Press Room

›Polar introduces heart rate training to passionate Sports Trackers

23/06/2010

Kempele, Finland – 23. June, 2010 – Polar, the market leader and pioneer in heart rate training technology, has introduced the Polar WearLink®+ transmitter with Bluetooth® wireless technology, which adds heart rate to mobile training applications. This new product will work initially with the Sports Tracker mobile application (sports-tracker.com), enabling its users to train with heart rate and get more out of their sessions. At a later date, use of this new WearLink+ transmitter will expand to cover other third party mobile applications.

This exciting new piece of equipment is worn comfortably round the chest and is designed to be compatible with third party mobile applications through licensing. The new WearLink+ transmitter transfers heart rate wirelessly via Bluetooth to the Sports Tracker mobile application. With the free Sports Tracker application, compatible mobile phones become full-featured GPS sports computers, keeping track of everything from calories burned while running to average cycling speed over altitude. The new WearLink+ transmitter will improve the training experience of sports trackers, helping them to understand how hard they are working in any given workout. This allows them to train at the desired intensity to get the effect they’re looking for and, after training, share their workout and analyze it in more detail than ever before in the Sports Tracker web service.

The new WearLink+ transmitter picks up the heart’s signals and transfers this data into mobile devices that are compatible with the Sports Tracker. The soft textile chest strap seamlessly adapts to the user’s body shape, bringing full freedom of movement to the training session. The comfortable textile strap is machine-washable and with its hook mechanism, the transmitter is just as quick to put on as it is to take off. A user replaceable battery furthermore increases the ease-of-use. The Bluetooth transmission ensures that the mobile device using
the Sports Tracker application picks up the right heart rate signal and not someone else’s.

“Due to the increasing use of mobile training applications around the world, there is a growing demand for a proven and reliable heart rate sensor that connects with mobile devices. Therefore we decided to launch this new Polar WearLink+ transmitter accessory using Bluetooth communications technology and make it available through our partners”, says Marko Möttönen, Accessories Segment Manager for Polar. “Our new Bluetooth transmitter provides wireless heart rate to mobile devices with a compatible training application. This will make pioneering Polar heart rate monitoring available to millions of sports trackers, enabling them to train at the right intensity to achieve their goals.”

”We are excited to bring the long-awaited heart rate monitoring capabilities to the hands of all Sports Tracker users. We want to offer the best possible experience with a state-of-the-art heart rate transmitter, and we are happy to offer this long sought after accessory to the market together with Polar, the global leader in heart rate measurement technology”, says Jussi Kaasinen, CEO, Co-Founder, Sports Tracking Technologies Ltd.

The new WearLink+ transmitter will also later become compatible with other mobile applications as the protocol is available for licensing for third party developers. WearLink+ transmitters using Bluetooth technology are not compatible with the current range of Polar training computers, making them exclusive for mobile applications only. However, the existing older WearLink+ transmitter Polar for Nokia is also compatible with the same mobile applications.

The WearLink+ transmitter with Bluetooth wireless technology will be available from July, 2010 as a Polar accessory set with a user manual at the Sports Tracker web shop as the first retail channel. Later on, the new WearLink+ transmitter will become available for other mobile applications and at other retail channels.

About Polar
Founded in 1977, Polar has been pioneering a revolution in training and leading the sports instruments and heart rate monitoring category with original thinking and innovative products. Through its long-term experience Polar is the global leader in providing training technology and solutions with true passion and personality for those who seek fitness and sports performance. Headquartered near Oulu in Finland, the company operates internationally in more than 80 countries. To learn more about how the wide range of Polar products and services can help you achieve your training goals and make your fitness story a success, please visit www.polar.fi

About Sports Tracking Technologies Ltd
We believe that people will be healthier, happier and more socially respected when Sports Tracker helps them enjoy and stay motivated in exercising. Sports Tracker motivates users by tracking their outdoor activities, steering training with informative on-line data and especially getting support by sharing their actions and feelings with their friends in the Sports Tracker social community.

Sports Tracking Technologies Ltd is the category founder and leader of sports tracking applications and community in mobile phones and internet. For more information please visit sports-tracker.com

For further information contact:
Polar
Marko Möttönen, Accessories Segment Manager, Polar Electro Oy
Tel: +358 (0) 8 5202 100
Email: marko.mottonen@polar.fi

Sports Tracker
Jussi Kaasinen, CEO
Tel: +358 (0)50 523 4497
Email: jussi.kaasinen@sportstrackingtechnologies.com
Online store: http://shop.sports-tracker.com

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.