The TomTom Speark (Cardio + Music) is an activity and fitness tracker which could let you cut the number of gadgets you take on a workout. In addition to a full array of sensors including GPS and heart-rate monitoring, it boasts built-in music storage and playback via Bluetooth. Store recently spent a month with the tracker, to see what it's all about.
The latest fitness watches from TomTom are a departure from its previous models which have generally been sport specific. The flagship Spark Cardio + Music we tested brings a lot to the table including all day activity tracking, GPS, heart rate monitoring, multi-sport features … and music. There are also other variations of the watch which don't boast all features.
The watch comes in two parts, the face and brain unit of the TomTom Spark, and a watch strap which it clicks into. The strap, which features a secure fastening, comes in two lengths so you can get the right one for your wrist size, and a number of colors. This means you can switch them when you fancy a change, or when one gets grubby with sweat (something many fitness watches don't allow). Also included in the box is a proprietary USB charger which clips onto the face section of the watch.
Getting set up with the TomTom Spark is relatively simple, though it will require you to connect the watch to a computer to link to a TomTom MySports account, and set one up if you don't already have one. Once that's done the watch quickly and easily pairs with your smartphone, which for the most part will be where you review training data.
In terms of what the TomTom Spark is capable of measuring, it's a lot. On the general activity front there's the ability to log steps, active minutes, calories burned and distance moved. If you keep it on overnight, you can also log how much sleep you are getting. Goals can be set for reaching targets based on a number of these metrics, again something lacking in many trackers, which means if measuring active minutes makes more sense for you than steps, it's just a couple of button presses away.
Multisport modes also mean the TomTom Spark can be used whether your training involves running, cycling, swimming (yes it's also waterproof) working out in the gym, or using a treadmill or exercise bike. For each of these options the watch will also turn on GPS tracking or built-in heart-rate monitoring depending on what makes sense. Depending on what features you're using, battery life ranges from a solid three weeks (just activity tracking) down to just 5 hours (GPS, heart-rate and music playback).
The display on the Spark makes it easy to see whether you're checking the time, or looking at your stats mid-run. It's big enough that you won't be squinting or holding it inches from your face, which is a good thing if moving at pace. Despite knowing it wasn't a touchscreen, we spent the first couple of days swiping at the screen before getting used to the physical control buttons under it. Also, while we thought we'd wish the screen was color, the monochrome display was absolutely sufficient, and easy to see in any lighting conditions. If it's dark, quickly covering the screen activates a handy backlight.
For the duration of our test, we used the Spark as an all day activity tracker, and took it along for a number of runs, bike rides, swims, and sessions of gym work. During this we tested its GPS, heart-rate tracking, and its music playback feature whereby users can upload 3 GB of music (around 500 songs) which can then be listened to via Bluetooth headphones.
While we'll get to the more typical activity tracker features shortly, it was this music ability which we were most looking forward to playing with when we heard the Spark was on its way to us. I personally dislike carrying a phone on a run (the ping of notifications is hard to ignore) but it's often the easiest way of giving a workout a soundtrack. As such, it was liberating to leave the phone at home, and we had no problems with the Bluetooth playback and control.
In addition to music playback, the TomTom Spark can also deliver audio performance feedback during training modes via the Bluetooth headphones. This includes things like telling you to pick up pace or slow down to get your heart-rate in the right training zone, or how close you are to reaching your goal. Again, while not up to the standard or usefulness of the Moov Now, it's a great feature to have.
When taking the Spark for a run we were able to keep an eye on metrics including steps, speed, distance and heart-rate, which were easy to see on the big screen. Indeed, we were able to scroll through a selection of metrics which would be more than enough to keep our data-needs satisfied on a run. And once you've finished working out and have synced with a smartphone, you can also see more detailed feedback such as stride rate and a map of the GPS data. On that last one, the Spark is relatively quick to lock onto GPS compared to other GPS watches. In our experience it took about 20-40 seconds to get there after using QuickGPSfix.
When taking part in other sporting activities the information provided by the Spark is just as comprehensive. For example Cycling can track speed and pace along with distance and GPS location as well as heart-rate, while Swimming can measure metrics including pace, stroke rate and number of laps (there's no heart-rate monitoring in the water). There are also modes for Treadmill, Indoor Cycling, as well as Gym which can be used for a number of activities where you might want to log heart-rate and active time; we used this when doing yoga and workouts with weights. Freestyle can be used for general activities where you want GPS data, and there's also a more basic Stopwatch mode.
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