Yesterday I posted about a new GPS watch coming our way from Garmin that looks to be a great new gadget for travelers, athletes and adventurers alike. Not to be out done, Magellan also has a new offering for us in the form of the Switch Series of watches that are designed to enhance and track workouts in a variety of activities.As you would expect with any GPS enabled watch, the Switch has the ability to track distance, speed, direction and more. It has a built in barometer, altimeter and thermometer and is water resistant down to 50 meters (164 ft), has the ability to track a host of fitness data, such as calories burned, average pace and a variety of other variable that can help improve performance. The activity pacer helps to keep you on track to reaching your goals and the GPS allows for marking waypoints, saving locations and offers basic navigation abilities.
That's just the beginning of the list of functionality that Magellan has packed into this watch however. It also includes 9 basic profiles for use in a variety of activities including running, cycling, swimming and so on. The display can be configured to provide the custom data that you want to see and athletes can also customize their personal alerts to stay on pace as well. And when they've finished with their workout, they can upload all of their data to the new Magellan Active website where they can track long term progress, share workouts and analyze the data.
Out of the box, the Switch has an 8 hour battery life, which means if you work out most every day you'll be recharging it regularly. An optional battery extender adds an additional 16 hours, which might prove very useful for some.
All in all, the new Switch watches seem like great options for outdoor athletes who take their workouts seriously. There are two models of the watch, the Switch and the Switch Up, with the former being aimed primarily at runners while the latter is designed for multi-sport athletes. Both versions can be purchased with or without a wireless heart rate monitor and the Switch Up also includes a bike mount as well. Prices range from $229.99 to $349.99 depending on which package you go with. Find out more here.
The focus of the Switch seems very different from the Garmin fenix that we saw yesterday. The fenix seems more versatile for outdoor use while the Switch seems like it is tightly focused on athletes. Both are very appealing and I can see benefits from owning either. Hopefully I'll get a peek at the Switch at Outdoor Retailer in a few weeks as well. Interesting stuff.
