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At a time when new smartwatches are quickly gaining ground with advanced wearable operating systems, new processors, improved battery life and thousands of standalone apps, witnessing the launch of a simplistic smartwatch which can perform fitness tracking with aplomb without carrying all the bells and whistles is a refreshing experience. A lot of us may wish to view e-mails, send texts, run apps and multi-task on their smartwatches, but the true fitness buffs will surely enjoy a smartwatch which does nothing else but fitness tracking with precision. One such smartwatch, named the M200, was launched by Polar recently, bringing in a low-priced alternative to rather expensive smartwatches that are gaining prominence as we speak.
The Polar M200, for a change, doesn’t run any wearable operating system but features necessary technologies required for fitness tracking and compiling workout data. An in-built GPS in the M200 will let you track distances you covered during your runs and and an in-built heart rate monitor will measure your heart rate during your activities. The smartwatch can also perform functions like counting steps, measuring calories burnt and monitoring the user’s sleep patterns. Thanks to these in-built technologies, the smartwatch can operate independently from smartphones but if you need to review your activity charts, you can download Polar’s ‘Flow’ mobile app where you can not only view your data, but can also join sessions with others and receive suggestions on how to improve your fitness regimen to get better results.
Polar’s M200 can last for as long as six hours on a single charge, thereby giving you enough time to complete a marathon or a series of exercises over a period of time. On the looks front, the M200 features changeable watch straps in Bright Red and Charcoal Black but you can also choose from additional colours like White, Fresh Blue and Mellow Yellow. While the watch presently costs $149, each new watch strap will cost you an additional $19.90. Given that the M200 is a basic smartwatch, if you need a more competent one, you can go for the M600 which runs Android Wear and costs $329.90. Additional features in the M600 include a 6-LED optical heart rate, a GPS receiver, water-resistance and up to 10 hours of battery life. Polar also launched a M400 smartwatch last year which cost $199.95 but wasn’t as advanced as the M600. You can basically choose between the M600, M400 and M200 based on your requirements as they feature different sets of features and capabilities.
