Amazon.com: Customer reviews: TomTom Spark Cardio + Music, GPS Fitness Watch + Heart Rate Monitor + 3GB Music Storage (Large, Black)

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2016

This thing is awesome! I don't know why people are having so many issues with these.... Mine works great. Used it for three half marathons and Bluetooth didn't drop one time. Used it in the ocean and the screen still looks great (no snow). It connects to my Galaxy S6 just fine although you have to pair it with the phone again every time you want to sync it. My heart rate monitor is not perfect but why would you except it to be? It is a little flashing light that monitors your blood flow.... It is not an EKG machine. It is just watching your blood flow past and doing some crazy complex algorithm that makes it close to your heart rate. Put your watch on tighter if it is not working right. The band is comfortable, the GPS connects fast and works great, the bluetooth feature is awesome, the controls are good enough, and the light works by covering up the screen (it is not that annoying to accomplish this task while running...) People complain too much about trivial stuff. This is the coolest GPS watch on the market in my opinion. It is not a Forerunner 630 or a Fitbit Surge but it does take the most important features of both of these trackers and adds wireless music to the mix. I love this thing.

9 people found this helpful

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Alce

Great watch for sports and music on the go

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

I had a Motoactv I bought several years ago and was my favourite sports companion. When I broke its screen, I started to look for a replacement but none of the available options were appealing until I found the TomTom Spark. This one has all the features I need: GPS, heart rate monitor and music in a single package. The one thing I don't liked was that the non-touch screen, and when I bought this from Amazon, was my greatest doubt. Now that I have been using it for more than a week, I'm perfectly fine with the single button down the screen, which controls all actions in the watch.

One important thing is that this watch is not intended as an extension of the smartphone; when I run with it is only about running and the music through the bluetooth earphones. There's information about an update to the watch from TomTom, which allegedly will allow to connect the watch to the smartphone, but frankly, I prefere it as is now.

Strap's size is just about perfect, and you should not be concerned if you, like me, have an intermediate wrist's size: the big size strap adjusts perfectly to my wrist because has 3 different locks, so it does not feel loose. Also, the plastic which it's made of feels very soft and flexible.

The watch also gets connected to bluetooth earphones quite easy, just with moving the button up, and with the Jabra earphones in pairing mode. When I tried to pair the watch with my smartphone it was pretty quick too, and the same when I paired with an Ipad Air 2. In both devices the software from the respectly stores work fine.

So far, I believe this is the best replacement for my old Motoactv. The only one glitch I find is the memory available for music. My Motoactv had 16GB for music. The TomTom Spark has only 3GB, so, the difference is considerable. Anyway, the other features of the watch compensate the lack of a bigger memory.

2 people found this helpful

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Bobbonz

Best All-Around Budget GPS Watch - All Things Considered

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

I am a medium-recreational runner, running marathons (4 hr.) & half marathons at about 1:50. I use my GPS watches primarily for running, and have FINALLY upgraded to this watch from my Garmin Forerunner 305 (2006 edition), which is still working. This review is an initial review after my FIRST run with the device:

Pros:
- HR function works well. I read many reviews saying otherwise, but my HR monitor worked great on the first run I tracked
- Music function and space
- Website is very user friendly for pairing, viewing stats (stride rate is included, which is a huge bonus!) (I like it MUCH more than the Garmin website actually because of it's intuitive usage, layout, and accessible options).
- Very comfortable watch band
- Can use it easily as an everyday watch (which I wanted in my next GPS watch since the 305 was so clunky).
- One button function is intuitive and easy to use

Cons:
- Main button rattles/is a bit wobbly. Like several other review I read, I took the TomTom out of the box, and tested out the alarm, during which I heard a distinct rattle of the button. I went on to tap the button and discovered that it was a bit loose (nothing detrimental at this point, but a bit annoying for a new product).
- Bluetooth pairing is sometimes choppy. Again, like several other reviews the bluetooth skipped or cut out 3-4 times on my 30 minute run. For me, it was a bit annoying, but honestly I would rather have a few skips in my music than have to carry a phone, ipod or additional item with corded headphones. The music function is still a win my book.

UPDATE 1:
After my first run, my Jabra Sport Plus headphones will not connect to the watch. (They can easily be paired with my phone, so it's not the fault of the headphones). To be fair, they are not listed on the recommended pairing list for TomTom, so this may be the issue. So, I bought a pair of SoundPeat QY7 headphones which were recommended for this watch (not by manufactuerer, but by consumers). They pair every time! They have worked like a charm with gym workouts and biking, but for running in the open, with every backwards arm swing they lose connectivity. I am going to try wearing the watch on my right arm since the receiver is on the right headphone and see if that helps. The watch is still worth it! Every other function works like a charm.

