Lesser known in the fitness world, outdoor brand Magellan is going head to head with Garmin with the release of a new range of “smart multisport devices” which were talked up last week in Sydney. Whilst Garmin are already well established in the fitness GPS market, there is room for improvement and added variety and choice will be a welcome change for consumers.

Magellan are entering the fitness market with what will be known as the Magellan Switch and Magellan Switch Up. Both new GPS devices will feature heart rate, calories burnt and lap times along whilst benefiting from GPS route mapping, measurements of distance and pace and a barometric altimeter on the Switch Up model for measuring elevation and descent of your activity.

Magellan will feature 10 preset profiles for different sports including running, swimming and cycling as well as programmable profiles. The Switch and Switch Up will be waterproof up to a depth of 50m and is ANT+ compatible for use with heart rate monitors or cadence sensors on a bike. The Magellan Activity Pacer will help you monitor your distance and pace and lets you adjust to suit a desired level of progress.

The Magellan Switch is rectangular in shape and can be clipped to the supplied wrist strap so you can wear it like a watch and the Switch Up comes with a multisport-mount so you can clip and mount it on your bike quickly and easily. What’s more, once you have finished your exercise, you can analyse and share your results progress online with Magellan‘s own online analysis portal.

We think the Magellan Switch will be priced at around £199 or £219 with the heart rate monitor and the Magellan Switch Up priced at approximately £229 and £259 without and with heart rate monitor respectively.

Stay tuned for more on the release of the Magellan Switch and Switch Up!

On Sunday 8th July, Phil Powell of Sat Nav Warehouse will be taking part in the Manchester-Blackpool bikeride. A grueling 65 mile cycle in the wind and the rain in conditions better suited to a pedalo than a bike. Whilst he will be taking along three GPS devices to test along the way, the ride is being done to promote awareness of Organ Donation and it’s important role in saving lives. Having recently seen an Uncle’s life saved by an organ donor who gave his organs to save lives of up to nine people, the importance of registering was brought home.

So, we’re not asking for your cash sponsorship! All we ask is that you simply follow these steps to register as an organ donor and post to your Facebook timeline so others know you’ve registered.

1) Visit https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/how_to_become_a_donor/registration/registration_form.asp
2) Go to your Facebook profile page (click on your name at the top right of the screen) and select “Life Event” at the top of your timeline
3) Via “Health and Wellbeing”, select “Organ Donor”
4) Press “save”

Tell us you’ve done it so we can say thanks! Tweet us or tell us on facebook: www.facebook.com/SatnavWarehouse

Then spread the word. The more people that do this, the more lives we can potentially save. For more information on organ donation, please visit: http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/Default.asp

Polar RCX5 Tour de France is our fitness GPS of choice and this video demo runs you through some of the key features as well as what;s included in the box and how it shapes up against a former favourite, the Garmin Forerunner 305. You can get the full spec on the Polar RCX5 Tour de France here.

This video demonstrates how simple it really is to link your new Polar RCX5 Tour de France with the G5 GPS Sensor;

This video demonstration shows exactly what comes in the box when you order a Polar RCX5 Tour de France watch from Sat Nav Warehouse;

So, having been out of stock for a couple of weeks, my Polar RCX3 Tour de France training computer has arrived. Unfortunately, this means that I have no more excuses to avoid training for the upcoming Manchester – Blackpool bike ride on July 8th!

So, there will be a series of videos coming shortly to detail how the Polar RCX5 works, how you set it up and what you can gain from the added training software. For now, these are my first impressions of using the device.

Out of the box: The Polar RCX5 Tour de France comes in some nice simple packaging and inside you will find the RCX5 watch on top. Below that, you will see the WearLink+ Hybrid heart rate sensor, W.I.N.D Cadence Sensor, G5 GPS sensor, Belt Clip for G5 GPS sensor, Universal Bike Mount and DataLink USB stick for wireless data transfer.

First Impressions: What a great looking unit. Compared to the Garmin Forerunner 305 i’m used to using, this is featherlight and about a fifth of the thickness and displays more information. The Forerunner has integrated GPS which accounts for the bulky size and i thought a watch without integrated GPS would be a pain. Not so, the G5 GPS sensor is slim, light and comes with a clip so you can securely clip onto your shorts or the WearLink Hybrid heart rate monitor. A separate GPS receiver is definitely NOT a disadvantage.The bike mount is a handy accessory, especially if you don’t want to be looking at your wrist each time you want an update on your progress.

Setup: Being a typical male, instruction manuals are not for me. It’s worth noting that you do get hard copies of three detailed manuals for the watch, GPS sensor and Cadence Sensor – not always the case these days. Upon switching the RCX5 on, the setup was as simple as any. You are guided through entering your watch preferences, then details on your gender, age , weight etc. I’ll post a video shortly on how to pair your GPS sensor but again, this is very simple and quick. One thing the manual doesn’t detail (unless i skimmed over it which is possible) is that you will need to download some free software from polarpersonaltrainer.com in order to get your DataLink talking to the RCX5 but that only takes a couple of minutes.

