Garmin has today launched the new touchscreen Forerunner 610, the latest in its range of wearable GPS devices.

The slim and sleek 601 features a touchscreen that is weather-proof and can be operated with when wearing gloves, making switching between the various screens super easy when on the move. While not a mountain bike-specific device, for those people who dabble in other sports the Forerunner is as perfectly adept at tracking your ride around the woods as it is charting your run to work in the morning.

It’s clearly aimed at runners though, as this quote from Garmin shows: “Running with Forerunner 610 is like having a coach with you every step of the way,” said Andy Silver, Outdoor and Fitness Product Manager. “From giving the basics such as pace, distance and time to monitoring your effort through heart rate, creating interval workouts and racing a friend on the other side of the world, Forerunner 610 becomes a necessary partner for all serious runners.”

But don’t let that put you off. For those who also do a spot of running whether for fun or for the growing popularity of duathlon’s and adventure racers, the 610 is the perfect solution for seamlessly tracking your progress as you transition from one discipline to the next.

A vibration motor is used for alerts such as heart rate, pace and distance when audible tones cannot be heard (heart monitor included in some bundles or available separately). A nifty feature is raining Effect, which measures the impact of exercise on aerobic fitness and lets you know how the workout improves your fitness during the workout.

Available for the first time this weekend at the London Marathon Expo the Forerunner 610 will cost £359.

More at www.garmin.com