ST DIGITAL'S GUIDE TO SITEX 2015

Wearables

Asus ZenWatch 2 PHOTOS: ASUS, GARMIN, HUAWEI, LIFETRAK, RUNTASTIC, SAMSUNG, STRIVV, TOMTOM

1 Asus ZenWatch 2

$229

Booths 6B09B, 6C01, 6D05, 6D09, 6E01, 6E09, 6F05, 6F17, 6F33, 6G09 & 6G23

The Asus ZenWatch 2 is an Android Wear device that manages to be stylish yet affordable, while being compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. It offers notifications of incoming calls, text and e-mail messages.

It comes in two sizes (for male and female users) with a variety of interchangeable straps and more than 50 customisable watch faces.


2 Garmin Forerunner 225

$449

Booth 6B25

Unlike Garmin's other fitness watches, the Forerunner 225 does not require you to wear a chest- strap heart-rate monitor during workouts. This is Garmin's first Global Positioning System (GPS) running watch that is able to measure your heart rate from your wrist.

Its built-in accelerometer also works indoors, so it can monitor your workouts in the gym on rainy or hazy days. Fitness tracker keeps tabs on your daily activity, including steps taken and calories burned. The Forerunner 225 has a one-inch display with a resolution of 180 x 180 pixels to show you all your fitness data.


3 Garmin Forerunner 920XT HRM-Tri Bundle

$929

Booth 6B25

Garmin's Forerunner 920XT HRM-Tri Bundle is a GPS running watch package designed with triathletes in mind.

It consists of the Forerunner 920XT GPS running watch, and the HRM-Tri and HRM-Swim heart rate sensors.

The HRM-Tri is for running, biking or swimming in open water. It is able to store and send your heart-rate data to 920XT.

The HRM-Swim is for use in the pool. The 920XT is able to measure your swim distance, pace, stroke type and stroke count.

When used with both the heart-rate sensors, the 920XT can record cadence, vertical oscillation and ground contact time during runs. A built-in altimeter accurately records ascent, descent and gradient data, all useful for monitoring bike rides.


4 Huawei Watch

From $549

Booths 5J05, 5J09, 6E09 & 6F01

From a distance, you might mistake this good-looking device for a regular watch. But it is actually an Android Wear smartwatch.

Its 1.4-inch full-circle touchscreen display (400 x 400 pixels) is protected by scratch-resistant sapphire crystal in a beautiful stainless steel frame with a bezel measuring only 0.6mm.

Right out of the box, it offers a choice of more than 40 watch faces.

This smartwatch doubles as a fitness tracker, as it also comes with a gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer and heart-rate sensor.


5 LifeTrak Brite R450

$149 (usual price $179)

Booth 6F01

The LifeTrak Brite R450 pretends to look like a conventional watch, but it is actually a fitness tracker that wants to do everything.

Not only does it monitor your fitness activity, but it also tracks your exposure to blue light, that is, light from the displays of laptops, smartphones and tablets.

It automatically tracks your sleep patterns and measures your heart rate.

As a smartwatch, it displays notifications when connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth.


6 Runtastic Orbit

$169

Booth 6B05

Launching at Sitex 2015, the Runtastic Orbit is a fitness tracker from the company that gave us that popular running app - yes, Runtastic.

The Orbit's highlight is its superb water resistance. It is waterproof down to 100m, so you will not need to take it off when you go for a swim or even a dive.

As a running companion, it will display time, distance, calories and pace when used with the Runtastic app on your smartphone. It also works as a sleep tracker.


7 Samsung Gear S2

$448

Booth 5L09

The circular stainless steel case with its 1.2-inch circular touchscreen display of Samsung Gear S2 will appeal to those who like their smartwatches to look like, well, a regular man's watch.

This sleek smartwatch has a rotatable ceramic bezel. Turn the bezel to scroll through the revamped Tizen operating system.

It sports a new interface that arranges apps in a circle. You use the bezel also to scroll up or down a text or e-mail message. This way, your fingers never get in the way of the display.

Going around in circles never felt so intuitive before.


8 Striiv Fusion Bio

$169 (usual price $189)

Booth 6F01

If you want a fitness tracker that does it all, the Striiv Fusion Bio may be your best bet.

It ticks all the boxes, with a touchscreen display, and built-in heart-rate monitor and smartwatch functions, such as notifications for incoming calls and messages. It even doubles as a music player control.

It comes with three interchangeable wristbands of black, red and blue, so you can switch bands according to your mood.


9 TomTom Golfer

$329 (usual price $429)

Booths 5H09 & 5N23

Golfers, this is the GPS watch for you. Its display shows key course data from 34,000 golf courses around the world, including Singapore.

It uses GPS technology to recognise nearby courses and locate the next hole. It even displays distances to hazards and lay-ups.

There are also precise yardages to the front, centre and back of the green. The golfer can also use the watch to keep track of the score, distance and time of a round.


10 TomTom Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch

$399

Booths 5H09 & 5N23

TomTom says that its new Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch is the only GPS watch in the market that has both a built-in heart-rate monitor and an integrated music player.

Its 3GB of internal storage can fit in more than 500 songs, so you can enjoy a workout to your favourite music via a pair of Bluetooth headphones (not included).

The GPS watch can also track biking, swimming and other sporting activities. It is water resistant down to 40m. In addition, the Spark tracks your daily activity, and can also monitor your sleep.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 26, 2015, with the headline Wearables. Subscribe