TomTom Runner watch competes with.

Looking at the TomTom Runner watch first, it’s a good first release for TomTom from a device standpoint. Overall, it works well, and accuracy is solid. I LOVE the fast satellite acquisition. I can’t state enough just how quick and awesome that component is. I really enjoy knowing that if I turn my watch on as I walk out my front door, I have signal less than 25 yards later when I finish crossing the street to start my run.

There are a few areas where I’m not a huge fan of the implementation. For example, the lack of ability to have a lap button in all modes is somewhat frustrating. And the inability to scroll ‘forever’ through the display fields while running is kind of a pain (you reach the top/bottom of the list and then have to scroll back down again). Additionally, I’m concerned about the band long-term and keeping the watch module from falling out when you take off your watch.

Lastly, the use of Bluetooth Smart over ANT+ is a bit of a null issue for the Runner edition given the internal pace/distance support for treadmills (thus not needing a footpod), but I think it’s going to dog TomTom on the multisport edition. As it stands today, there’s just a lot of athletes that have ANT+ gear, and there’s very little Bluetooth Smart variety (or product) in the market today. Further, the lack of smartphone integration using Bluetooth in the unit is a bit of a shame (Update: Now added). That’s really one of the major reasons you’d choose to implement Bluetooth into the watch itself, and in that single area, there wasn’t anything done. Long term I think this will pan out for them and be a positive feature. But short-term it’s more of a disability when it comes to converting users of other devices.

Today TomTom has announced two new versions of their TomTom GPS watches.  These new additions add in optical heart rate monitoring straight into the back of both the TomTom Runner and Multisport GPS watches.  The new line – called the ‘Cardio’ utilizes the well known Mio sensor technology to measure your heart rate directly at your wrist, and does so in a form factor that’s waterproof to 50-meters.

I’ve been using the unit now on a number of rides and runs, and thus have a very solid grasp of how well they’ve completed the integration.  Which, is really what this is.  It’s essentially taking an existing TomTom Runner (or Multisport unit), and stuffing a Mio optical sensor in the back to measure heart rate and adding a couple of heart-rate specific information screens.  Beyond that, it’s basically identical to the existing units.  Of course, the addition of the optical sensor is a pretty huge thing.

As you’ll see shortly, the TomTom Cardio variant of the Runner and Multisport is identical in size to that of the non-cardio versions.  And, both the Runner and Multisport Cardio units are visually identical as well to each other.

But first, we’ll look how it compares to other units in the running and triathlon realm.  I tried to put as many competitive units as possible into the same picture, including those that compete with both the Runner and Multisport editions.

From left to right (above/below): Garmin Fenix2, Adidas Smart Run GPS, TomTom Cardio, Polar V800, Soleus Pulse, Suunto Ambit2 R (2S is identical), Timex Run Trainer 2.0, TomTom Runner/Multisport (non-cardio), Garmin FR620, Garmin FR220.

The TomTom watch is really a runners watch, that happens to bike and swim on the side.  So in many ways, I find that it’s at its best while I’m running.  To start off an activity, we’ll dive into the menu using the button below the display.  This buttons acts like a little joystick to control the unit.  The display itself can be tapped along the right edge to turn on/off the light, as well as to create laps in certain situations.

The optical sensor is generally also quite quick, finding my HR in under about 10-seconds.  Though sometimes I’ll notice it takes a little bit longer (upwards of 20-30 seconds) to find HR and start displaying it.

Once that’s ready, we’ll press to the right to start the run.  As we do so the unit will immediately start recording data and displaying the metrics we’ve chosen.

The unit will always display two metrics up top (known as ‘left’ and ‘right’), as well as one metric down below on the main screen.  You can press up/down to change the main screen metric, and you can customize the left/right metrics in the settings.

The TomTom Multisport Cardio variant supports a cycling mode, which enables you to have a dedicated cycling mode.  Within this mode you can configure slightly different display screens, while also connecting to a cycling speed/cadence sensor.  Further, if you purchase the ‘Performance Bundle’ edition, you’ll also get a barometric altimeter.  Note this is a physical hardware change, and thus, is a separate physical unit and not just a simple firmware update.

