TomTom Spark Music Hands-On: A Fine Little Player For Fitness

Today we've gotten our hands on the TomTom Spark, a new sports watch aimed at runners, primarily. This device works with a preloaded set of songs on a list called Running Trax, including 30-minutes of upbeat tunes curated by the Ministry of Sound – so you know where they're coming from. If you're interested in loading your own music, you can do that too – "more than 500 songs" can be loaded to this device right off the bat.

This watch works with the ability to track your movements with GPS and track your activities, including steps, calories, distance moved, and active minutes during your day. Your sleep will also be tracked – provided you keep this watch on while you rest at night.

Music can be loaded with your Mac or PC with Windows Media Player and iTunes, if you wish. The sound is OK – a bit hard to head at a tech convention, of course, but you won't be running at IFA, anyway.

The TomTom Spark is a bit chunky if you're considering less sports-friendly watches, but it gets the job done. Four different versions of this watch will be made available, all with the name "TomTom Spark" as a base name. The full list is as follows:

• TomTom Spark GPS Fitness Watch

• TomTom Spark Cardio GPS Fitness Watch

• TomTom Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch

• TomTom Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch

• TomTom Spark Music GPS Fitness Watch + Bluetooth Headphones

• TomTom Spark Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch + Bluetooth Headphones

Don't be thrown by the last two, as they have different prices ONLY because they come with headphones in their box. You can learn the full differences at TomTom. For now, you'll want to know the base costs: £189.99 in England and $249 USD in the United States. Pre-orders start soon.