Garmin Introduces First Fitness App

Is fitness the new frontier? With smartphones and their operating systems becoming increasingly more sophisticated, the capability to track every nuance of your workout has led to a seeming resurgence in fitness related apps, accessories, and services. Sure, fitness tracking apps are as old as the smartphone itself, but big names not usually associated with such ventures are jumping on board. The latest is Garmin, who today announced their Garmin Fitness app for Android and iPhone.

Also increasingly popular is the ability to upload and store exercise info in the cloud, which Garmin Fit accomplishes via Garmin Connect. Garmin isn’t totally new to fitness tracking, however. They have been making ANT+ accessories such as heart rate monitors for quite some time now. An ANT+ adapter will be available for mobile devices, but disappointingly only the iPhone gains support at this time.

Android Market Link: Garmin Fit

Garmin Fit App and ANT+ Adapter Keep You Connected and On The Move

OLATHE, Kan./October 25, 2011/Business Wire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced Garmin Fit™ for iPhone and Android – its first fitness app that lets users track metrics such as speed, pace, distance, time, calories and with the help of Garmin accessories displays heart rate and cadence. Garmin Fit also maps and automatically uploads workouts to Garmin Connect™. Garmin also introduces its ANT+™ adapter for iPhone allowing users to use their Garmin ANT+ accessories with their iPhone.

“Garmin Fit is the ideal solution for users who are new to the fitness tracking landscape and for those looking to stay totally connected,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “To be able to utilize Garmin’s powerful fitness accessories with the same device that plays music, makes calls and uploads workouts automatically to share and analyze, makes Garmin Fit a must have app.”

Whether running on a local trail, cycling around the neighborhood or traveling for business Garmin Fit makes it easier than ever to see how far, how fast and where users have been. Garmin Fit ensures users will never be stuck without a way to track their workouts even when they forget to charge their Forerunner™ GPS enabled watch or fail to pack it for a trip. With the tap of a button Garmin Fit displays time, distance, pace and calories and even allows users to control their music from within the app. Never miss that important call – during a workout users will also be able to view and answer incoming calls and text messages without interrupting Garmin Fit.

Upon completion of a workout, users will be asked to name the activity and will have the opportunity to input notes about how the workout went or what the weather was like. The data will then be automatically sent to the user’s account in the ever-expanding and free Garmin Connect™ community (http://connect.garmin.com). Here users can quickly and easily log their workouts, track their totals, set goals, share workouts with friends and family and participate in an online fitness community of more than 70 million activities around the world. Garmin Connect displays metrics such as time, distance, pace, elevation and heart rate. This information is shown through charts, illustrations, reports and a variety of map representations including street, photo, topographic, and elevation maps. Garmin Fit will display the previous 30 days of Garmin Connect history as well as charts directly on users’ smartphones — giving them an extra tool to achieve their goals.

With Garmin’s ANT+ adapter for iPhone ($49.99 USD), users will be able to monitor and record their heart rate and cadence directly on their phone when paired with those optional accessories. One such accessory is a footpod sensor – which allows users who are training indoors to track their speed, pace, distance and run cadence.

Garmin Fit is the latest solution from Garmin’s expanding fitness segment, which has spent more than 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making Garmin a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries. For more about features, pricing and availability, as well as information about Garmin’s other products and services, go to www.garmin.com,www.garmin.blogs.com and http://twitter.com/garmin.