Polar V800 - Bluetooth GPS waterproof smartwatch activity tracker

Polar is teasing the world with a mini announcement about their new GPS smartwatch that is also Bluetooth-enabled: the V800. You don't have to be an IRONMAN triathlete to appreciate the features that will (probably) be found on this watch: GPS, waterproof for swimming, activity tracker, heart rate monitoring (when paired with a chest strap sensor), running cadence and pace (when paired with a Polar stride sensor), and biking cadence.

This waterproof GPS Bluetooth smartwatch is going to be the first of its kind (and I'm sure not the last, either). I suspect it will generate quite a bit of buzz at CES next week.

In general, chest-worn heart rate monitoring straps can be worn when swimming, but they only transmit data effectively when using a 5 kHz coded transmission. Bluetooth transmissions won't work if you're in water. So, my assumption is that the Polar V800 will support both Bluetooth Smart and 5 kHz transmissions. I also hope it supports Polar W.I.N.D. (this is a proprietary wireless transmission protocol used by Polar) for all those who have bike cadence sensors and running stride sensors that use W.I.N.D.

It also looks like the Polar V800 uses the same waterproof USB charging connector found on the Polar Loop activity tracker.

Get a glimpse of the Polar V800 on the Polar Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PolarUSA

Their full announcement will be coming on Jan 6.