Polar Unveils The Polar Loop Activity Monitor that Measures Daily Movement and Activities

Smart bracelet shows the benefit of an active life - It's everyday choices, only smarter

MONTREAL, Oct. 17, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Polar Electro Canada today announced a new activity monitor, Polar Loop. The smart bracelet is a stylish device that tracks daily activity and exercise levels. Created for people wanting to improve their overall fitness and achieve a balanced, healthy lifestyle, Polar Loop is designed for wear around the clock, even while sleeping. The waterproof device makes it ideal for swimming. Polar Loop, together with a free online service and app, uses collected information to suggest how to make small changes in one's daily lifestyle in order to improve health and well-being.

"The inspiration for the development of the Loop product comes from our desire to help improve an individual's overall health," said Marco Suvilaakso, Group Product Director at Polar. "The Loop is the result of our unique physiological expertise developed over 30 years of combining science and technology. It is a simple, easy-to-use tool that helps everyday people live a healthy lifestyle and reach their goals," added Suvilaakso.

Rethink your day
To encourage an active lifestyle among Canadians, Polar Canada is launching a national consumer contest whereby contestants could win a free Polar Loop.

"Polar Loop comes with all the smart insights you'd expect from Polar and underlines the importance of every movement you make in your everyday life," said John Stanton, Founder of The Running Room.  "We are thrilled to offer the Polar Loop to our customers and partner with Polar Canada on #Rethinkyourday program to help them attain their fitness goals. As the only product to combine activity monitoring with heart rate, by adding an optional heart rate sensor, it is a stylish option for anyone who wants to improve their overall health and fitness," continued Stanton.

Unique Benefits
Polar Loop is the ONLY activity tracker that:

• Accurately tracks five different levels of activity, so that it can distinguish between, gentle walking and running.
• Provides guidance about how to complete individual day's activity target. For instance, whether to run for 30 minutes, walk for 60 minutes, or spend a few hours cleaning or cooking to reach your goal. This information updates during the day.
• Alerts users, through a friendly message on their phone, when they have been sitting down for too long.
• Intelligently measures activity, taking account an individual's gender and age. Only Polar Loop accurately tracks this physical activity and compares it with globally recognised physical activity guidelines from the World Health Organization.
• Provides daily, weekly and monthly views of activity levels at the different levels of intensity in the free online service and app. These updates include useful guidance on how to become healthier, look and feel better, sharpen mental alertness and reduce long-term risks of lifestyle diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

"We are excited to offer such a sophisticated tool that will motivate consumers to be more active by illustrating the impact of small changes in everyday life," said Danielle Lapierre, General Manager for Polar Canada. "The national strength and reach of our retail partners will help ensure that the Loop is available to Canadians across the country," added Lapierre.

The Polar Active Life
Polar Loop is just one part of a larger Smart Coaching system designed to guide and motivate consumers towards a more active lifestyle. An app for iPhone will be available for free when Polar Loop launches. An Android version of the app is expected to be available in the coming months.

A smart web service, Polar Flow, will also be available when Polar Loop launches. The Polar Flow service provides daily, weekly and monthly summaries of your activity. Polar Flow also provides smart guidance on how you can improve your long-term health levels by making small changes in daily activity. Both the app and web service also show long periods of inactivity, to help users avoid long periods spent sitting.

Polar Flow also allows you to get social with Polar Loop. You can increase your motivation by easily sharing your activity success with other users of Polar Flow or on Facebook.

To further intensify workouts, consumers can connect Polar Loop with Polar's H6 and H7 Bluetooth Smart heart rate sensors.

Pricing and Availability
Polar Loop will be available in Canada in November for a suggested retail price of CAD$99.90. Available initially in a discreet black colour, it features an elegant red LED display set into a rubberized wristband with a stainless steel buckle. A pink version featuring white LEDs will be released in 2014. The bracelet is easily modified for a comfortable and personal fit. Polar Loop will be available from leading sports and running retailers, including Sport Chek, Sports Expert and The Running Room. It will also be available through Polar directly at www.shoppolar.ca.

About Polar
Founded in 1977, Polar Electro invented the first wireless heart rate monitor. Since then the company has been leading the sports instruments and heart rate monitoring category through its in-depth understanding of human physiology, performance, and the environment. Polar works in close cooperation with leading sports institutes and governing bodies, and has, thus, become widely recognized as the pioneer and world's leader of heart rate monitoring and fitness evaluation equipment.

Headquartered near Oulu in Finland, the company operates internationally in more than 80 countries and its products are sold through over 35,000 retailers globally.

Today, the award-winning Polar training computers are the number one choice among consumers worldwide. 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.com.

Image with caption: "Polar Loop Activity Measurement System (CNW Group/Polar Electro Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131017_C4611_PHOTO_EN_32150.jpg

Image with caption: "Polar Loop (CNW Group/Polar Electro Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131017_C4611_PHOTO_EN_32151.jpg

Image with caption: "Polar Loop (CNW Group/Polar Electro Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131017_C4611_PHOTO_EN_32187.jpg

SOURCE: Polar Electro Canada