Garmin has announced its latest product, the entry-level Forerunner 25 running watch. Running watch it is, but the Forerunner 25 does come with some smartwatch features, like an all-day activity tracking and smartphone notifications. It can also register your heart rate, speed, distance, personal records, count your steps and connects to your phone to pick up notifications on the run.
As the name denotes, the Forerunner 25 is the successor to the 15, thinner than its predecessor while also boasting of a display that is 32 percent larger.
There are some things missing though, which is what we’d expect at the entry level. There is no built-in optical heart-rate sensor, and the Forerunner 25 doesn’t support Bluetooth chest straps. Your only option is to use one of Garmin’s ANT+ chest straps. The watch can be paired with iPhone and Android devices over Bluetooth. It also includes smart notifications that can alert you to incoming calls, text, emails and calendar events. However, unlike its higher-priced Apple and Pebble counterparts, the Forerunner 25 won’t receive notifications from apps such as Facebook and Twitter.
If the Forerunner’s barebones features doesn’t exactly float your boat, Garmin have another option for you. Last may, the GPS specialist, in collaboration with Mio, released the more advanced Forerunner 225, which measures heart rate via an optical sensor. Runners can check their zone and beats per minute with a glance at the colorful graphic interface, and use the built-in accelerometer to measure distance and pace without a separate foot pod.
Available in black/red and black/blue, a larger version of the watch boasts up to 10 hours of battery life in training mode, or 10 weeks in watch/activity tracking mode. A smaller model comes in black/purple and white/pink, with eight hours of battery life in training mode, and eight weeks in watch/activity tracking mode.
The Garmin Forerunner 25 is expected to begin shipping later this year with a price tag of $169.99, or $199.99 bundled with a heart-rate monitor.
