Polar Electro


Polar Electro Oy is a manufacturer of sports training computers, particularly known for developing the world's first wireless heart rate monitor.
The company is based in Kempele, Finland and was founded in 1977. Polar has approximately 1,200 employees worldwide, it has 26 subsidiaries that supply over 35,000 retail outlets in more than 80 countries. Polar manufactures a range of heart rate monitoring devices and accessories for athletic training and fitness and also to measure heart rate variability.

History

In 1975, there was no accurate way to record heart rates during training, and the idea of a wireless, portable heart rate monitor was conceived on a cross-country skiing track in Finland.
Polar was founded in 1977, and filed its first patent for wireless heart rate measurement three years later. Its late founder Seppo Säynäjäkangas was the inventor of the first wireless EKG heart rate monitor. In 1982, Polar launched the world's first wearable wire-free heart rate monitor, the Sport Tester PE 2000.
Polar technology and devices are widely used in various scientific studies as well as being adopted by many university research departments. In part due to its own history and the affiliation with universities and the scientific community, Polar offers a research co-operation programme focused on supporting studies in exercise science.
In November 2015, Polar released its first optical wrist-reading heart rate monitor, the A360.
In July 2018, Dutch newspaper De Correspondent revealed that Polar's fitness app shows users on the map, making it possible to find out their real names, profession and home addresses. In a reaction, Polar ended some of the online functionality of sharing routes on the map.

Current Products

ModelCategoryAnnouncement date
Polar Unitewatch2020-06-30
Polar Grit Xwatch2020-04-22
Polar Ignitewatch2019-06-26
Polar Vantage Mwatch2018-09-13
Polar Vantage Vwatch2018-09-13
Polar A370watch2017-05-24
Polar H10heart rate monitor2017-03-15
Polar H9heart rate monitor2020-01-29
Polar OH1heart rate monitor2019-03-20
Polar M200watch2016-10-06
Polar M430watch2017-04-06
Polar M460bike computer2017-04-12
Polar V650bike computer2014-01-26