Except, here’s the thing – in my case, I was using the non-performance bundle, and thus, the elevation data shown on the site is actually from the server based on my GPS route, rather than recorded by the unit itself.  This is true of the runner as well.

Finally, it’s worth noting that while the Multisport unit defaults to speed for cycling, you can actually use the TomTom Runner Cardio in running mode and just change the metric to speed instead of pace.  It’ll label your workouts as ‘Runs’ on TomTom MySports, but ultimately if you export to any other 3rd party sites you can easily just change the activity type to ride.

In any case, the size is saved, but you’ll need to remember to switch back your total unit settings if your pool size doesn’t match what units you normally want displayed in running/cycling.

You can press the up/down button to change display fields, and like in running and swimming you can specify the upper two display fields be whatever you’d like.

Looking at the above, there’s one spot at about the 12 mile marker where the unit seems to drop by about 20bpm.  It’s unclear if that was reality or not (since the strap below doesn’t show it).  You can also see a bit more variability in the second half of the run with the strap, as she increased intensity.  She noted to me that the numbers were nearly always the same or within 1BPM or so when she looked at the displays.  So from her HR zone pacing perspective, they were both valid.

I did note however that the TomTom site failed to display/load my 26-hour journey.  Instead, I just used an export of the file and uploaded it to a 3rd party site that would take the file.  I suspect having a file longer than 24 hours was the issue.

When in standby the unit will always display the time of day (hours:minutes), as well as the date.  It does not have an option to display the day of week, nor seconds.  You can configure the time to display in either 12-hour or 24-hour format (i.e. 1:50PM or 13:50).

The backlight can be enabled at any time in standby mode by simply tapping the right side of the display.  Additionally, the backlight can be switched to enabled for an entire activity, such as a night run.  When you do this however you’ll burn through battery much quicker than normal – so be aware.  Below, you can see the backlight in action:

With the backlight on I found it quite easy to see the display and numbers, even while on the bike with the unit on my wrist in a slightly awkward position (for cycling with hands on handlebars).

Now, while it may seem like I rushed through this section – in reality, that’s all there is.  Seriously, there’s no other things to show or display.  What you see above in these half a dozen screenshots is the entirety of the MySports site.  There’s no ability to dive deeper intro metrics, nor any ability to display stats like laps that were recorded on the unit. And the granularity of the data leaves much to be desired, due to how smoothed it is.  Finally, you can’t tweak any other settings on the unit, such as data field display options.

1) I see the GPS pace dropout occasionally on the display (it just shows a dash line). Sometimes for no particular reason, though sometimes closer to buildings (2-3 story ones).  That said, it hasn’t seemed to impact distances at all.

I’ve added both the TomTom Cardio Runner & Multisport units to the Product Comparison Tool, which means you can mix and match it against any other watch/unit that I’ve ever reviewed for feature comparisons.  Now, I’ll save you a tiny bit of time and just point out that the TomTom Runner and Runner Cardio are identical except for the line item regarding optical HR sensor.  That’s it.  Same goes for the Multisport and Multisport Cardio.

For the below, I’ve compared the TomTom Runner Cardio, Garmin FR220, and Suunto Ambit 2R.  However, you can easily make your own change with any device you want here at this link.

I’ve been wearing it almost 24/7 for 7 months now, so it’s time for a review of the TomTom Runner 2 Cardio watch with optical heart rate monitor (HRM) and GPS.

The TomTom Runner 2 Cardio is aimed at multi-sport athletes, from beginners to the proficient, who want to see how far they have been and how hard they worked, with a simple interface and basic nudges during training. It’s also waterproof and counts lengths in the pool, so is suitable for swimmers / triathletes. You could also use it as a slightly more exciting activity monitor if you just want to keep an eye on how many steps or calories you’ve done via daily / weekly goals.

