Gear Review (and give away):
The Moto 360 Sport Watch

As you most likely know if you read this space, I belong to a blogging network and get the opportunity to review new products every once in a while. When I was asked to participate in a review of the second gen Moto 360 Sport, I was psyched! I love running technology, I love the numbers, I love the metrics – if I’m not recording a run, it just doesn’t count. I’ve been wearing the Moto 360 Sport throughout the day for about two weeks and got a pretty good feel for it.

The Moto 360 As A Running Watch

I’m not a huge fan of carrying my phone with me on runs. And while I’ve gotten in the habit of doing so since my son was born (you never know when you’re going to get a call to pick up emergency diapers), if I don’t have to carry it, I’m happy to leave it at home.

To start a run, rather than having to flick around the phone and find the built in running app, there’s a “Start” button right on the face of the watch! Hit it, choose between indoor or outdoor and the type of workout you want to do and off you go!

And with a built-in GPS, the Moto 360 Sport works as stand alone, tracking not only distance, but splits, average and real time pace, average and max heart rate, including HR zones (via the built-in optical heart rate monitor) and calories burned (total and per minute). It’s basically a number geek’s (like me) dream!

On the runs while wearing the watch, I found that the GPS took only a few minutes to “find” (no small feat in Manhattan) and varied on accuracy.

With an Andriod phone, the Moto 360 Sport syncs directly with some of the more popular fitness apps like MapMyRun, Fitbit and Under Armour. My only issue is that it doesn’t connect with Strava for everyone at this time. I reached out to one of my contacts at Strava and she offered to add me to the test group (it was already under way), but sadly, I wasn’t able to participate. However, since there’s a test group in place, I’m willing to bet means it will be available to the public soon.
The watch is really comfortable to wear too; it comes with a silicone band (read: sweat proof that won’t stink after years of sweating on) in black, white or orange. There’s also what they call the Motorola AnyLight display, “the world’s first hybrid screen” that automatically adapts to the level of natural light, allowing you to easily read the screen, even in bright sunlight.

The Moto 360 Every Day Usage

While I was testing the Moto 360 as a running watch, I also wore it as my everyday watch. With a long press, I can change the face so I can go to meetings with grown ups and not worry that I’ll be judged for wearing the wrong kind of watch (not that I spend too much time in meetings with grown ups mind you).
I loved the seamless integration with Google. I use three email accounts (personal, professional and blog), all of which are on the Google platform, I can have notifications (cards they they’re called on the Moto 360 Sport) pop up when I get emails or texts and I can control what I’m listening to on my headphones without having to take my phone out of my pocket (a huge plus while running).

On the off chance I’m not running on a particular day, I can make sure I’m hitting at least 10,000 steps with the built in pedometer. And there’s even a built in daily heart rate goal (I think it’s 30 minutes of elevated HR each day) which ensures I can have still some cookies for dessert.

While there is still room for improvement (connectivity and battery life) the Moto 360 is definitely a watch to consider if you’re looking for a fitness tracker and motivator.

Moto 360 – The Give Away!

Here’s your chance to win one for free! Moto 360 is giving away watches to four lucky people! The give away ends on March 19, see below for your chance to enter and win.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Motorola. The opinions and text are all mine.