MIO Alpha watch goes on sale for $199, touts high-grade heart monitoring on the run
As popular as heart rate monitors can be for runners looking to improve their health, they're often definitions of compromise that require bulky gear or direct finger contact to reliably find the heartbeat. MIO's newly available Alpha watch may be just the remedy for those who aren't content to bulk up or slow down to avoid that guesswork. The monitor uses an electro-optical cell and a pair of light beams to track the volume of blood under the wrist, and compensates for the usual jostling through a motion sensor; the result is a purportedly very high level of accuracy at up to a 12MPH pace without wearing ungainly extras. For most, the catch will be a narrow-purpose design that leaves GPS and other less cardiovascular measurements to a smartphone or bike computer paired through Bluetooth 4.0. Should most of your exercise involve striving for the perfect BPM, though, the $199 asking price for the Alpha (online for now, at retail in early 2013) could justify itself in short order.
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MIO ALPHA Debuts as Product of the Year Finalist at The Running Event
World's First Strapless Continuous Heart Rate Monitor Sports watch Competes for Inaugural
TRE-Mendous Award for Product Innovation at TRE2012 Dec. 3-6 in Austin
VANCOUVER & AUSTIN (December 3, 2012)-MIO, maker of the MIO ALPHA, the world's first strapless continuous heart rate monitor sports watch, today announced it will debut the MIO ALPHA at the 7th Annual The Running Event® Conference and Expo set for Dec. 3-6 at the Austin (Texas) Convention Center.
TRE2012 attendees can stop by the MIO ALPHA Booth #508 for a free demonstration of the world's first heart rate monitor that records accurate data continuously during a workout, even at performance speeds up to 12 mph, with no straps and no cumbersome fingertip sensor.
Additionally, as one of 12 finalists for the first-ever TRE-Mendous Awards for Product Innovation, MIO's Jenn Fox will present a three-minute live pitch on MIO ALPHA to 400-500 retailers and judges, including Mario Fraioli of Competitor magazine, and FUBU apparel and footwear founder Daymond John, well-known as one of the "sharks" (investors) on the ABC reality TV show "Shark Tank." The TRE-Mendous presentations begin at 2:45 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 4. The 2012 TRE-Mendous Newcomer Awards will be announced during the 50 Best Running Stores in America Awards dinner beginning at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 5.
Designed for performance athletes and professional competitors, MIO ALPHA is the only sports and fitness heart rate monitor of its kind that provides continuous, accurate heart rate readings in a sleek, comfortable, casually-styled sports watch. ALPHA's intuitive two-button functionality is simple to use and provides easy access to workout timers, continuous heart rate display, and both at-a-glance and audible heart rate zone alerts for optimum workout efficiency and effectiveness.
ALPHA also tracks last-run statistics including total run time, average heart rate and time spent "in zone" during your run. And, MIO ALPHA feeds real-time data directly into iPhone and Android apps to track and graph performance over time.
"MIO ALPHA is the first product of its kind to make measuring workout effectiveness fast, easy and incredibly comfortable," said MIO CEO Liz Dickinson. "We're thrilled to showcase this groundbreaking product at such a world-class event and we're honored to be recognized among such an elite group of products for our design and innovation."
Available now for holiday shopping, ALPHA is the perfect gift for fitness and running enthusiasts at an MSRP of $199.
To see the MIO ALPHA in action and learn more, visit www.AlphaHeartRate.com.
