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As it stands, the question is extremely broad, and hence pretty much impossible to answer.

What's your use case?

Are you looking to improve your general fitness, doing some casual runs, maybe using Parkrun as a way of tracking improvements over time? Then pretty much anything - from your basic Pebble or Fitbit, all the way up to a Garmin Fenix 5, will do the job.

Cycling? Look at the Garmin Edge series - it's not a wearable, in the way that the Pebble, Apple Watch, Fitbit, etc., are - but it's much more useful on the bike than anything you can stick on your wrist.

Triathlon? Garmin is the one to beat here. The 735XT is an excellent starting point; you only really need to go to a 935 or a Fenix if you're looking at ultra distance races taking over 14 hours (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run.) For the "long course" (aka "half Ironman") races, and anything shorter (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run), the 735XT is more than adequate.

Swimming? Get a triathlon watch; there's not really anything that's dedicated to swimming these days.

The advantage of the cycling and triathlon specific equipment is that they let you add additional sensors. Cadence sensors (running/cycling). Power meters (cycling). Chest heart rate straps (significantly more accurate than optical wrist sensors). I use all of those to track what I'm doing, then upload the data file to a service that lets my coach see exactly what I'm doing, and adjust my program accordingly. But I'm a relatively serious (if slow) triathlete; that's not for everybody.

But without knowing what you're looking at doing, it really is impossible to make a useful recommendation. If you want more information than you can poke a stick at, I highly recommend DC Rainmaker.

What do I use? I started with the Garmin 910XT, upgraded to the 735XT, then upgraded again to the Forerunner 935. I fully expect the 935 to last at least two or more years. I also use an Edge 520 on the bike - I could get rid of it in favour of the Varia Vision, but honestly, the 520 is cheaper and works well enough for me. But my needs are not necessarily indicative of your needs.

Power meters for bicycles aren't cheap either - maybe 1000$ or so.

For some models, yes, but by and large your information is dated. There are plenty of "consumer" models that are less than $500, and provide data that is quite good.

For more information than you can shake a bicycle crank at, I suggest taking a look at DC Rainmaker. He owns every device he reviews* and does lots of hands-on testing. For reviews of power meters, he typically tricks out his bike with 2-4 power meters (in different locations: crank arm, spider, rear hub, etc.), each with their own head unit.

* As he explains on his website, he often is doing his hands-on reviewing with pre-production models from the company, but always returns is and purchases his own - to confirm that is wasn't a special snowflake - before posting.

Here's a review from a reviewer I trust. Compared to heart rate straps, wrist based HRMs seem to be not very good at tracking heart rate during intense workouts. It also seems like it has trouble tracking changes that occur quickly during such as during interval training.

Good to see some actual studies done on this, but I think that many people who work out already knew about this. Here's a review of the Fitbit Charge HR which shows that during periods of intense exercise, that the fitbit doesn't track very well. It seems to do a pretty good job when you aren't exercising, but compared even to a heart rate strap worn on the chest, the accuracy is lacking.

I have run a number of marathons. The Sony Smartwatch 3 has great features, supports Bluetooth Smart for pairing with a HR monitor (I strongly recommend Scosche Rhythm+, by the way) and tracking apps, e.g. Endomondo.

I don't wear headphones or listen to music while running (by the way, race organizers discourage headphones during races). So I want a loud alert for intervals, in other words, I want a device with an external speaker, which the SW3 doesn't have. So I just use a Geonaute 510 tracker watch (el-cheapo European brand, but has a feature set similar to that of Garmin Forerunner 220) and Scosche Rhythm+ HR monitor.

DC Rainmaker has many and very comprehensive reviews of sport watches (smart- and non-smart), sports gear, etc.

I second the TomTom Spark, here is a quick overview from the best sports-watch review site:

TomTom Spark impressions.

I use an earlier version of TomTom Cardio, which is really great. In case you'd want also want to have optical heart rate monitoring (which the TomTom Spark hs) then it's pretty much the only choice, as most other optical heart rate monitors are quite inaccurate when it comes to sports, see D.C. Rainmaker's review of them on the same site.

I have been running for 30+ years at this point.

Some points:
* There is not going to be a perfect device. As the saying goes, a Swiss Army Knife is no replacement for a well stocked toolbox. A few dedicated devices will do the trick much better than an all-in-one device will.

* While listening to music while running can make the time go a little faster, a running partner will be a much better addition. When it is dark and snowing outside and you are warm and in your bed, knowing that someone is going to be meeting you in 30 minutes is better motivation than anything else. Training should also always allow you to talk while you run (otherwise you are going too fast). Having someone there to talk to makes sure you are going at the right pace.