UPDATE 2: After three months of running with this watch and wearing it as an every day watch, I absolutely love it. I only have to charge it once a week, it links to the satellites very quickly, and I can listen to music and use the HR function which is pretty accurate. I can't believe I got this watch for just a little over $100! Amazing deal.

UPDATE 3: 8 months with the watch and have had major issues with pairing it with my phone to upload workouts. I have had to pair and unpaid the watch from the phone every single time I want to upload a workout. Real hassle. Also, the watchband just broke in two places just from normal daily use. TomTom has said they will replace it at no cost which is great, but I still think they should make these more durable!

Update 4: One year of running with the watch. Tech has figured out the pairing issues and it now uploads fast and consistently. The metrics on the new website are awesome and include VO2 Max! The music, HR and other functions are working like a charm. Battery still working great and holds a charge for about 5-6 days (running every day and every day use) I couldn't be happier with this watch.

12 people found this helpful

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Nate B

Excellent running watch; would recommend to all.

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Bought this to replace a Garmin Forerunner 210. I used to look down on every GPS watch besides Garmin but this completely changed my mind. I have a smaller wrist for a male but the Large size fits great. Once you figure out how to navigate the menus (check out the manual online) it's a breeze to use.
Pro tip: to LAP the watch, use just two fingers (like a peace sign) to cover the left and right edges of the screen. Don't bother trying to cover the whole thing with your hand.
GPS works great. Heart rate monitor is accurate once you figure out how to position the watch correctly on your wrist (it should be very snug). Works great with Plantronics Backbeat Fit Bluetooth headphones, although I found I had to move to wearing the watch on my right wrist to avoid skipping in the tracks. It's unusual, because I can set the watch down and walk 15-20 feet away and the Bluetooth still works great. Must be something about the movement. Not having to worry about the watch in water is great. Activity tracker works just as well as a FitBit.
TomTom software is just so-so, but gets the job done. Syncing to the phone app is slow but is convenient.
CONS: not as much flexibility with customizing workouts on the fly. For example, if you set up an interval workout with 5 reps but decide to stop after 4, you can't manually LAP the watch - it will continue its program until completion. You can customize the display, but not with all the metrics that I would like - for example, when doing intervals there isn't an option to show you the lap pace. Why?
Overall, an excellent watch and a MUCH better value than Garmin. Highly recommended.

5 people found this helpful

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KBedan

Decent Sports Watch if all you want is music to run to

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

I've had this watch for several months now. The bottom line is if you want a watch that plays music and is pretty accurate GPS'wise, this is not a bad watch. The watch generally finds a GPS satellite rather quickly and the quality of the music (Bluetooth connection) is usually good. I have had a couple runs where the Bluetooth connection failed and had to stop. This has only happened a once in probably 70 or 80 runs. But it is where some of the bad features come into play. It's not uncommon for the Bluetooth connection to get "choppy". I'm right handed but I'll commonly wear the watch on my right hand as that seems to help sometimes.

If you are buying this watch to listen to your music while you run this is a pretty good watch. If you ever change your playlist while you run (maybe you have different lists for different run paces like I do), you will have to stop, pause the watch and then start the new playlist. You can't do it on the run you have to pause the watch to change the list.

Syncing music on the watch is not terrible but not great. I had a ton of problems getting the watch to see playlists on Itunes. I ended up having to use Windows Media Player which worked much better. Once I pointed Media Player at my music library and created playlists, the Spark saw the playlists right away and I was able to add the music to the watch. If you happen to use Itunes only, just be aware of the fact that I had a lot of problems syncing music.

I have not had a problem with the battery life & the Tom Tom Sports Connect App is ok. I use Run Keeper and it sync's to my Run Keeper Account just fine.

I will say that if step counting is important to you this is not the watch for you. I can run 5 miles and not get 10,000 steps (usually about 7700), but mowing my lawn will get me nearly 10,000 steps (an my yard is not that big).

The Spark is a pretty basic watch and not bad for the price. A few things annoy me & I'm probably not thrilled with this watch, but I'm happy with it.

