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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Motorola Motoactv Review}} The discontinued {{Motoactv}} was a revolutionary running watch, using a color touch screen, GPS and including an MP3 player. It was..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Motorola Motoactv Review}}
The discontinued {{Motoactv}} was a revolutionary running watch, using a color touch screen, GPS and including an MP3 player. It was more like a smartphone than a traditional GPS watch; the Motoactv was brilliant, but it was also flawed. When it was originally introduced at $250, these flaws were too severe for it to compete with the Garmin alternatives. The price of the Motoactv tends to vary, but it is often available for under $150, and at that price the Motoactv is great value for money. If you can live with each of these four flaws, then the Motoactv is a great buy. (See the cons section for more details on each.)
* '''Poor water resistance. '''Don't buy the Motoactv is you want to swim or if you're likely to forget to check the covers before your run.
* '''Limited battery life. '''If you run for less than 3 hours, you're fine with the Motoactv. If you run for between 3 and 6 hours then think carefully. If you run for more than 6 hours, look elsewhere.
* '''No usable 'current pace' display.''' Don't try to use the Motoactv to keep you on pace. (This is true of all GPS watches unless you can display the pace from a Footpod.)
* '''Difficulty uploading workouts to a training log'''. If you want to keep an automated training log (and you should), the Motoactv will be hard work.
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Motoactv.jpeg|none|thumb|200px|The {{Motoactv}} with the watch strap (it's available as with a clip instead).]]
|[[File:MotoactvCovers.JPG|none|thumb|200px|The covers for the USB port and the headphones have to be in place for waterproofing. The headphone socket cover is tiny and easy to lose.]]
|[[File:MotoactvGarminDisplay.JPG|none|thumb|200px|The display of the Motoactv is wonderful at night. This comparison with the 310XT gives some idea of the difference, but this is with the 310XT illuminated, which only lasts a few seconds.]]
|}
===Motoactv Pros===
* With the recent price reduction the Motoactv is less than $150, which is far cheaper than any comparable product.
* The Motoactv is easy to use, and my family prefers using the Motoactv over Garmin products.
* The color display is nice, and the simple monochrome display of other devices seems stale and dated by comparison.
* The combination of a touch screen and physical buttons works quite well. The screen works when wet, though I found some occasional problems when there was just a drop of sweat rather than a soaking. I also found that heavy rain drops may act as screen presses, which is annoying.
* I love having a continually lit display for [[Running in the Dark]]. You can press a button on a Garmin to illuminate the display, but the Motoactv is much better.
* The inclusion of an MP3 player is nice, and it claims to learn what songs make your run harder. Personally I prefer using a separate MP3 player, but having the one device that does both has some appeal.
* The Motoactv will display a true map of the area, showing the street layout, which is a huge improvement over the breadcrumb display of the Garmin watches. If you could upload a route then this would be great for running in a new city.
* The dimensions of the Motoactv are more pleasing than the Garmin 310XT/910XT. It still has a large display, but it is much thinner.
===Motoactv Cons===
* The {{Motoactv}} is discontinued, but still available.
* The Motoactv is 'water resistant' not waterproof. There are many reports of water damage and Motorola refusing to repair them. However, there are also many reports of using the Motoactv in torrential rain, which I've done myself. I suspect the issue is that the Motoactv has small covers for the headphone jack and the USB port, and if they are not in place, water can get in and destroy the watch.
* The battery life of the Motoactv is quite poor compared with other devices. If you use Bluetooth headphones and use the default setting the battery is dead in 3 hours. With no Bluetooth and the 'extended battery' setting it should last for 6 hours. This is probably plenty for most runners, but you have to remember to keep it plugged in, as the battery seems to drain faster than I would expect.
* Like any GPS watch, the display of your current pace varies too much to be of any use. This is an intrinsic problem with GPS, and I found the Motoactv was out by up to a minute/mile. This is why I recommend the Garmin 310XT/910XT/610 as they can display your current pace from the [[Footpod]] while still using the GPS for everything else. You can use the 'lap average pace' to get a reasonable idea of your pace, but if you need to hit a specific pace for a training run or a race, you're better off with one of the Garmin 310XT/910XT/610 and a [[Footpod]].
* The Motoactv will upload your workout to Motoactv.com via a wireless network, so you don't even need a PC, which is a great idea. The problem is that it's hard to upload your workouts to any other training log. You can download each workout as a CSV file and upload it to another tool, but that sometimes requires going via a conversion program. Support for GPX export has been added.
* The Motoactv will support a [[Footpod]], including the {{Garmin Footpod}}, and it can use the FootPod to show your pace/distance. This only works if you select to run outdoors, which turns the GPS off. The bigger problem is that there is no way of calibrating the Foodpod, so there is usually an error (for me it was out by 7%). The Motoactv does have an internal sensor that can be calibrated, but this does not work for the FoodPod. The Motoactv will use the FootPod to display your [[Cadence]], but I found the Cadence display to vary widely; my Garmin would show a steady cadence value when the Motoactv was swinging widely.
