TomTom Touch, a nice fitness tracker

Before I start this review, I will put two things into the front first. I was offered the Touch by TomTom to review, I do so independently of this offering. Also I have a TomTom Spark sports watch and recently suffered a severe heart attack. 

The TomTom Touch arrives in a snazzy box, I have to admit that the packaging is very eye catching. The Touch itself is on a plastic wrist which gives an idea of what it will look like. 

Opening the box, there is the Touch itself, a micro USB lead and a quick instructions. Given the number of devices with USB, there is almost no need for the cable but it is a sturdy one. 

Setting up, requires a laptop or PC. It is done via the MySports app which is available for PC and Mac. This will not only set up the Touch, but also updates the firmware. It is also how you setup the Bluetooth connection to your smart phone, though there is no need with a computer. 

Once charged, updated and setup, the strap is a flexi black rubberish material. It does up quickly. The screen is black until you press the contact button which performs a couple of duties, more on that later. 

Once the screen is activated, the time is displayed along with the progress of your daily steps in a neat circle. The screen itself is Touch and scrolling down, it displays a number of different options. Scrolling up, there is the options to start monitoring training, body mass measurement and heart rate. 

As most functions are similar to most fitness trackers, I am not going to review them all, that is needless. The Touch does have the ability to monitor heart rate and steps 24/7 as well as sleep. These are handy functions and compared to my Spark sports watch, I find the steps very accurate. The heart rate is not constant but one ready every 5 or 10 minutes. This gives a good average over a day. 

The Touch is not a sports watch, it lacks the GPS, multi sports facilities of it bigger cousins in the TomTom range, the Spark and Runner. This does not mean that it is less capable, it is meant for a different user. 
The body mass monitor is a major selling point. It is recommended that the watch is worn for a minimum of 15 minutes before a reading is done and the longer it is worm, the better a reading is. I have read up on this feature and generally it is well received. 

I know when I started using the Touch my fat index was 40% a figure I believe. But with exercise I have watched it creep down. I still have a long way to go. 

The Touch should not be confused with a sport watch, it is a fitness tracker. It has one “sports” mode and that is gym. This is possibly the most that most people will require. It tracks your heart rate live and gives you a work out analysis on the MySports website or app once the data is transferred. 

If I do have a complaint, I don’t like the strap material. I tend to find the material causes me to sweat under it and bring me out in a rash. But I have this issue with anything made from the material so therefore I am used to it and know how to sort it. 

The Touch is a well worth investment and is a capable competitor to other fitness trackers on the market. TomTom has a support forum and listen to customer suggestions and complaints.