The options for hardcore athletes looking for the next gadget to give them the extra edge that will take them past their competitors to the finish line for a race win just got another boost with the release of the Polar RCX5 watch. Earlier this month, fitness gadget maker Polar finally rolled out the new watch design from its shelves after months of offering free testing on prototype units to get the initial pulse of the tech-savvy and highly conscientious fitness community. The result is the Polar RCX5 Heart Rate Monitor watch that builds on the success of its predecessors but retains some unique elements that are expected to make it a heavy favorite for runners, swimmers, bikers and sports enthusiasts alike.

The first thing that one should know about this most recent Polar release is that it offers the most complete package in terms of training in various sports specifically those that cater to the Triathlon market. Because of this versatility and flexibility designed to meet the various niches of the sport, athletes are dubbing this release the Polar RCX5 training computer watch. The complete kit comes flushed with accessories including the watch itself which has a very slim and elegant profile, the G5 GPS pod, the Wearlink+ Hybrid Heart Rate Strap, the S3+ stride sensor or footpod, and the wireless Polar USB Datalink stick which enables online downloading and transmission of training data to a nearby computer. The package gets you suited up for any condition – outdoor, indoor, wet, dry, remote, urban; name it, the Polar RCX5 fitness monitor watch is all geared up and ready.

Building on its reputation as a premier provider of heart rate sensors, this RCX5 Polar heart rate monitor watch is a formidable piece of fitness equipment. The Polar RCX5 heart rate monitors give accurate readouts of heart beats per minute which helps to quantify intensity of the workout and determine areas that require improvement. Without the Polar RCX5 HRM, it would be difficult to determine one’s level of performance accurately; however, with the heart rate monitor fully engaged, an athlete can concentrate on the workout and later review the available data to look for trends that would point to the best areas for improvement. This is made possible by the fact that it is easy to trend and chart data from previous workouts so you can see how your heart rate varies versus elevation, speed, distance and duration of the training and many other elements that you can customize in the watch interface. All told, the Polar RCX5 heart rate monitor review written by both those who purchased the watch shortly after release or even those who have long had the prototype versions available for testing are satisfied with Polar’s continuing emphasis on personal fitness via heart rate monitors.

Another fancy upgrade to the Polar heart rate monitors RCX5 is that it comes with a hands-free feature. Once workout screens are optimized, you can switch between different pages of data by utilizing the HeartTouch feature. Simply swipe the watch across the Polar heart rate monitor RCX5 and the watch appropriately flips through the various data screens to give you what you need. This eliminates the constant need to fidget with buttons while running so you can get to the screen view that you want; instead, a simple swiping motion replaces the work of a few button touches.

The new Polar release is perfect for any segment of the triathlon community. Its slim profile makes it a suitable Polar RCX5 female watch but it’s elegant black and red combination does not dismiss it from being a Polar RCX5 mens watch. It’s universally designed to meet all sorts of needs in all sorts of conditions instantly transforming from a Polar RCX5 ladies watch to a high-tech Polar RCX5 heart monitor, or a full-fledged, high performance, high intensity gadget that suits any environment. Swimming is a breeze with the Polar RCX5; so is cycling! The watch is guaranteed to revolutionize your workouts and bring it to a whole new level.

Of course, we cannot proceed without nitpicking on a few details just because we know it’s bound to come up at some point. First off, the displays are a little small compared to other models. Debating between the Polar RCX5 vs RS800CX in terms of display is just about the only thing that will benefit users who want to stick with the now old RS800CX. Secondly, some screens can be quite loaded and messy, another thing that would swing the Polar RCX5 vs RS800 debate just a bit, but still not quite.

Outside of these two minor complaints, the Polar RCX5 reviews by many users dub it nothing short of a winner. Whether you prefer the Polar RCX5 red, the Polar RCX5 black, whether you want it to be a Polar RCX5 female heart rate monitor watch or a Polar RCX5 mens heart rate monitor watch, this is one release by Polar that is sure to gain a few enthusiastic and loyal supporters, perhaps even convert loyal advocates from rival brands to be staunch Polar users. If nothing else, then the drive to make this an acceptable Polar RCX5 ladies heart rate monitor watch in the eyes of many conveniently serves the intended market strategy of making it a true darling of the running, cycling, swimming and triathlon community.

Given the strength of many a Polar RCX5 review on the internet, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an explosion of new Polar RCX5s in the next event nearest you. The Polar RCX5 price is a relatively cheap $400 for the base kit which only excludes the $10 bike mount and the G5 GPS pod. Base kits from competing brands sell for $400 but don’t include the foot pod sensor and other accessories making this Polar release a true leap in both technology and customer value. Buy Polar RCX5 and be ahead of the curve the next time you’re out on the road for a workout or on the route for a race. With the Polar RCX5, you will never have to skip a beat again.

Buy This Watch On Amazon

The i-gotU GT-120 Travel Logger Device

There are many examples of modern day running watches that support GPS, but these tend to come with a price tag much higher than that of a regular sports watch. Athletes on a tighter budget might be interested in a refreshing simple GPS tracking unit known simply as the “i-gotU” Travel Logger (pronounced “I got you”, abbreviated “IgotU”).

In the complex world of technology and gadgetry, devices tend to be packed-to-the-gills with excessive features and functions well beyond the average user’s capability to understand, let alone utilize to their full potential. Examples of elegent simplicity that technology is capable of are encountered very rarely. When such a gadget or device does come along, it is a breath of fresh air for those of us partial to simplicity in design.

So when Taiwanese company Mobile Action , asked me to write a review of their i-gotU Travel Logger gps data tracker, I was hard pressed to resist.

