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{{DISPLAYTITLE:TomTom Cardio Runner Review}}
[[File:TomTomCardioRunner.jpg|noneright|thumb|200px|The TomTom cardio runner, showing the green LEDs that provide optical heart rate monitoring.]]The key feature of the {{TomTom Cardio Runner}} is its optical measurement of heart rate[[Optical Heart Rate Monitoring]], rather than requiring a separate chest strap. Other than that, the TomTom is a does not inspire, though with the latest firmware it's fairly mediocre device, respectable and youeasy to use. You're paying a premium over [[Best Running Watch| some of the better options listed herewatches]], especially as the optical HRM does not work well. I think that the TomTom is only worth considering if you really want the built in optical heart rate monitoring, otherwise look elsewhere. For a simple evaluation of a GPS watch, I look at how well it can answer some basic questions:* '''How far did I run?''' This is the most basic question, and the TomTom now has reasonable [[GPS Accuracy]] (see below for details.) * '''How fast am I running?''' Knowing how fast you're running can be a nice to know, or it can be vital for your training or race performance. Because of the nature of GPS, watches that rely on GPS signal alone tend to have serious problems with current pace. Without the ability to display current [[Pace From A Footpod]] while getting all other data from GPS, the TomTom can't answer this question. * '''Where am I? '''The TomTom has no navigation features. (This does seem ironic from a company that specializes in GPS navigation devices.) * '''What's my cadence? '''[[Cadence]]''' '''is one of the most critical and often overlooked aspects of running. If you get your Cadence right, many other things naturally fall into place. The TomTom has no support for Cadence.The TomTom is not a good choice for ultrarunners, as its battery life is too short. See [[Best Running Watch#Watches for Ultrarunning| Watches for Ultrarunning]] for more details. ===TomTom Cardio Runner Pros===* The optical heart rate monitoring [[Optical Heart Rate Monitoring]] works reasonably wellmost of the time, but there are enough problems to limit its viability. This Optical heart rate monitoring is a technique that has been around for decades, but it's only recently that the technology has been viable for use during exercise. The TomTom uses two green LEDs and a detector to determine Heart Rate based on the blood filling of the capillaries under the skin.
** When the watch has a good lock on your heart rate it's fairly accurate, and normally within a few beats/minute of a chest strap based monitor. Most of this variation seems to be due to the smoothing that's applied to the reading rather than overall accuracy.
** I had a number of problems with the TomTom not locking onto my heart rate for minutes at a time. It would either show a ridiculously high or low value, so it was pretty obvious. Occasionally it would not find my heart rate at all and just show three dashes. See images below for details.
* The TomTom can pair with a smart phone, allowing for posting of workouts or updating the satellite pre-cache via the phone.
* I rather like the TomTom's four buttons arranged as a square for input, which works rather like a joystick for navigating menus. The right side of the screen is touch sensitive for turning on the backlight or recording a lap, but it's triggered by sweat.
* The core functionality of the TomTom seems rather crude when compared with other devices in this price range.
* You can chose two metrics to display at the top of the screen, but these are shown in a tiny font that is hard to read in poor light.
* The main display will scroll through a number of metrics, but there is little configuration of what to display. (The histogram of heart rate display is rather cool.)
* The [[GPS Accuracy]] is mediocre. It could be a lot worse, as Garmin has shownbetter with the later firmware, but it could also be a lot betterlooks like there is still room for improvement.
* I've found no way of displaying cadence on the TomTom, which I think is a major shortfall. (There is support for a bike cadence sensor in the multisport version of this watch, but that doesn't help runners.)
{| class="wikitable"
|[[File:TomTomLED.JPG|none|thumb|x300px|The LEDs that detect heart rate optically. The lines you can see on the picture are not visible to the eye.]]
|}
These graphs show the TomTom Cardio Runner against the record of a traditional chest strap. The top of the graph shows the two recordings superimposed, with the TomTom in red and the chest strap in blue. The lower line on the chart is the difference between the two readings.
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:TomTomHRM HIIT.jpg|none|thumb|x300px|This is an example where the TomTom is fitted tightly and gives a good reading of a [[High Intensity Interval Training]] session. The TomTom is in red and you can see that it's reading lags a little behind the chest strap. This is an extreme test, but you can see the TomTom can be out by 10 BPM, but only for a short time.]]
|}
=What's Missing=
While I don't consider these missing features as 'cons', it's worth understanding the features that are missing compared with other watches.
* '''Altimeter. '''GPS is far less accurate vertically than horizontally, so a barometric altimeter can provide a much better idea of your ascent and descent. It can also be useful for navigation if you're ascending or descending a mountain. In some races I've been far more interested in how much ascent is left rather than the distance to the top.
* '''Navigation.''' The navigation capabilities are useful if there is a risk of getting lost. I've made good use of this feature when running in an unfamiliar city, or when running remote trails.
* '''Downloadable Apps'''. Smart watches have got is used to the idea of a device that can be extended with new functionality, and this concept is being introduced to running watches.
* '''Extended battery life'''. Some porches can extend the battery life by turning the GPS reception off for short periods. This can dramatically reduce GPS accuracy, but it's a useful trade-off for some ultramarathons.