The nature of sport watches is that many of them evolve over time via firmware updates and changes to the accompanying mobile apps and web apps. At the time I first got the watch, there were some areas that needed addressing, most notably, a random crash that would lock the watch until plugged into a PC. I’m pleased to report that TomTom have been making changes along the way, including a perfect fix for that bug, as well as new features and improvements to the performance of original features. There’s no public development timeline, so there’s no way to know if any further features will be added and the Runner 3 is on the way, so I’m guessing that any changes from now will be minor / bug fix. The Runner 3 brings route tracking and “find way back to start” as the main additions over the Runner 2, so if you think you’d benefit from those, then look at that one. On the hardware support side, my strap broke after 6 months (still useable) and the TomTom online support arranged to send me a replacement immediately, so that side of things is running smoothly. Questions on the support forum get replied to by other users quickly.

You can set a daily activity goal. Once you reach the goal each day, a little medal appears and it buzzes. Wooo! Choose from steps, calories, distance and time (or turn it off). As well as these daily features, it will monitor your activity while sleeping and count the number of hours you sleep. It will also monitor your heart rate throughout the day and night so you can track it. Whilst steps goal stuff isn’t really relevant for the more experienced runner / athlete, beginners and those with goals of just keeping moving enough during the day to kickstart some weight loss might find it very useful.

As with other optical heart rate monitors, if you have not yet warmed up enough, or it’s too cold and your body is keeping the blood away from the surface, or it’s not tight enough on the wrist, it will display your steps per minute (when running) instead. So if you turn it on, head out the door and look at the pulse, you’ll notice it is way too high, instead counting the movement of the weight of the watch on your wrist while pumping the arms (equates directly to steps per minute). If the HR in the first few minutes is important to you, you’ll need to either warm up first, or what I do is run for 1km and then stand still for 20 seconds (pausing the watch), at which point the HR rapidly falls and matches what I’d expect by that stage when warmed up a bit, and then get going again (unpausing). If it’s a race, you should have warmed up first, so it will latch on to the correct HR quite quickly. For me, the advantages of the wrist-based HRM easily outweighs this niggle and I’ll never go back to chest strap type now. It’s a little tricky to notice at first, but if it isn’t quite sure of the data it is displaying, it will appear in grey instead of the normal brighter white.

The menu is navigated with a simple set of up down left right buttons (sat around the GPS unit). On the watch you can set some options, via goal progress, view previous activities and start new ones. It’s easy to navigate, but needs a fair bit of exploring to see all the options and realise which screens have up and down options (as well as the normal left right navigation).

Once you select an activity, it asks you to wait for a little while the GPS and HRM lock on (if necessary). Meanwhile, you can set activity goals and settings, which it remembers specifically for each activity type, as well as what you would like to be on the display during the activity in the customisable areas bottom left and bottom right. During the activity, the main display can be changed at any time easily. The activity goals and settings available depend on the activity. For example, if swimming, you can set the pool size so it can display distance properly. Most of the activities have some sort of distance, speed or heart rate zone target. The intervals target is especially powerful, allowing you to set warm up time or distance, work time or distance, rest time or distance, number of sets and cool down. During activity, this will buzz at the start and end of each phase, which is a massive boon when your brain is mashed from effort and unable to remember your own name, let alone count number of seconds rest to go!

It’s called a “Runner 2 Cardio”, but it’s equally useful for the other activity types offered in the menu. Choose currently from running, cycling, swimming, treadmill running, gym, indoor bike, freestyle and a stop-watch.

Once you’ve selected an activity and turned off or set your activity goals, pressing GO starts the activity. During an activity, if you have set targets, the watch will beep and buzz at relevant moments to keep you on track. So if you selected an HR zone or speed/pace goal, it will beep when it gets in the zone and then again when it goes above or below, with a graphic on the display to show you which way, in case it wasn’t obvious. If it’s distance or time, it will also buzz at 50% and 90% so you know how you are getting on.

During an activity, the watch face displays the two measurements chosen in the activity settings at the bottom left and right. The main part of the display can be changed at any time, from all the usual pace, average pace, time, HR, distance and time of day. The buttons require a firm press to do anything, so it’s unlikely you’ll the wrong thing by accident.

