TomTom launches Spark fitness wearable with music, GPS and 24/7 tracking

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Toronto - TomTom launched its 4th generation fitness wearable in North America today with an event in downtown Toronto. The TomTom Spark is the latest sports and fitness tracker since TomTom collaborated with Nike + Sportwatch GPS years ago before the deluge of fitness trackers hit the market.

While it can be paired with a smartphone or a PC for tracking stats, the strength of the TomTom Spark is that it can run fully independent of wired and cumbersome smartphones. Runners, for example, can use the Spark to measure their runs via GPS, track their heart rate with the built-in heart rate monitor and play up to 500 songs streamed to a Bluetooth headset.

Unlike previous TomTom fitness watches, the Spark now tracks activity throughout the day as well and even has built-in sleep tracking. For people who enjoy varying their workouts, the TomTom Spark can accomodate and track indoor and outdoor exercises. The TomTom Spark integrates with TomTom MySports, RunKeeper, Nike + and more third party fitness tracking software solutions. Upcoming software updates are expected to incorporate coaching functionality. It is also water resistant to 50m.

As for the music piece, the TomTom Spark connects to iTunes or Windows Media Player music playlists which can then be easily transferred to the watch and played back via paired wireless Bluetooth headsets. SRT for this watch is $299 and the TomTom Spark line of watches is expected to come to market on November 1.