Olathe, Kan. – Navigation supplier Garmin continues to
expand its fitness-product portfolio with
its first fitness app
for iPhones and Android
smartphones and with
an iPhone accessory that wirelessly connects the iPhone to Garmin fitness
accessories.
The
99-cent app lets joggers
track speed, pace, distance, time and calories burned. With the optional $49-suggested
ANT+ accessory for iPhones, an iPhone will display heart rate and cadence when used with the company’s
separately sold sensors.
The
app and ANT+ accessory are designed for use by consumers who are new to fitness
tracking or who travel and forget to bring their Garmin GPS-enabled sports
watch. Garmin’s sports watches, priced from a suggested $179 to $399, track
multiple fitness metrics, in some cases going beyond the app’s capabilities.
The
app is called Garmin
Fit, which tracks speed, pace,
distance, time and calories. The
data is automatically uploaded
to the Garmin
Connect website,
where consumers can view their route, the uploaded data, elevation along the
route, and data from Garmin’s cadence and heart-rate monitors. Data is displayed
in charts, illustrations and reports, and in street, photo, topographic and
elevation maps. Garmin Fit also displays the previous 30 days of Garmin Connect
history directly on an iPhone.
The
app lets users control their music from within the app and view and answer
incoming calls and text messages without interrupting the app.
With Garmin’s ANT+ adapter for iPhone, users will be able to monitor and
record heart rate and cadence directly on an
iPhone when
used with such
optional accessories as a $69-suggested heart-rate monitor and a separate speed/cadence
sensor.
Select GPS watches also use ANT+ to upload such data to the Garmin Connect website
via a PC equipped with an ANT+ USB stick. The company also offers such sensors
as a speed/cadence sensor for bikes.
