Soleus GPS 1.0 SG001-003 - Black & Grey
I’ve tried both the Garmin Forerunner 305 and the 405 models years ago when they they were at the height of their popularity although they never really stayed long enough with me as they either went kaput or were given to somebody else. I’m presently using a Garmin 110 which was handed to me by running mate Abet who had just purchased a spanking GF 610 recently.
I’m not really a techie when it comes to analyzing data or uploading them into a computer. Although i can do these and understand what this all means, all i really care is to have a watch that gives me the distance, time and pace of my runs which my present GF110 currently does. Although the 110 is quite limited in its features compared to the 305 and 405 (it just gives an average pace and not the actual reading), i still get the basic features mentioned and i’m happy with it.
Recently, i got hold of the new Soleus Sport watch which is breaking into the GPS market with their brand new GPS 1.0 Digital Sport Watch. The price tag? P6,150.00 which is just a third of the cheapest Garmin GPS watch you can buy locally. The GPS 1-0 has been recently lunch in the Philippines in select retailers and this should be a most welcome news for runners who are pinning for a Garmin but couldn’t afford one.
I’m going to be forthright on my recommendation. If you plan to buy a GPS watch to monitor and guide you on your training runs and races, now’s the time to do so with this very affordable watch. I guarantee, you will love it!
Price: Nothing beats its price of P6,150.00 for a GPS watch. It’s about the cost of one high-end running shoe and if you can afford to have those Newtons, Brooks or Nike’s, then i don’t see why you wouldn’t want to save for one.
Recommended For: The newbie runner or someone who would want to test out a credible and accurate GPS watch for the first time.
Size: Its bigger than the GF 110, about the same size as the GF405 and fits like an ordinary sports watch which you can use outside of running.
Display: The dials are large enough to see and there’s a night light which you can pre-set on particular times in the evening.
Comfort: The fit is snug with adjustments that suits your feel. I’ve worn it a couple of times and it doesn’t wiggle even if i wear it loosely. You don’t notice the weight and size at all.
Accuracy: Recently, on a measured 10k route, i used it simultaneously with my present GF110 and gave almost the same readings (10.10 for the GF110 and 10.15 for the Soleus). Don’t ask the time!
Quick GPS Sensor: It took as quick as a minute for the Soleus to locate and lock-in on a satellite while the Garmins can sometimes take up to 5 minutes for a go signal.
Other main features include:
- GPS: high-sensitivity receiver
- Distance: current & total in Miles or Km
- Pace/Speed: current & average
- Calories Burned: current & total Kcal burned
- Chrono: 1/100 second resolution
- Data Storage: 100-lap memory
- World Time: 106 cities covering all time zones
- Rechargeable Battery: USB rechargeable lithium-ion
- 30 Meters Water-Resistant
One Minor Complaint:
Having been so used to navigating the Garmin Forerunner GPS watches easily, i found it very difficult to navigate and set on the dials of the Soleus GPS on first try. It was very frustrating at first because some settings were blinking and you can’t figure out how to exit or stop the configurations. The instructional guide supplied with the device was a bit ambiguous and it took me some time to figure out the menu and navigation after i searched on their website which showed a basic Quick Set-Up Guide. Once i had the device configured, the operation became clear.
A suggestion to the manufacturers: I think it would be more convenient if the SET mode was placed at the very first position when the MODE button is first pushed because a lot of setting modes and navigations are initially done here. This will avoid confusion to the user and make navigation more user-friendly.
Except for this minor hitch, the Soleus GPS 1.0 is still a great buy and guess what? I heard that stores are going to give a 10% discount around Christmas time so expect the watch to come as low as P5,500.00. A perfect Christmas gift to yourself!
Thanks to Judith Staples, Sales & Marketing Manager of Truegears Marketing and to Jeff Paulino of LTime Studio for sending me this watch for review!
At the recent Philippine launch of the Soleux GPS 1.0 Sport Watch
JAZZRUNNER 