While the i-gotU Travel Logger is marketed primarily as a GeoTagging device for trips and holidays, endurance athletes are often seeking ways to measure the distance and pace of their runs and rides. GPS is a popular solution as GPS satellite tracking devices can determine the wearer’s precise location on earth very accurately to derive speed, distance and the altitude statistics of an athletes runs. The i-gotU device is capable of measuring any sort of outdoor adventure you could imagine, including endurance sports.

i-gotU GT-120/GT-200e Product Specifications

	i-gotU GT-120 USB Travel Logger	i-gotU GT-200e* Bluetooth Travel Logger
Hardware specifications:
Dimensions	44.5(h)x28.5(w)x13(d) mm	46(h)x41.5(w)x14(d) mm
Weight	20g	37g
Memory	64,000 waypoints	262,000 waypoints
Chipset	SiRF Star III	SiRF Star III
Data Transfer	USB	Bluetooth
Battery	230mAh Lithium-ion 30 hours	750mAh Lithium-ion 80 hours
System requirements:
	PC with Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista
	PC with USB 1.1 or 2.0
	.NET framework 2.0 or Higher
* The i-gotU GT-200e supercedes the GT-200 and is due to be released in late September 2009

Mobile Action has released two i-gotU devices. The i-gotU GT-120 and (larger) i-gotU GT-200e Bluetooth Travel Logger – it utilizes Bluetooth technology to connect to PC instead of a USB cable as does the GT-120. Both devices are minature, the GT-200e weighs in at 37 grams, the GT-120 just 20 grams. Both can be easily taken wherever you go, whether you choose to carry the device in your hand, place it in a backpack or wear it in your pocket.

The device is shipped with the company’s proprietary @trip PC software package for PC (not Mac, sorry Mac users). @trip PC allows users to import their digital photos and GPS routes which can be merged together and elegently displayed by the software, or imported into their online web portal known as @trip.

The portal allows you to share your route with other travellers and can display your vacation in Google Maps (in a 2D top-down map overlay), Google Earth (in full 3D) and as a photo slideshow. Furthermore your trip journal is both text-searchable and geographic-searchable by like-minded travellers.

Operating the i-gotU Travel Logger

The operation of the device is simplicity itself. You are presented with a single large button, that requires a press-hold to power the device ON or OFF. Once ON, a blue LED light on the right hand side will blink intemittedly (the red LED light will blink upon switching the device off). To obtain a GPS fix, you simply present the device to a clear, open sky. The red and blue LED lights will flash to indicate that GPS auto tracking has begun and i-gotU has started to log your movements right away. The device records waypoints using a “breadcrumb” method of saving your position at intermittent times. When you have finished, simply press and hold the button again until the red LED right on the left hand side broadcasts the power-down signal. The red light will also flash in the event that the device batteries are low or the memory is full.

Analyzing Your Trip (or Workout) Data

@tripPC handles importing device data and presenting it in a map view that allows you to revist your trip, ride or run. The software also lets you configure the tracking interval of the i-gotU for different activities and lets you set variable tracking, a feature not supported in GPS watches.

Travellers will appreciate the ability to own a web presence and the ability to share their trips and GeoTagged photos with family, friends or even the public in general via the online web portal a-trip.com.

Runners, riders and skiiers have the ability to publish their routes online, a great way to share the best courses with other people in endurance sport communities.

The sporting view of a route

@tripPC offers three map profiles: classic, sporting and simple. Athletes will be most interested in the sporting profile as it allows for an in-depth analysis of their pace at various intervals over the course and presents a summary of your event duration, total distance, average speed, best speed as well as highest and lowest altitude. This view mode also offers four graphical representations of your statistics at various points of the journey. These include: Altitude vs Distance, Speed vs Distance, Altitude vs Time and Speed vs Time.

The speed vs distance graph of my run

Benefits of the i-gotU Travel Logger

The obvious benefit of i-gotU for athletes seeking to track their routes is the simplicity of the i-gotU compared with the much pricier and complex GPS watch and other GPS tracking equipment on the market. The device is small, light and easy to take with you when you train. Being a runner, I use i-gotU to confirm the distance of my regular runs and to analyze the pace of my runs at various points along the route. The i-gotU GT-120 device easily slipped into the interior pocket of my running shorts and was hardly noticable once I started running. Yes, the Travel Logger makes an incredibly simple and convenient GPS mileage tracker.

What the Travel Logger won’t do that a GPS watch can, is measure your instantaneous speed or pace and predict your finish time. It cannot present readings such as pace, distance or altitude alerts or any sort of real-time features found in a good GPS watch.

The Travel Logger easily clips onto a bike

Non-sporting-wise, i-gotU will automatically merge your photos to just about every outdoor activity imaginable. The information can then be organized and uploaded to the a-trip.com website and saved to your own personal travel blog. From here it can be viewed by family and friends either in a 2D Google Maps format, a 3D Google Earth format or slide-show view.

The software is compatible with all digital cameras and camera phones and the device data can be exported in a wide range of file formats, compatible with popular web albums like Flickr and Picasa and a wide range of third party GPS navigation software. The Logger is water resistant to IPX6, meaning it will hold up against rain and jets of water, but is not suitable for swimming or guaranteed to survive immersion in water.

The i-gotU Travel Logger is one of those elegently simple examples of technology that does what it’s supposed to do, with ridiculously ease. The device can be used as a training device or GPS tracker, Google earth and Google Maps compatible. Mobile Action have put a lot of love and hard work into designing and promoting this GPS tracing device, a somewhat rare thing in the competitive world of technology… and it certainly shows! The i-gotU can be purchased on Amazon through the links below, through Mobile Action’s official website, or from third party retailers.

i-gotU GT-120 USB Travel Logger	i-gotU GT-200 Bluetooth Travel Logger
Price: $40.00	Price:

Related Links