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Sandra R Zimmerman

Great when it works, apps and software are a nightmare

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2016

Verified Purchase

I really wanted to like this product. When it works, its great for what you need. My primary motivation for buying this was a wanted a waterproof watch that I can wear to spartan races and get wet, while tracking progress and time. Also wanted music, HR, etc while training. This product does work and works well for that. Read on to see why I am returning it.

Pros:
* Does what it's intended for well in ideal/good/satisfactory situations
* Fit is nice and strap works great, very solid and comfortable
* Display is very easy to see in sunlight
* Button that most reviewers hate is actually a simple interface to use, as are menus on watch.
* music playback is pretty good

Cons:
* Software (both the mobile app and computer) are horrible, read below - this is my biggest gripe
* GPS is heavily confused in dense urban situations (tall downtown buildings - understandable and forgiveable - the GPS does work but I had a few dropouts in Downdown Boston)

OK, I don't know who was or is in charge of the software for Tomtom, but I have wasted several hours fighting with the andriod application and the PC software. And the website(s) are not any better. I think the focus group who tested all three is a compilation of patients from the ADD sufferers of the UK.

Issue 1: there are two software packages (for PC) you have to install for this watch, the Home 2 package, and the myconnect package. To get either you have to register twice with tomtom. To get the myconnect you have to create a new login to access the page to download the software. Then you need a regular login to access the general account with TomTom.

Issue 2: MyConnect application has pairing issues with watch once in a while. This is rare, but frustrating. They actually have a page on the phone app that tells you to try the good ol, turn off, turn on bit.

Issue 3: The PC applications cannot see device. I could only connect my tomtom to one PC out of three which is where I spent a majority of the time in troubleshooting. I researched issue after issue and applied fix after fix. The device came up on my PCs as a disk drive which I guess is proper, but the software still could not see it on 2/3 machines. I downloaded a folder to my device called "home images" which should have spurred a proper connect but still the software would not see the device, even though I could get to the device in windows explorer.

Issue 4: The web page is all over the place. Try to get support, its a mess. This is where the ADD joke comes into play. Whoever masterminded the layout of the Tomtom site is/are scatterbrained to the nth degree. Nothing is very intuitive, especially when you start doing direct searches for things like "Tomtom spark will not connect" and you get a support page that has help but you realize from the main page there was zero chance you'd ever have gotten there on your own through simple intuitiveness. Then you have the whole UK/US thing where thier site decides your in the UK and all your settings (even on the phone) snap back to UK standards no matter how many times you go into your preferences on the site and tell it otherwise. The site and the mobile app all look great, but the substance is horrible. I would make a suggestion to Tomtom to bring some people in off the street and ask them to just get the phone working from scratch and see all the headaches they have. Its ridiculous.

I really wanted to like this watch but Im so frustrated with getting the software to work I have to return it. I even like the button that all the reviewers on youtube don't seem to like very well. The fit is great, and the watch looks good. IT shouldn't be this hard to get working with a PC.

EDIT: I am adding this addendum the day after I wrote this review. The Tomtom software (home or myconnect) really hosed up my PC. It left a resident startup service that was killing Java. It took me a day to figure this out, as I had removed all the software but still had the problem. Luckily I found a page about the Java errors (very common but manifest from many different ways) and to look at your services. When I saw Tomtom service I killed it, and voila, no more Java dying. I repeat - the software is junk.

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RRP

It does some things pretty well like quickly finding satellites

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2016

Verified Purchase

Had high hopes for this watch which I got to replace my Motorola Motoactv. Ive had this watch since May and have waited this long to review hoping for an update to fix the main issue with the watch. It does some things pretty well like quickly finding satellites, charges quickly, and counting daily steps. But it utterly fails at the main thing a running watch should be able to do; provide accurate running pace. The supposed instant pace averages for too long, and I have had multiple runs where it will indicate an instant pace that is at least 2 minutes per mile slower than the pace given at each quarter mile and mile. So basically, this watch fails to provide the main data field required when running. From what I understand, this has been an issue from day one but has never been acknowledged by TomTom. In addition, listening to music is hit or miss with the 3 different sets of headphones including TomTom's set. Need to get the antenna on the headphones just right otherwise music stutters. So until the pace issue is fixed, this watch is worthless for runing.

