Adidas announces smartwatch geared to runners

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Adidas has joined a number of companies offering wearable smartwatches for athletes, announcing a wearable device geared toward runners.

The Adidas announcement follows a similar introduction Monday by competitor Nike of its FuelBand SE fitness tracker.

Unlike full-featured smartwatches -- like Samsung's Galaxy Gear or Apple's expected iWatch -- Adidas' watch will have a more stripped-down focus, Paul Gaudio, head of Adidas Interactive said Wednesday during the announcement at the Mobilize conference in San Francisco Wednesday.

"We're not trying to make a smartwatch; we're trying to make the smartest running watch," he told CNET. "When you're out playing sports, you want less stuff -- only what you need to perform."

The watch will give basic information on speed and distance of a run, but can also offer a runner coaching and training help based on the user's heart rate.

A runner can hear an audio coach through headphones and listen to music through the watch while running, Adidas said.

The watch will be available Nov. 1 at $399, the company said.