Software: WOW!! That’s all i can say. The polarpersonaltrainer.com website blows anything Garmin has to offer out of the water. I took the liberty of setting up a training program with Blackpool in mind and straight away, I’m presented with a diary view with different sessions laid out for me. Today is day 1 of the training program so i’ll be able to tell you more once i’ve synchronised everything up tomorrow. In the meantime, i could see from last nights game of squash that i burned over 400 calories, 24% of which was fat.

Overall impression: This watch is the business. It is lightweight yet well made, comes with a generous bundle of accessories. You can genuinely use it out of the box and the user interface is far FAR superior to Garmin and has one less button! I would have liked the option to switch between miles and kilometers but then Garmin doesn’t offer that either. One feature i loved was bringing the watch close to the heart rate monitor switches to a screen of your choice – in this case it was the time of day so we could see what time we had to be off the squash court. My favourite fitness watch yet!

For more information or to buy one of these limited edition watches, click here. Alternatively you can still buy the regular RCX5 in red or black here.

When you buy a heart rate monitor compare the features available and why you want them.

Author: Barb Gonzalez
Lifegoesstrong.com
May 30th 2012

When you go to buy a heart rate monitor, you’ll find a number of features and accessories that sets one apart from another. Advanced heart rate monitors make it easier to find your individual maximum heart rate and zones, create a training program, track progress of speed and distance, and monitor how hard you should work out on a given day.

Heart rate monitors range in price from under £30 for a basic monitor that displays your current heart rate to systems that top £500 and include accessories for a particular sport.

If you are new to using a heart rate monitor, be sure to read “Heart Rate Monitor Basics.” You’ll learn about the types of heart rate monitors. There is also an introduction to heart rate zones based on your maximum heart rate.

Here are some heart rate monitors features and why you might want them:

Maximum heart rate – This feature helps to determine your individual maximum heart rate. Determining the maximum beats per minute(bpm) for your body is crucial to setting up the zones that will help you lose weight or increase your level of fitness.

Most heart rate monitors can be setup with a simple age-based maximum heart rate calculation. This is not reliable and could be so inaccurate that you won’t get the results you want. Look for a model that can do a fitness test and create zones based on that number. Many Polar models can run a fitness test that will find your resting heart beat and create zones based on the results.

Zone Notifications – Available on all but the least expensive models, these monitors beep or speak to you when you fall outside your planned heart rate zone. The results of heart rate training is dependent on your working out in the right zone for your goals. Rather than constantly looking at your heart rate monitor display, the verbal cues alert you to see if you need to speed up or slow down.

Zone Optimizer – This feature on the top-end Polar watches is like having a trainer that understands your body. Once your “VO2″ max (based on your maximum heart rate) has been determined by a fitness test, you can run the Zone Optimizer at the beginning of a workout. It is not only checking your heart rate but your heart rate variability to determine if you are stressed, tired, or gung ho for the day. It will adjust your zones accordingly. If your body needs to recover from several days of hard workouts, it is important not to overtrain. Overtraining can lead to injury.

Syncing with computer/online website – Many heart rate monitor models come with a USB receiver that can be connected to your computer to wirelessly sync data from your heart rate monitor watch. You set up an account (typically free) on their website. The synced information is uploaded and can be viewed to see your progress. Over time, you can track your results — effective weight loss, longer distance, faster speed—and adjust your training to reach your goals.

GPS – Some heart rate monitors will receive the data from a GPS accessory, others combine your heart rate with the GPS in an iPhone. Some Garmin watches includes the GPS in the watch unit. If you are a serious athlete that doesn’t want to carry your smartphone with you, a heart rate monitor that includes GPS could be important to you.
GPS will track your route on a map. More importantly, GPS is used to tell you your speed, pace and distance.
Final Thoughts

Be sure to learn about what types of heart rate monitors are available. One of the biggest decisions may be whether to buy a heart rate monitor watch-receiver or use a smartphone app. If you are new to using a heart rate monitor, try out an inexpensive model that has heart rate zone notifications. To start a training program, choose a model that you can “grow into;” that is, choose a model that has advanced training settings, can track your progress, and can be customized. Heart rate monitors may come in a kit for runners or for bikers. Learn more about hear rate monitor sport accessories.

What heart rate monitor features would you like most?

With the launch of our new website, we have decided that in order to really put some of the new product range through it’s paces, we need to set up a challenge designed at testing them, and us, to the limit…

So, without further ado, Our MD Phil Powell and Sales Manager Benn Dickinson have entered the Manchester to Blackpool Bike Ride. 65 miles of pain which is scheduled to take place on Sunday 8th July. We will be picking our GPS training kit this week and then blogging details of our progress between now and then so we can show you which product is the best piece of kit for the job! Do we go for a GPS watch or a cycling computer for training?!

If you want to take part in the Manchester – Blackpool bike ride, more details can be found HERE.

After literally months of discussion, design and hard work… we’re now live with a completely new look website.
On the NEW Sat Nav Warehouse site, you will see that we’ve opened up new categories including Cycling GPS, Running GPS and Marine with their own dedicated sections. We have expanded our popular ranges of Caravan Sat Nav and Truck Sat Nav and added many new lines to the range of In-Car Sat Nav on offer.

We’d welcome your feedback as to how you think the site is looking and if there are any products that you would like to see featured on sat Nav Warehouse.

Happy browsing, don’t get lost!