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
The discontinued {{Motoactv}} was a revolutionary running watch, using a color touch screen, GPS and including an MP3 player. It was more like a smartphone than a traditional GPS watch; the Motoactv was brilliant, but it was also flawed. When it was originally introduced at $250, these flaws were too severe for it to compete with the Garmin alternatives. The price of the Motoactv tends to vary, but it is often available for under $150, and at that price the Motoactv is great value for money. If you can live with each of these four flaws, then the Motoactv is a great buy. (See the cons section for more details on each.)
* '''Poor water resistance. '''Don't buy the Motoactv is you want to swim or if you're likely to forget to check the covers before your run.
* '''Limited battery life. '''If you run for less than 3 hours, you're fine with the Motoactv. If you run for between 3 and 6 hours then think carefully. If you run for more than 6 hours, look elsewhere.
* '''No usable 'current pace' display.''' Don't try to use the Motoactv to keep you on pace. (This is true of all GPS watches unless you can display the pace from a Footpod.)
* '''Difficulty uploading workouts to a training log'''. If you want to keep an automated training log (and you should), the Motoactv will be hard work.
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Motoactv.jpeg|none|thumb|200px|The {{Motoactv}} with the watch strap (it's available as with a clip instead).]]
|[[File:MotoactvCovers.JPG|none|thumb|200px|The covers for the USB port and the headphones have to be in place for waterproofing. The headphone socket cover is tiny and easy to lose.]]
|[[File:MotoactvGarminDisplay.JPG|none|thumb|200px|The display of the Motoactv is wonderful at night. This comparison with the 310XT gives some idea of the difference, but this is with the 310XT illuminated, which only lasts a few seconds.]]
|}
===Motoactv Pros===
* With the recent price reduction the Motoactv is less than $150, which is far cheaper than any comparable product.
* The Motoactv is easy to use, and my family prefers using the Motoactv over Garmin products.
* The color display is nice, and the simple monochrome display of other devices seems stale and dated by comparison.
* The combination of a touch screen and physical buttons works quite well. The screen works when wet, though I found some occasional problems when there was just a drop of sweat rather than a soaking. I also found that heavy rain drops may act as screen presses, which is annoying.
* I love having a continually lit display for [[Running in the Dark]]. You can press a button on a Garmin to illuminate the display, but the Motoactv is much better.
* The inclusion of an MP3 player is nice, and it claims to learn what songs make your run harder. Personally I prefer using a separate MP3 player, but having the one device that does both has some appeal.
* The Motoactv will display a true map of the area, showing the street layout, which is a huge improvement over the breadcrumb display of the Garmin watches. If you could upload a route then this would be great for running in a new city.
* The dimensions of the Motoactv are more pleasing than the Garmin 310XT/910XT. It still has a large display, but it is much thinner.
===Motoactv Cons===
* The {{Motoactv}} is discontinued, but still available.
* The Motoactv is 'water resistant' not waterproof. There are many reports of water damage and Motorola refusing to repair them. However, there are also many reports of using the Motoactv in torrential rain, which I've done myself. I suspect the issue is that the Motoactv has small covers for the headphone jack and the USB port, and if they are not in place, water can get in and destroy the watch.
* The battery life of the Motoactv is quite poor compared with other devices. If you use Bluetooth headphones and use the default setting the battery is dead in 3 hours. With no Bluetooth and the 'extended battery' setting it should last for 6 hours. This is probably plenty for most runners, but you have to remember to keep it plugged in, as the battery seems to drain faster than I would expect.
* Like any GPS watch, the display of your current pace varies too much to be of any use. This is an intrinsic problem with GPS, and I found the Motoactv was out by up to a minute/mile. This is why I recommend the Garmin 310XT/910XT/610 as they can display your current pace from the [[Footpod]] while still using the GPS for everything else. You can use the 'lap average pace' to get a reasonable idea of your pace, but if you need to hit a specific pace for a training run or a race, you're better off with one of the Garmin 310XT/910XT/610 and a [[Footpod]].
* The Motoactv will upload your workout to Motoactv.com via a wireless network, so you don't even need a PC, which is a great idea. The problem is that it's hard to upload your workouts to any other training log. You can download each workout as a CSV file and upload it to another tool, but that sometimes requires going via a conversion program. Support for GPX export has been added.
* The Motoactv will support a [[Footpod]], including the {{Garmin Footpod}}, and it can use the FootPod to show your pace/distance. This only works if you select to run outdoors, which turns the GPS off. The bigger problem is that there is no way of calibrating the Foodpod, so there is usually an error (for me it was out by 7%). The Motoactv does have an internal sensor that can be calibrated, but this does not work for the FoodPod. The Motoactv will use the FootPod to display your [[Cadence]], but I found the Cadence display to vary widely; my Garmin would show a steady cadence value when the Motoactv was swinging widely.
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
