Last week I purchased a new Polar M400 fitness watch, after selling my old one, a Polar RCX-5. The Polar M400 is polar's latest model, just released this month. It tracks heart rate via an external bluetooth heart rate strap, includes built-in GPS, and a built-in activity tracker.

The activity tracker is kind of like a glorified pedometer (not unlike what a FitBit does), that tracks your daily movement, and monitors your sleep as well. This was a huge selling point for me as I am trying to make sure I move enough during the day (being a programmer and blogger). The activity tracker includes a notification system that lets you know when you have been sitting for too long. It frequently kicks me off the couch when I spend too long at the computer - a feature that I really wanted.

Polar is one of the first serious heart rate training companies to integrate activity tracking into their hardware. There seems to be a convergence going on these days, as activity trackers like FitBit are starting to integrate more heart rate data into their devices as well. Interesting times ahead for fitness geeks!

I normally don't review fitness geekery here on Toe Salad, but if I have time (and there is interest), I will write something up once I have had more experience with the watch.