Garmin® Links with Top Fitness Technology Brands to Maximize Wireless Workouts Through ANT+ Connection
OLATHE, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced key alliances in the fitness industry that will revolutionize the way users work out. The rapid expansion of industry leaders and innovative products able to link with certain Garmin devices through ANT+™ wireless technology was announced in conjunction with the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) international convention and trade show in San Francisco (Booth 227).
“Fitness enthusiasts everywhere will benefit from the rapid adoption of ANT+ technology by the biggest names in exercise,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Wireless monitoring and data transfer makes every step easier before, during and after workouts.”
A key component in Garmin’s new FR60 fitness watch, ANT+ is a leading wireless interface protocol enabling ultra low power applications such as fitness monitors. ANT+ offers all the benefits of digital wireless communications with much lower power consumption than other wireless protocols. At home or the gym, fitness equipment with the ANT+ LINK HERE logo will connect wirelessly and effortlessly with the FR60.
Tanita is launching the BC-1000 Body Composition monitor with ANT+ wireless technology incorporated into their design (planned for early summer release). The monitor measures weight, body fat, body water, and six other parameters, and specific data will be sent directly to the FR60. Tanita will release two packages, one of which will be bundled with the FR60 and USB ANT™ Stick. Users can then send their body information to their computer on Garmin ConnectSM to keep track of their progress.
Listed here alphabetically are other fitness leaders connecting with Garmin and offering or planning to offer the benefits of ANT+ technology to their customers. More details will be discussed during IHRSA at 10:30 a.m. on March 17 at Moscone Center South, Room 307.
● Concept2 produces innovative indoor rowing products. They have been working with ANT+ heart rate straps for several years and are in the research and development phase of ANT+ enhancements to provide automatic sync with fitness compatible watches such as the FR60.
● Mad Dogg Athletics and the Spinning® program are the worldwide leaders in indoor cycling bikes, products and education. Together with Star Trac, Spinning provides indoor cycling certification, continuing education and the patented line of indoor cycling bikes to over 30,000 facilities worldwide. Star Trac and Spinning will be launching a bike computer at IHRSA with ANT+ technology. Spinning will also offer the FR60 to their instructors and enthusiasts.
● Nautilus is dedicated to changing the game in health and fitness. Nautilus is launching a new line of indoor cycling bikes at IHRSA along with two consoles incorporating ANT+ technology.
● New Leaf®, a unit of Angeion Corporation, specializes in assessing fitness and metabolism to provide personalized exercise plans. New Leaf uses ANT+ in its assessment technologies to reliably calibrate heart rate to metabolism. Personalized heart rate zones, measured fat and total calories can load to the FR60, Forerunner 305 and Forerunner 405 so users train at the appropriate intensity based on their unique metabolism.
● Octane Fitness focuses on creating and producing superior elliptical cross trainers that customers use to fuel their lives. Octane Fitness plans on integrating ANT+ technology in future products.
● Woodway sets the standard as the manufacturer of one of the world’s finest treadmills. They are announcing a treadmill, Desmo Elite, in the third quarter of 2009. Among the many new features of the Desmo Elite, Woodway plans to incorporate the ANT+ technology to sync with the FR60 and Garmin ANT+ heart rate strap.
● YMCA of Greater Kansas City will offer Garmin fitness products to their members to create family experiences and also to support members and corporate wellness programs in tracking progress.
When used with Garmin Connect — Garmin’s online training site — the FR60’s benefits continue long after the workout. By pairing the FR60 with Garmin Connect, users can automatically log their workouts, track their totals, share workouts with coaches, friends and family and participate in an online fitness community with similar interests.
Available in men’s and women’s versions, Garmin’s FR60 comes with a wireless USB ANT™ Stick that plugs into the user’s PC or Mac and automatically downloads workout data stored on the watch to a personal computer. No cables are necessary as the FR60 quickly synchronizes with the computer once it is in close proximity. While the FR60 processes much of the same data as its GPS-enabled predecessors, those functions are packaged in a very compact device the size of a typical fitness watch. The FR60, which is not GPS-enabled, can track and record up to 15 hours and 100 laps of detailed exercise data. Available in three colors – red, lilac and black – the streamlined FR60 comes packaged with a heart rate monitor, and the foot pod is available in select FR60 bundles.
The FR60 is the latest breakthrough from Garmin, which has spent 20 years using technology and innovation to enhance users’ lives, making Garmin a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries. To learn more about the FR60 and Garmin’s other products and services, go to www.garmin.com and www.garmin.blogs.com.
About Garmin International Inc.
Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications – most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin’s virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin is a registered trademark, ANT and ANT+ are trademarks and Garmin Connect is a service mark of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Notice on forward-looking statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. All statements regarding the company’s future product introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 27, 2008 filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of Garmin’s Form 10-K can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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