MOTOACTV - Gear - Runner's World

Not davidh

08/12/2011 at 15:12

I'm in the running for a GPS watch for my Christmas present and was dead set on a Garmin 110 or 210 depending on how generous my missus is, but have just seen the advert for a MOTOACTV and wondered if anyone had used it?

Chimpster

08/12/2011 at 15:58

Nope I haven't but DC Rainmaker has

Here's his review;

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/11/motorola-motoactv-in-depth-review.html

A couple of things to note though

1) I think it cost about twice as much as a Garmin 110

2) They aren't sold as watches, as such. If you want to use it as a watch you will have to buy the optional watch strap accessory

It looks nice though!

Not davidh

08/12/2011 at 17:11

Thanks for the link - I just spent an hour on his site reading reviews! It looks great, but I think it's a bit pricey for me and the battery life and water-resistance looks a bit shit!

Tim Grose

12/12/2011 at 15:43

My one from Sweatshop came with the wrist strap as part of bundle.

Agree DC Rainmaker review is the best out there but there lots of clips on YouTube now as well. Think what is in the box in USA is a bit different. The wall charger you don't get as standard but they give a cable and is is standard micro USB anyway.

Pleased with it so far. Music, maps and colour are nice additions to the things one is used to on GPS watches now.

Battery isn't great but it lasted all day on standby and a recent software upgrade improved things a bit. If you run/cycle for more than about 4 hours regularly this probably isn't the device for you right now but TBH I can count on one hand times I have in over 30 years of running.

Garmin 110 is rather an entry level device. This is at the other end of the scale so hence the cost.

Not davidh

17/12/2011 at 21:51

I looked at one in Sweatshop yesterday. It comes with a £100 voucher for clothes in Sweatshop (and the assistant told me I could buy shoes with it) and the wrist strap, and the guy also told me that the poor battery life may be addressed in a firmware update. My choice is now between the Garmin 210 and the MOTOACTV - I need some new shoes anyway so it kind of makes them the same price, but I think the Motorola is just tempting as it is a great gadget and may not be as practical as the 210. I don't really listen to music on my runs so that may suggest the 210 is the best choice, but I am only running for about 80 minutes max at the moment and I may need something to keep me occupied as I get up to longer distances.

Edited: 17/12/2011 at 21:51

KinverRoss

18/12/2011 at 21:12

Another review if anyone is interested.

Motorola Motoactv Review

Battery life is pretty poor at 4 hours but Motorola are supposed to be releasing a software patch to improve this some time this month.

Edited: 18/12/2011 at 21:13

Tim Grose

23/12/2011 at 00:50

They did today

Ben Davies 15

23/12/2011 at 10:57

My advice with any new GPS watch, would be to wait until it has been on the market for a year before buying it.

When a new model goes wrong, it sometimes goes wrong spectacularly.

Not davidh

23/12/2011 at 12:37

I hope the Motorola update does the trick, Tim. I changed my mind so many times on this I drove my wife mad, but eventually I have settled on the Garmin 210 as I think it has what I need on it. The gadget freak in me would have loved the MOTOACTV, but I think I have gone with the sensible choice. Too late for effin Christmas now!

Tim Grose

23/12/2011 at 13:13

You can't really go wrong with a Garmin. TBH I got the MOTOACTV more out of curiosity. I will continue to use both.

geena p

23/12/2011 at 14:09

I use Garmins and love them, but I am really interested in the MOTOACTV, but as Ben has advised I think I'll wait till it's been out a while and any glitches sorted.

Intermanaut

03/01/2012 at 10:29

The trouble with the MotoActv is that structured workouts are piss-poorly handled.

David Matty

30/01/2012 at 16:58

Just looking at these, sweatshop are retailing at £249, but you can get the 16gb version (compared to 8gb in Sweatshop) for $299 in the US at the moment. Considering that it's already £60 cheaper in the US for the higher end model, I suspect the price should be dropped in the UK pretty quickly, especially if they do release the higher spec version here.

They look very pretty compared to the garmin watches, I wonder how good the gps pick up is though. Any feedback on accuracy v a garmin or iphone nike+ app?

Intermanaut

30/01/2012 at 17:17

David, read this.

Re. accuracy - it's good.

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