This isn’t going to be one of those product reviews that go over every detail about a product, you can go to the Garmin Website or read some other very detailed and well written reviews for the info if that is something you are interested in? I will focus on my own personal experiences with the Garmin VivoActive and point out my reasons for buying it and what I like and don’t like so far after my time using the Garmin VivoActive. Also make sure to checkout my Unboxing Preview video to see what comes in the box along with some of my initial thoughts on the Garmin VivoActive.

What does the Garmin VivoActive Activity Tracker and Smart Watch do for you?
The Garmin VivoActive works like an Activity Tracker and also doubles as a Smart Watch. The activity tracking side of the VivoActive senses your motion and steps all day long, and for when you get really active you can start a GPS enabled workout for outside activities like running, waking, biking hiking and many more. For high intensity indoor activities like weight lifting, cardio, CrossFit, martial arts, yoga or what have you, you have the option of wearing a heart rate monitor to track your heart rate for optimal calorie burring information.

Flipping over to the Smart Watch capabilities of the Garmin VivoActive, when paired with your Smart Phone, you will received notifications like text messages, emails, phone calls and pretty much any other notification you have setup on your Smart Phone. You can quickly see if there are any upcoming events in you calendar, look at the weather forecast and even customize your watch face or install new applications on your VivoActive. All this data is available via the touchscreen color display that uses ambient light for super clear viewing in virtually any lighting situation including darkness by using the built in backlight when required.

The Garmin VivoActive only comes in one size but it is not bulky at all so it should fit both men’s and women’s wrists nicely. You can also get the Garmin VivoActive in black or white and there are options to customize the watch band to a different color or even a leather strap.

With so many Activity Tracker Smart Watch options out there why did I choose the Garmin VivoActive?
It was a tuff decision but when it came down to it, the Garmin VivoActive had everything I needed and nothing more, the nothing more being a key component since a device so accessible can be a real distraction at times. The more it does the more I want to play with it and I already have enough trouble keeping my iPhone in my pocket at times ;) One of my biggest fears I have with the Apple Watch is simply that it will become a distraction with so much going on onscreen. And the other problem with the Apple Watch is that it is just so nice looking, perhaps too nice to feel comfortable thrashing it during a workout! I wouldn’t want to scratch up my $500 watch now would I!

In general, Garmin has a really nice software package, their online and Smart Phone Apps work well and show you just about everything you are going to need to see. You can access all the important information like steps, calories burnt, distance walked or run, how well you slept the night before, any activities you have done along with specific detailed information about that workout. Garmin also plays nicely with MyFitnessPal, and since I have a Fitbit Aria WiFi scale that tracks my body weight, this information is automatically updated to the Garmin App via MyFitnessPal. Of Course any food related info I am entering in MyFitnessPal shows up in the Garmin App as calories consumed so I can figure out if I need to eat more or get more active to meet my daily goals.

When using the Online Garmin App you can generally drill down into the information a bit more but other than that you have access to a lot of the same information.

Garmin has Developed their Connect IQ Store which so far is all free! You will find downloadable Watch Faces, Applications, Data Fields and Widgets to customize your Garmin VivoActive. The Connect IQ Store is open to 3rd part developers so we should see lots of new software added over time.

Again I would like to see Garmin add in more indoor type workout activities to their naming conventions, not that it changes how many calories you burnt in a given workout, but I think most people like to keep an accurate record of what exactly they where doing during an activity.