Despite $350 price tag, ugly Qualcomm Toq sells out initial run

Following the over-priced monstrosity that was Adidas' $399 miCoach sport watch comes something similar from phone chip company Qualcomm.

Called the Toq smartwatch, it's a phone companion, not an activity monitor - like the ill-received Galaxy Gear from Samsung.

Currently it's only available in US, but despite its $350 price, the initial batch has sold out, with further units not expected for 1-2 weeks.

Of course, this is likely to be the case because the initial production run would have been very small - a few thousand - while the Toq also works with any smartphone running Android 4.0.3 or better (unlike the Galaxy Gear which only works with certain Samsung phones).

Still, it's another small demonstration of the nascent demand for these type of devices, no matter how ugly and overpriced.

Ahead of the pulse

Despite my note about the Danger of Data, there appears to be a strong move in the industry when it comes to heart monitoring.

As we all know, wearing a chest band is the best way (to-date) of measuring heart rate, but people don't like wearing these monitors or the additional cost.

Instead, they want heart monitor built into existing watch or bracelets. Indeed, Withings has a small pulse meter built into its Pulse pod tracker, although this isn't for tracking during exercise.

Perhaps the answer is new techniques for measuring heart rate. One interesting approach is the ability to measure the tiny amount of redding on the face using a web cam as each heart beat forces blood into the skin's capillaries

The face is useful in this regard because it has a large area and a large volume of blood flow. I don't think this sort of technique would work if integrated into a watch.

In that regard, I think Adidas is using more conventional monitoring in terms of its $399 miCoach Smart Run watch, which contains a heart rate monitor.

Yet now we hear that ex-Nokia outfit PulseOn has raised €1 million in VC funding to commercialise its optical heart rate monitor technology.

The race is certainly on...

Adidas goes big, big, big with its $399 miCoach Smart Run watch

Can you have too much of a good thing?

It's something to consider as Adidas announces it's competing with the likes of the Nike+ TomTom, revealing its new fitness watch - the miCoach Smart Run.

Due for release on 1 November, it's a large piece of kit that will retail for a large chunk of cash - $399.

Of course, for that you expect - and will get - an all-singing all-dancing watch. As well as the usual GPS tracking, the watch includes a pulse meter built into the back of the case.

How accurate this will be is the important question, however, given that chest straps have always been the standard way to get a proper measurement of heart rate.

The other interesting news is that the watch will run the Android 4.1.1 OS, giving it a mere 4 hours battery life when everything is switched on. It is a standalone device, so won't connect to your smartphone, which could be good or bad, depending on your point of view.

As the name suggests, the miCoach Smart Run builds on Adidas' existing miCoach range of fitness apps (and shoe-based) hardware trackers. The latter have been more focused on sports such as football and basketball rather than running, though, making this something of a brave move for the company - but mainly because of that price.