Adidas has announced a Novemeber 1st release of their new Adidas miCoach SMART RUN … an activity tracker aimed at competing with the Nike Fuelband. While most news sources are incorrectly referring to the Smart Run as a smartwatch, it is actually a simple activity tracker designed to help runners monitor and store run related data such as routes, distance, and heart rate. All for a beefy $399.
The Adidas miCoach SMART RUN will bring GPS mapping, heart rate monitoring, mp3 music play, and real-time coaching right to the runner’s wrist. While all of these features have been offered independently by various activity trackers, the seamless integration of them all into a single product with online data storage and review has yet to be accomplished. This is especially true with regard to wrist-based heart rate monitoring, the accuracy of which has been a difficult hurdle to clear. If the new Adidas miCoach SMART RUN can provide an outstanding user experience, combining all of these features with the ability to monitor results and progress online, they just may have a winner.
The timing of Adidas’ release of the miCoach SMART RUN is no coincidence either. Nike has just announced the upcoming release of their Nike Fuelband SE, an upgraded version of their wrist-based activity tracker. However, the new Fuelband 2 simply offers improved sensors and a refined feature set, it lacks the integrated heart rate monitoring found in the miCoach SMART RUN. We are anxious to get some time with the miCoach SMART RUN and see if it is truly the activity tracker we have been waiting for, or simply another gimmicky accessory hastily produced to further bolster the shoe and clothing line. We hope it is the former, as more competition in the marketplace always leads to better products that cost less. Stayed tuned for our upcoming review to see if the miCoach SMART RUN makes it into our Top 5 List of Favorite Activity Trackers.
Source
Adidas miCoach SMART RUN: [Company Website]
