Garmin Forerunner 210

On the spur of the moment, went and bought the Garmin Forerunner 210. The 210 is the upgraded version of the 110 which I bought almost a year ago. Back then, I bought the basic set without the heart rate monitor  for $299.00 but now due to the favourable exchange rate, the 210 with the heart rate monitor is only selling for about $260.00.

The 210 looks classier with its all black strap. Other than that, it looks no different from the 110 down to all the printed words on the face.

The 210 (left) together with the 110 (right)

Even the charging mechanism is the same.

But inside it, there are some slight improvements.

1. Instant pace. The 110 only shows average pace which is actually fine with me. But I believe the faster and more competitive runners would like instant pace.

2. Interval. There is now options for various type of intervals, such as warm up, rest, cool down, laps,  etc. This can be either in time or distance. There is even a countdown timer than beeps towards the end of each interval, provided I can hear it.

3. Footpod option. There is apparently now an option to pair a footpod to it. Great for indoor running where the watch cannot detect the GPS signals. But then again, if indoor, it means I be likely on the dreadmill so why could I need to know the distance from the watch?

That's all there is to the 210. In my opinion, not really a great upgrade. But it serves its need for those looking for a plain vanilla running watch and at a fairly decent price too. At the moment, there is no competition until the Timex Run Trainer reach our shores.