Placing your hand on the display turns on the back light briefly so you can see it in the dark. This has been sufficient for me because I normally rely on the buzzing feedback, but if you really must be able to see the display in the dark, perhaps while on a bike mount, there’s a night option which leaves the backlight on during an activity.

So yes, I’ve been using Runner 2 Cardio watch for a long time now and it provides great value for money in a reliable package. It’s not overly complicated and doesn’t pretend to be a personal trainer or anything like that, so leaves the responsibility of knowing what to do to you. It has all the essential features you’d need for a variety of sports and doesn’t restrict you to TomTom’s own software, allowing export to 3rd parties. It’s waterproof, has GPS, vibration feedback, heart rate and motion detection (steps / sleep) and an interval training option. If it wasn’t good enough for my needs, I would have switched by now, but in use it has met my expectations and exceeded in a few areas. Any flaws evident when I have got it were fixed via firmware updates and minor niggles are just that.

Combined with Garmin’s best-in-class directions, user interface, points-of-interest database, and driver alerts, the DriveSmart 55 has the best display we’ve seen in this segment plus a sleek bezel-less design. This latter feature results in a larger, 5.5-inch screen than its direct competitors with yet a slightly smaller body. Like other high-end navigators, the 55 also lets you use voice commands for common functions, connect with your smartphone via Bluetooth, and update its maps and software over a Wi-Fi connection, so you don’t have to plug it into a computer.

The DriveSmart 55 has a super-crisp 1200×720 capacitive display, which is much sharper and easier to read than the screens in similarly sized “5-inch” models, including the 480×272 screen in our previous top pick, the DriveSmart 51 LMT-S. As with your smartphone, the 55 allows multi-touch gestures, such as pinching or spreading for easier zooming on a map. This is a clear step up from the resistive displays of less expensive units, which allow only single-finger gestures and require you to tap on the plus and minus buttons to zoom in or out.

Like all of the models we tested, the Garmin displays the speed limit for the road you’re driving on (highlighted in red if you’re exceeding it). But a new feature that we found really helpful has the display turn yellow and emit a soft beep as you’re approaching a speed-limit change. This made us more aware of those unexpected changes where police often like to park themselves with radar guns.

Despite their flaws, GPS watches are reliable enough to make them very useful tools for runners. I was in love with my Garmin Forerunner 305 for many years and the decision to turn my loyalties elsewhere was hard. What I loved about my Garminwas that it was nearly indestructible and it did one thing well—track my distance. When I began my research for a new watch, I was overwhelmed by all of the bells and whistles that came with each device. I found myself screaming at my computer,

All of the features I didn’t need made the watches too expensive, too full of technical glitches, and wasted too much of my time with unneeded metrics. This is not true with the TomTom Runner GPS Watch. Yes, they have multi-sport and cardio options that will give you as many features you could ever want, but the Runner is focused solely on running.

The TomTom Runner is a GPS sports watch for runners who want to track their performance outdoors and on the treadmill in the gym. All the running data can be uploaded to the TomTom MySports website and a host of running websites.

If you’ve seen the Nike SportWatch, the Runner shares many of the same design characteristics. There’s a big, visible display and the same easy to use menu system. The display has shaved off some of the screen size from the top and bottom, making it closer in size to a sports watch like the Garmin Forerunner 10.

The TomTom Runner is available in grey and pink, and comes in two parts. There’s the watch module, made up of a scratch resistant LCD display, and a ‘One Touch control’ that surrounds the GPS receiver. The ‘One Touch control’ is not really an accurate description. It’s actually a four-button control pad. Alongside the display you’ll find a row of three dots that when pressed activate a backlight that’s bright enough to illuminate the display for a late evening run.

The display and control pad can be taken out of the rubber watch strap to charge inside the dedicated charging dock. Yes, the built-in USB feature is gone, which is a major disappointment. There’s also a selection of different coloured watch straps available if you really feel the need to customize.