* Once you have some experience with them, a heart rate monitor can really guide training. Pace can be affected by ambient temperature, wind, inclines, and other factors. Your heart rate is a better indicator of effort.

* I have not had the Forerunner 15. I have had the FR60, the ForeRunner 405, and the ForeRunner 220. All of them have been able to get 3+ hours. The 405 was the worst of the bunch, but that was a relatively early GPS watch. Even then, it got 3+ hours for the first year or so. The 220 gets 6+ hours - I have honestly never gotten the battery down very low. Even after 3+ hour runs, it is showing more than 50% left. I generally use the 220 for 3-4 runs before I consider charging it back up.

* I never run with my phone. It is partly because of bulk, and mostly because I go running to get outside and get away from the always-on world we live in. I only listen to music on my long runs, and for that I have an older iPod Shuffle.

* As others have mentioned, http://www.dcrainmaker.com/pro... is the best review site out there.

* Based on your needs, I would consider Garmin's newest watches, the 230 or the 235: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/201... I would also purchase an iPod Shuffle. If wireless is a big requirement, I would look at the iPod Nano and BlueTooth headphones.

I have been running for 30+ years at this point.

Some points:
* There is not going to be a perfect device. As the saying goes, a Swiss Army Knife is no replacement for a well stocked toolbox. A few dedicated devices will do the trick much better than an all-in-one device will.

* While listening to music while running can make the time go a little faster, a running partner will be a much better addition. When it is dark and snowing outside and you are warm and in your bed, knowing that someone is going to be meeting you in 30 minutes is better motivation than anything else. Training should also always allow you to talk while you run (otherwise you are going too fast). Having someone there to talk to makes sure you are going at the right pace.

* Once you have some experience with them, a heart rate monitor can really guide training. Pace can be affected by ambient temperature, wind, inclines, and other factors. Your heart rate is a better indicator of effort.

* I have not had the Forerunner 15. I have had the FR60, the ForeRunner 405, and the ForeRunner 220. All of them have been able to get 3+ hours. The 405 was the worst of the bunch, but that was a relatively early GPS watch. Even then, it got 3+ hours for the first year or so. The 220 gets 6+ hours - I have honestly never gotten the battery down very low. Even after 3+ hour runs, it is showing more than 50% left. I generally use the 220 for 3-4 runs before I consider charging it back up.

* I never run with my phone. It is partly because of bulk, and mostly because I go running to get outside and get away from the always-on world we live in. I only listen to music on my long runs, and for that I have an older iPod Shuffle.

* As others have mentioned, http://www.dcrainmaker.com/pro... is the best review site out there.

* Based on your needs, I would consider Garmin's newest watches, the 230 or the 235: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/201... I would also purchase an iPod Shuffle. If wireless is a big requirement, I would look at the iPod Nano and BlueTooth headphones.

I run.
Marathons, half-marathons, long (8 hours) orienteering competitions, whatnot.
I won't tell you what to buy, but I can suggest some more "must have" features.

1) If she is serious about her training, she will need a heart rate monitor. At least as a beginner. Experience will help her understand her body without a HR belt later, but first, she will need this experience!
2) She will do intervals, right? Some watches are better at that than others. Good, clear display is a must. Audible signals (beeps) will also help. Some people preplan their trainings ("1 km with HR 150, 1 km with HR 160, ..") but most watches won't have this capability.
3) GPS accuracy differs. A bad watch can lose GPS signal on open field - and never get it back. Want to run in a park? Forest? Even worse. Go read up on your device of choice before becoming a field tester.
4) As mentioned earlier, night mode (backlight on) may be needed.
5) Check the training display options. She (probably) needs a combo of pace, HR, distance & time, lap distance & time. Does Sony have it?

If you can, let her do a test run and go a full cycle - from planning to training to analysis.

For reviews, http://www.dcrainmaker.com/ is your friend. Nobody else is as thorough as this guy.

I have Garmin Forerunner 405 and Polar M400 GPS watches. Both are horrible. Garmin has worst UI one could imagine, it will literally drive you nuts. Polar has the worst software support that money can buy.

Of course people have been doing fartleks and intervals without any GPS, so none of the requirements is really a MUST. But if she is really into running, get her a runners' watch, not a glorified media player.

DC Rainmaker has in-depth reviews of pretty much every running/cycling/fitness device made for the past decade, I recommend looking there. http://www.dcrainmaker.com/