Motorola has jumped into the MP3 player category by launching the MOTOACTV. The wearable player is a direct corollary to the iPod nano and can be either clipped or worn on the wrist. A much stronger emphasis on exercise, however, gives it real GPS tracking as well as ANT+ and Bluetooth 4.0 support for low-powered sensors like heart rate monitors.
For running, it can track basics like distance, speed, and time but also heart rate and calories; a motoactv.com page gives a parallel to Nike+ with long-term stats and rout maps synced wirelessly.
At its core, it uses a 1.6-inch weather-resistant touchscreen and can pair up with an Android phone to take inbound calls or text messages. Its signature exercise feature for music playback is a performance-generated playlist: the MOTOACTV gauges what songs produce the best performance and curates them over time. FM radio is still available as a backup.
Battery life depends on GPS use, with outdoor runs netting five hours of use at a time and more stationary indoor workouts getting 10 hours.
The MOTOACTV is up for pre-orders today from Motorola itselve and will be on shelves at Best Buy, Eastern Mountain Sports, REI, and Sports Authority on November 6. Adding GPS and other sensors hikes the costs above the Apple rivals at $249 for an 8GB edition and $299 for 16GB.
