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{{DISPLAYTITLE:TomTom Cardio Runner Review}}
[[File:TomTomCardioRunner.jpg|none|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, rather than requiring a separate chest strap. Other than that, the TomTom is a fairly mediocre device, and you're paying a premium over 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.
=TomTom Cardio Runner Pros=
* The 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.
|[[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.
{{BuyAmazon|AZID=B00JD4TFD2|AZN=TomTom Cardio Runner}}
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
