With wearable technology starting to make inroads in 2013, many do not realise that the trend has existed for longer in sports, especially running. Runners and athletes have worn fitness trackers on their wrists for years, helping them track their runs and running times. These trackers range from the basic digital watch with timers, digital pedometers to more advanced trackers such as Nike’s FuelBand. Yesterday, adidas released what may be the most complete running companion yet: the miCoach Smart Run.
The German company was quick to move away from the smartwatch movement. The head of adidas Interactive, Paul Gaudio, stated: “we’re not trying to make a smartwatch, per se, but the smartest running watch.” And, for a $399 device, it better be. The specs list of the hardware does seem to do some justice for the price tag, however, with a variety of sensors and many connectivity options running atop Android 4.1.1. The miCoach Smart Run has an accelerometer, built-in GPS, and even a heart rate monitor that detects your pulse. In addition, there’s also built-in WiFi and Bluetooth to offload data or pair with wireless headphones.
adidas also went for premium materials in the build of the miCoach Smart Run, opting to use materials such as aluminium, magnesium and Gorilla Glass for the glass screen. It’s also water resistant, though the protection is better suited for sweat and rain instead of taking it out for a swim. Navigation is done via swipe gestures on the 1.45-inch transflective TFT LCD capacitative touch screen.
The running watch also has 4GB of onboard memory, of which 3GB is set aside exclusively for storing MP3 files. Users can also customize how much data they’d like logged to the watch during their workouts, with options to capture and store data every second, five seconds or none whatsoever. These are customisable via the devices three workout modes: Normal, Training and Marathon, with battery life naturally linked to the workout mode selected.
As mentioned earlier, the adidas miCoach Smart Run will retail for $399, and will be available from November 1 in select countries worldwide. So far there is no word yet from adidas Malaysia if they will be bringing the miCoach Smart Run to the country.
