Soleus GPS Digital Sports Watch

GPS (global positioning system) watches, admit it or not, have always been a great help for runners, hikers, mountain climbers, and cyclists in tracking their location or the distance they have covered from point A to point B. Some of my running friends also benefitted from the GPS feature of their GPS watch when they have first braved the climbing/hiking to Pico De Loro. They got lost along the way but later found where they're heading with the help of the image-plotting feature of the said GPS watch.

On my solo trainings, one of my problems with doing an LSD (long steady distance) is my unfamiliarity with the metro roads, and the distance that I would cover should I try to run towards a specific location. Even going round and round to an oval track until I completed my goal distance mostly confuses me with remembering the total distance I have already covered after how many laps.

Sure there are a lot of GPS watches already available in the online market and retail stores, but what holds me with buying one are the price consideration, and the bulk size of the watch that comes with a typical GPS sports watch.

Thankfully though, Soleus - a new watch Company came to our shores to introduce to us the unique pride of their GPS sports watches. I already have one and the thing that I like about it is that its size is just enough for my small wrist. Another thing that I could boast of about this sports watch is its great value being the best priced GPS watch in the market, currently retailed at Php 6,150.00 only. You might say, the features are as cheap as its price and you'll get what you pay for! My answer: It might seem too good to be true, but it's real! It has been instilled to us that that's what only our money's worth but Soleus really KNOWS THE VALUE OF OUR MONEY as Soleus sports watches are created from the runner's point-of-view.

Soleus GPS 1.0

I have already tested its GPS feature during my 15.5km break-in run last November 30 which recorded an accurate distance of my route as also plotted via Runkeeper. During the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore last December 4, 2011, it recorded the full Marathon route at total distance of 43.51 kilometers in 5 hours and 21:55 minutes. Analyzing the race further, I was at the last wave of runners so the GPS did measure including all the criss-crossings that I made along the route from overtaking the runners until around kilometer 14. I also made some turn backs to take photos of the cheerers, jugglers, and the sights along the route.

To cap it off, here're some of its features that I am impressed about, aside from the features laid on the image below:

Time Zone
Aside from the two (2) time displays to choose from, there are also over 100 cities from which you can set your time zone. The time even automatically updates in GPS mode when it detects that you are on that time zone.

Auto-lap
Tired of manually keeping track of your distance on a race while looking for kilometer markers just so you could press the 'lap' button on your sports watch? The Soleus GPS 1.0 have an auto-lap feature which does this for you either in intervals of every 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 kilometers/miles.

User Settings
The Soleus GPS 1.0 watch also tracks the calories you have burned, and to accurately keep track of this, it needs some of your personal information where the burned calorie algorithm computation gets its data from, which are the gender, age, weight, and height. Aside from this, you can also set the distance to measure either in kilometer (metric) or miles format.

Display
Important information are displayed not so big and not too small that helps with quick glancing to get your data while on the run.

Squiffs
As Soleus watches are created for runners, you will see a unique sayings (they call squiffs) at the back of each Soleus watch. For the GPS 1.0, the squiff reads "May the course be with you".

For other models:
Chicked: "Sanity is slow, run wild"
Tigress: "I eat miles for breakfast"
PR: "Run. Race. P.R. Repeat"
Ultra Sole: "Sedentary sucks"

The only downside (for now) of the Soleus GPS 1.0 is it's inability to download your data to your computer. But, when the Soleus GPS 2.0 becomes available, you may buy the separate USB cable/charger which can already download data even from the Soleus GPS 1.0 watch. It's only a cable difference and your watch is already upgraded!

Press Release:

Austin-based watch company, Soleus Running, announces the global launch of their new GPS 1.0 Digital Sports Watch. The Soleus GPS 1.0 with an SRP of Php 6,150 is formally launched this Holiday 2011 in select retailers. Soleus watches are premier quality timepieces for the professional and casual runner or for an active lifestyle consumer.

The Soleus GPS 1.0 has everything you need and nothing you don't. Simple and easy to use, the Soleus GPS 1.0 will allow runners to accurately track their pace, speed and distance. Auto lap splits at every mile and the night light mode helps for late night runs and training. Soleus GPS 1.0 uses global positioning satellites orbiting miles above the Earth to help consumers navigate their runs, walks, or hikes. Consumers can also use the Soleus GPS 1.0 to track the number of calories burned during their daily workouts. Last but not least, Soleus GPS 1.0 has a compact design which makes it one of the smallest GPS watches on the market today.

Soleus GPS 1.0 Features

More information about Soleus and their latest products may be found by visiting the following links:
Aktibong Pinoy
Soleus Philippines Facebook Page
Soleus Running