Polar V800 GPS sports watch unveiled – will be compatible with updated power pedals

Watch monitors 24-hour activity levels to optimise recovery

Published: January 7, 2014 at 11:00 am

Polar has announced details of its newest GPS-integrated computer, the V800, which claims to give a true picture of an athlete’s recovery by monitoring activity levels 24 hours a day.

Polar unveiled the V800 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday, and said it will be able to compute power data from an updated version of the Finnish company’s power monitoring pedals, which are expected in mid-2014.

The Finnish company says the watch monitors training load data from workouts and combines it with data gathered from activities in the daily routine activities to give users a “true picture of required recovery time” when the data is uploaded and analysed via the Polar Flow web portal.

The GPS watch looks particularly suited to cyclists who enjoy more than one sport – triathletes, for example – because it can monitor heart rate while swimming and has preset profiles for running and skiing too.

The flat, square, scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass faced watch is powered by a rechargeable battery that’s good for 14-hours of training time, 50 hours in low power GPS mode, or up to a month on standard daily activity monitoring, says Polar.

The watch will be available around the world from April for €399.90, or €449.90 with a heart rate strap. US, Australian and UK prices are still to be confirmed.