Nike+ Sport Watch GPS training watch for runners

As its name suggests, the Sport Watch GPS is a watch with a GPS receiver built in, designed for runners who want to measure their pace and distance. It's the first GPS watch built to work with the Nike+ training website and at £180 it competes against the cheapest model in Garmin's well known Forerunner range, the 110.

Like the Forerunner 110 the Sport Watch charges and connects to your computer via USB and does not include a heart rate monitor as standard, but it does allow users to store and show off their runs online. Nike's version also includes a Nike+ ‘footpod': put this in your shoe – you will need either a suitable Nike pair or a small plastic clip to attach it to the laces of another brand – and the watch can track your steps when you are training indoors.

The watch was pleasantly easy to use with only three buttons: two scroll through options and the other selects. While running, the display shows only the lap time and distance covered, with the scroll buttons changing the top display to show pace, time elapsed or calories burned. With no heart rate monitor the latter is estimated, based on your weight. It's not as versatile as the three information fields shown by Garmin's 110, but it is simple.

When you have finished you can plug the watch into a computer using the USB connector cleverly built into the strap. A small program sends the run data to the Nike+ website where you can log on and view a pace graph and map. The website is colourful and packed with interactive content, making Garmin's Connect service look positively staid.

We liked the built-in training programmes that covered everything from basic training to preparing for a full marathon. On the other hand, the Nike+ website was slow because of all the Flash content it contains – the faster Garmin Connect works with a range of sports devices so it's possible to upgrade and keep your training record.

It's this difference that makes the Sport Watch hard to recommend. For those who train indoors as well as out the footpod makes it good value and beginners will like its training programmes. For those who already run and don't care for treadmills, Garmin's system is better.