One person found this helpful

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Ryan K. Schneider

Best All-Around Running Watch Available

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2016

Verified Purchase

After a few initial setup hiccups, I can say that without question that (in my opinion) this is the best all around running/fitness watch currently available (Summer 2016). For basically $250, you get a good looking (better than what it looks like on Amazon, at least) waterproof watch with a 24hr heart rate monitor, a ton of running/fitness tools and information, reliable quick to lock-on GPS, a Bluetooth music player that syncs with iTunes and/or Windows Media Player (along with surprisingly fantastic Bluetooth headphones), great battery life, and easy to set up syncing capability with Nike+ (what I use to track my runs). It also syncs seamlessly with my Android phone and the TomTom MySports "app" is quite decent.

As for other products, I looked at the Garmin Forerunner 235 but it doesn't have music capabilities. The Apple Watch is nice but no GPS. The Samsung Gear Fit 2 has GPS and music capabilities but as the user reviews make abundantly clear the watch strap is defective and won't stay on (also doesn't work with iOS). There are a bunch of other products in this category but they're all missing one thing or another. This is the only one out (that I know of) that does everything, and does it well.

Now, having said all this nice stuff, there are some things to be aware of. First, this is the most important, UPDATE THE FIRMWARE. The desktop software will flag you that an update is available. It dramatically changes everything about the watch in a good way. Second, what confused me after performing the firmware update was that it said an even more recent update was available (under the "what's new" notes), however, I couldn't get the software to prompt me to download this newest version (which includes some cool music playback features, among other things). After what seemed like a bazillion hours of research (I obsess, what can I tell you), I learned that because the firmware was so new, it wasn't being sent out to everyone all at once, but would eventually come to my watch. So fine. The other thing I learned after hours of pulling my hair out (this is a biggie) is that despite having "3.1 GB" available to add music (500 songs max), you can only sync up to 10 playlists from iTunes. Now, you can add 3.1 GB of songs to those playlists, but it can't be more than 10. I have no idea why, but TomTom did tell me their systems team is working on and will provide an update to remedy this issue. In addition, you first have to download your iTunes library to your computer through iTunes (click "edit" then "select all" under "songs" then right click and then left click "download"). You also have to go to the "advanced" tab on iTunes (through "preferences") and click on "share iTunes library XML with other applications". I mention all this because it took a bunch of research (at least for me) to figure all this out and wasn't readily available information.

Despite these initial setup hiccups it's totally worth it and I strongly encourage purchasing if you're in the market. Hope this helps!

31 people found this helpful

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ZorakTheFool

It works for my needs may not work for yours

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

Edit - This con slipped my mind in my original review. You can't (or perhaps I have not figure this out) set the watch to give you a status update message. For example on other apps when you complete a mile it will give a time distance and pace message.

Edit 2 - I'm probably going to send it back.. not because of the watch but because of the my sports website. It's just crap. if I take my watch off to shower it thinks i am sleep and there is no way to delete this data point.

I have been looking for a watch/fitness device that could eliminate the need for me to carry my phone on long distance runs. I like to listen to music and like the GPS functionality to determine pace and distance. The biggest deal breaker for some of the competitors is this watch band is replaceable. Lets face it, the watch band will probably break first assuming normal use. I didn't really think I needed a heart rate monitor but considered it a "nice to have" When I saw the price of this watch was reduced I pounced on it.

The pros - The GPS is quick to acquire a signal, and can do so while under the this canopy of trees or when the watch is covered up my multiple layers of clothing (starting to get cold). The MP3 player work well and I have no issues connecting them to my ultra cheap blue-tooth headphones. I am guess others are not so fortunate and maybe some headphones are less powerful but my Rymemo Cartoon headphones work great and I have found that the distance between my watch and headphones is good for 20-25 feet before the sound starts to suffer. Battery life is great. I went on a 2+ hour run with GPS, heart rate and music and would estimate I had 2/3 of a charge remaining (it doesn't give you a percentage), which seems to line up with the specs provided by tomtom. Hopefully the other specs of 9 hours for GPS/HR, 11 hours of GPS only hold up as well.