The rubber, perforated watch strap is slim and extremely light. The small rows of dimples on the inside of the strap mean the TomTom Runner does not sit right against the skin, which makes it more comfortable to wear and prevents it from feeling too sticky when you take it off.

Weighing in at 50g, the Runner is lighter than the Nike Sportswatch (63g) but still heavier than the Garmin Forerunner 10 (42g). At 11.5mm thick, it’s far less clunky than most sports watches, making it ideal to wear as an everyday watch. Like the Forerunner 10, the TomTom Runner is weather- and waterproof up to 50m. We can confirm that it can survive a morning shower and a few laps in the swimming pool.

The TomTom Runner has a built-in accelerometer and sensors to work both outdoors and on a treadmill offering the kind of data you’d expect to find on most sports watches. You can view distance, pace, average pace, stride length, calories burned and lap times all in real-time. Bluetooth Smart support lets you sync the TomTom Runner with additional devices, including a heart rate strap if you want to train in specific running zones.

There’s also regular watch features, including 24-hour format display and an alarm option if you need a nudge to get up for that early morning run. Like the Nike Sportswatch, there’s vibration alerts if you run with music to prompt you on your progress.

The new graphical training partner is all about pushing you to work harder in your running sessions, whether it’s competing against your last run or setting a precise goal for a running session. When you race against yourself, the training partner will display the current run and previous run on the screen. If you’ve set a goal to run 10km, the Runner will display progress in a percentage.

One of the most important features is the QuickGPSFix technology. Many sports watches, including the Nike Sportswatch, are plagued with GPS signal issues. TomTom incorporates technology it uses for its satnavs to improve the time it takes to receive a GPS signal. The decision to separate the GPS receiver from the watch display is clearly a move to improve getting a connection.

TomTom hasn’t made radical changes with the Spark 3, which might disappoint some. What it has done is made it more appealing for runners. It’s done that by adding a feature that is commonly associated with more expensive running watches. And it works. It also remains one of the easiest running watches to get out of the box and start using as well. GPS and heart rate accuracy is still great too. It’s not the perfect package yet though, particularly from a software perspective. But if you’re looking for a feature-packed running watch that delivers where it matters most, the Spark 3 remains our top choice.

The TomTom Spark 3 is the successor to our current top running watch pick, the TomTom Spark.With the arrival of the Spark 3 (also known as the TomTom Runner 3), the company is sticking with the same formula while making some changes in the design and tracking departments.

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TomTom Navigator – a GPS navigation software product for personal digital assistants (PDAs), Palm devices, Pocket PCs, and some smartphones. TomTom Navigator 6 replaced the earlier TomTom Mobile 5.2. It can use GPS receivers built into the device or external (e.g., Bluetooth-connected) receivers. Navigator 7 was the latest release of this software, released as a part of the software that came with the June 2008 HTC Touch Diamond. Frequently used functions can be added to the main screen of the program, and users can report map corrections and share them with other users. Navigator supports touch screens; devices without touch screens use a cursor to input data. The software is available on SD card and DVD. It runs on a number of devices listed on the TomTom website, but will run successfully on many unlisted devices using the Windows Mobile operating system, discontinued in 2010. The DVD version includes a DVD, printed 15-character product code, Quick Start Guide, Licensing Agreement, a poster with a picture diagram for setup procedure of DVD version and SD card version, and an advertisement for associated TomTom Plus services. The DVD contains installation software for TomTom Home, software for mobile devices, licenses, manuals, maps, and voices. The software for mobile devices includes CAB files for Palm, PPC, Symbian, and UIQ3.

TomTom Home (stylized as TomTom HOME) is a 32-bit PC application that allows synchronization/updates to be sent to the mobile device. TomTom Home version 2.0 and above is implemented on the XULRunner platform. With version 2.2, TomTom Home added a content-sharing platform where users can download and upload content to personalize their device such as voices, start-up images, POI sets, etc. At the moment

Maker, Ray (2 April 2014). "TomTom Cardio Runner & Multisport with Optical Heart Rate In-Depth Review". DC Rainmaker. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.