TomTom Runner Cardio GPS sports watch monitors heart rate and more

TomTom has launched its latest GPS watch aimed at the athlete and fitness buff. The new watch is called the Runner Cardio GPS watch and it has a built-in heart rate monitor. There are plenty of watches out there that can show you your heart rate, but those have to be paired with a chest strap.

TomTom's watch needs no chest strap for the monitor to work. Runners can look at the watch to be sure that their heart rate is in the ideal zone. Five different intensity zones can be chosen to match training goals with alerts to speed up or slow down given to keep the runner in the zone.

The Runner Cardio watch uses a Mio optical sensor to monitor the pulse rate by shining a light through the skin. The watch is available to order right now for $269. A multi-sport version of the watch is offered for $299.

Other features of both watches include compatibility with stat sharing sites, integrated sensors for stride and pace that work while using a treadmill. The display is scratch resistant and the watch is water resistant to 165-feet. The battery is good for up to eight hours per charge in GPS+HR mode and 10 hours for GPS alone. Bluetooth Smart tech also allows the watch to be paired with other sensors.