Cons - Although this watch has many features, tomtom seemed to skimp on the extra little bit fantastic. For example, you can't check your pulse rate on demand. I would like to be able to tell the watch to check my pulse every hour on the hour, it would be interesting to see how it progresses from first waking up, fighting with my commute, being at work, spending time with my family and finally sleeping. But you can't. this watch only monitors your heard during an exercise. I found that I can start a run session on the treadmill setting and once it acquires the heart rate I don't hit start. But nothing gets logged. The mysports website tells me my average HR at rest the past days but it's sort of meaningless. For example, my heart rate on the past Sunday was higher (by a little) than my heart rate on Monday. Can I assume this is due to the 2 hour run I completed on Sunday vs the 40 minute run on Monday? Maybe but then again tomtom is calling it my HR at rest. So I just don't know and find it to be a useless statistic at this point. The sleep tracking is something I was interested in. Some nights I go to bed early and toss and turn for who knows how long until I fall asleep, other nights I fall asleep immediately but wake up 1/2 a dozen time throughout the night, other nights I fall asleep and stay asleep. Of course this watch tracks sleep, but it doesn't log what's important to me - my quality of sleep. Maybe it's a feature that will be introduced, maybe I have not discovered it, but at the moment it seems like a novelty. The step counter is total garbage, which seems to be the case on all wrist based step counters. The ones that clip onto your belt seem to be better for the purpose of counting steps. I won't compare this step counting feature to any other ones, but I didn't take 50 steps while I was in the restroom this morning and I didn't walk 0.68 of a mile before leaving my house today. I just didn't. I am not sure about the calorie tracker. I have no need or opinion on them.

Nickpicking -

The tomtom mysports app seems rough, maybe I am just used to mapmyfitness, I export my runs to mapmyfitness because tomtom doesn't seem to have the social interaction with other users like mapmyfitness has. Also, maybe I am old but I like to look at a calendar and see my totals for the week and broken down by the day. Maybe tomtom app can do this and if I figure it out I will modify this review. Also my watch was reverting back to 24 hour military time at random times, turns out I had it set in the app to military time and even though I changed it many times on my watch, when I synced it to with my laptop or phone it diverted back. What an annoying PITA, but that is solved now.

Conclusion - If you are like me and want a watch that you don't need to throw away when the strap breaks, you want to keep track of your distance, time, pace and listen to music while running long distances, this watch is probably for you. If you are also requiring other features sleep or step counting you might want to look elsewhere. Other watches may be better, they may be worse, I have nothing to compare this too

2 people found this helpful

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siezmic

I come from a generation that took great pride in ignoring comprehensive user manuals - TomTom have ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2017

Verified Purchase

I received my Spark just before Xmas (present to self). It cost USD140 plus shipping which is a lot less than a year ago.

I was away when it arrived so my wife put it on to charge - no problems apart from a few expletives lost in regard to the purchaser proof packaging that the device arrived in...yah for the 21st century.

I come from a generation that took great pride in ignoring comprehensive user manuals - TomTom have responded, as many other companies have done, in a customer responsive fashion by providing tiny printed user guides that totally conform to the behaviours of the arrogant (male?) consumer ie they are almost unreadable and tell you virtually nothing in various languages even once you have found a magnifying glass.

Thankfully we do have YouTube because without it I would be giving the product a negative star rating...a black hole rating?
With it, you learn everything you need to know about this wonderful little device.
I know that you just cover the screen with your hand at night and the screen lights up to be read in the dark.
I know that if you want to load playlists from itunes you need to click a setting in itunes to make your playlists available to other devices.
I know you push the right side of the GPS bulb to start an activity and push the left side to stop it.
Calibration of distance on a treadmill (when you are inside and going no where GPS is not much use) is easy but in my case the Spark was so accurate it was not necessary to re-calibrate it any way.
I would have known none of this without YouTube which I think does make the user experience a bit random but once these things are mastered (and they are easy) the device is a dream.
Battery life is acceptable to date - it seems to need charging every 2 to 3 days although i have never got lower than about 25%.

Prior to purchasing I considered Fitbit, the Apple watch and the the Garmin range (Vivio?)
I have a Fit bit Aria scale and previously had a fitbit band that recorded steps...slightly better than useless but at least it got me into the world of fitness tracking. The Fitbit scales are great. My big gripe against Fitbit equipment was their lack of water resistance to the level of being able to go for a swim - I live near the beach, love to jog on it then go for a swim so I need a swim friendly device.
The Apple 2 would be my first choice but at 3x the price of the TomTom I prefer to go with the Tomtom thanks very much (I have small mouths to feed so $$$ matter to me).

So...in summary I love it...the internet is your user guide; the wrist band is the most comfortable i have ever experienced; it carries tunes and connects easily to bluetooth headphones making the experience a good one. On the down side I find the blackness of it a bit depressing - my wife wants one but insists she get one of the after market coloured bands; it would be great if it could control phone functions like receiving a call but I guess that is why you pay the big bucks for the Apple.

Cheers.

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