* '''[[Firstbeat| Training Effect]].''' The Firstbeat Training Effect gives you a sense of how hard each workout is, and this sometimes includes the time for recovery.
* '''Graphs'''. Instead of simply displaying a numeric value for things like heart rate, some watches will display a graph of the value over time, giving you a sense of how things are progressing.
* '''Running Dynamics'''. Some of the newer Garmin watches can show and record Vertical Oscillation (VO) and Ground Contact Time (GCT).
* '''Alerts'''. Some watches will alert you when a metric is out of range. The alert for [[Cadence]] is really useful and one of my favorite features.
* '''Web Configuration'''. Some watches allow you to setup the configuration via a web site, and then download your changes. This is vastly easier than fiddling with the watch.
=GPS Accuracy=
With the 1.8.42 or later firmware, the TomTom Runner has reasonable [[GPS Accuracy]], but I'd expect it to do better given its use of the SIRF GPS chipset and from the tracks is creates.
* The TomTom has remarkably good repeatability, which is a measure of how likely it is to give the same indicated distance on a particular part of the course. This can create an illusion of greater accuracy than is actually there, and it also suggests that the TomTom is smoothing out curves too much.
* On the out-and-back turnaround the TomTom does a little worse than I'd expect for its overall rating, again suggesting too much smoothing.
* Running in a straight line on the other hand, is a fairly easy task for most GPS watches, and the TomTom really excels, giving the most accurate reading of any device.
* The TomTom does about how you'd expect going under the bridge.
* I not had any issues with the TomTom acquiring or maintaining the GPS signal, unlike some other devices.
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:BridgeTomTom Cardio Runner (1.8.42).jpg|none|thumb|x300px| You can see the TomTom does remarkably well under the bridge and has no issues reacquiring the GPS signal. It does quite badly on the whole around the twisty section, cutting the corners too much due to smoothing. Interestingly, it does a better with the sharp turn seen on the right side of the diagram. Notice that the tracks are generally close together, and the lap markers in blue are very closely clustered, indicating good positional accuracy. (This diagram has tracks color coded with green indicating good accuracy through to read indicating poor accuracy, and the lap markers as blue dots.)]]
|[[File:BridgeTomTom Cardio Runner (1.8.5).jpg|none|thumb|x300px| The earlier version of the firmware does much worse going under the bridge and around the sharp corner, but does a little better on the twisty section. This suggests to me that while they've improved the overall accuracy, they may have added in a little too much smoothing.(This diagram has tracks color coded with green indicating good accuracy through to read indicating poor accuracy, and the lap markers as blue dots.)]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:AccuracyTomTom Cardio Runner (1.8.42).jpg|none|thumb|x300px| This close up section of a zigzag shows the tom-tom tracking nicely, with no red lines that would indicate worse accuracy.(This diagram has tracks color coded with green indicating good accuracy through to read indicating poor accuracy, and the lap markers as blue dots.)]]
|[[File:AccuracyTomTom Cardio Runner (1.8.5).jpg|none|thumb|x300px| The earlier firmware has tracks that are not significantly different from the newer firmware in shape, but you see rather more red lines and while the lap markers are tightly clustered, you see two groups, one from each direction.(This diagram has tracks color coded with green indicating good accuracy through to read indicating poor accuracy, and the lap markers as blue dots.)]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:ZigZagTomTom Cardio Runner (1.8.42).jpg|none|thumb|x300px| Here you can see the TomTom displaying the typical GPS behavior with the tracks that have the green lines shifted slightly down and to the left, blue up and to the right. You can see the lap markers similarly shifted. (This image has the tracks color-coded for direction, with green coming from the right, blue from the left.)]]
|[[File:ZigZagTomTom Cardio Runner (1.8.5).jpg|none|thumb|x300px| The earlier version of the firmware exhibits similar behavior, though the lap markers are a little more tightly clustered, but the two clusters are further apart. (This image has the tracks color-coded for direction, with green coming from the right, blue from the left.)]]
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{{BuyAmazon|AZID=B00JD4TFD2|AZN=TomTom Cardio Runner}}
=Visual Comparison=
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:TomTom Cardio Runner-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|TomTom Cardio Runner top]]
|[[File:TomTom Cardio Runner-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|TomTom Cardio Runner side]]
|[[File:Polar M400-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar M400 top]]
|[[File:Polar M400-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar M400 side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Polar V800-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar V800 top]]
|[[File:Polar V800-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar V800 side]]
|[[File:Suunto Ambit3-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit3 top]]
|[[File:Suunto Ambit3-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit3 side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Suunto Ambit2-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit2 top]]
|[[File:Suunto Ambit2-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit2 side]]
|[[File:Garmin Epix-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin Epix top]]
|[[File:Garmin Epix-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin Epix side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Garmin 920XT-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 920XT top]]
|[[File:Garmin 920XT-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 920XT side]]
|[[File:Garmin 620-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 620 top]]
|[[File:Garmin 620-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 620 side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Leikr 1-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Leikr 1 top]]
|[[File:Leikr 1-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Leikr 1 side]]
|}
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
