Ironman Smartwatch Works Without a Phone
In Marvel's The Avengers, Tony Stark is able to summon his iconic Iron Man suit with just his watch. While Timex's new Ironman One GPS+ smartwatch isn't quite as super-heroic, it's still a standout in the wearables space. Unlike Android Wear or Pebble devices, the One GPS+, out this fall for $400, provides a full range of wireless services without having to sync with a smartphone.
Like the rest of Timex's Ironman series, the One GPS+ sports a fitness-minded design, with a black rubber band that attaches to the wearable's water-resistant body. The watch's power and navigation buttons rest on the bezel, which surrounds a full color touch screen with large app icons for fitness, music, contacts, messaging, clock and settings. According to Timex, the watch's Mirasol display gets brighter in direct sunlight.
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You can text friends from the One GPS+ without having a connected smartphone, thanks to cellular service provided by AT&T. The watch's GPS provides accurate workout logs when you're out on a run, and even touts a "Find Me Mode" that will alert friends to your location if you find yourself in danger. Timex would rather you keep that arm-strapped iPod Nano at home; the One GPS+ offers 4GB of music storage and can connect to Bluetooth headsets.
On the fitness end, the latest Ironman watch sends notifications for new personal records, offers 10 customizable interval timers and can sync with Bluetooth heart rate monitors. The watch comes triathalon-ready, as you can submerge it in up to 50 meters of water. Timex claims you'll get around 8 hours of battery life while connected to a cellular network and using GPS.
The newest Ironman watch is appropriately Iron Man-priced, as you'll be plunking down $400 to get one on your wrist. However, when you factor in the included year of AT&T service for U.S. and Canada users, the GPS+ isn't a bad deal for fitness tech fanatics who don't want to carry their smartphones around. You can pre-order the Ironman One GPS+ from Timex now, with a retail release slated for the fall.
Mike Andronico is an Associate Editor at Tom's Guide. He doesn't wear a watch. Follow Mike @MikeAndronico and on Google+. Follow us @TomsGuide, on Facebook and on Google+
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