VR-Zone

Today, Seiko Epson announced the world's lightest GPS-enabled running monitor. The monitor boasts an extremely thin design, long battery life, uses GPS to provide runners with accurate distance, pace and other data, and wears comfortably on your wrist. Epson plans to release a commercial version of the monitor in Japan this year and it would be the company's first entry into the electronic sporting goods market.

The running monitor can operate for up to 12 hours on a full charge with GPS tracking on which is more than sufficient for long-distance events, from full marathons to trial runs. The long battery life also means that the monitor will require less frequent recharging; a runner who uses it for five hours a week with GPS tracking on would not need to recharge the unit for a full two weeks. Epson's GPS running monitor weighs about 50 grams and measures just 13mm thin, which is comfortable to wear on the wrist. It also offers water resistance of up to 5 bars, or 50 meters of water, compared to other GPS watches that can be fully submerged in water no deeper than one meter for a maximum of 30 minutes.