The Zephyr HxM heart rate monitor is without a doubt, the best bang for my buck that I''ve found while looking for a HRM. While new to biking and just getting back into weight lifting, this is the first HRM that I''ve used, and while expensive, it provides seemless, live, heart rate information on my Droid. I get to track my biking route through the Droid''s GPS, as well as my avg and top speed, average and top BPM''s, and so on.This little baby frees me up from having to keep track of multiple devices, and allows me to use one device to track all of my information needs, and provide a little musical entertainment while on those long bike rides.
It''s accurate (when compared to the manual method of checking your pulse for 15 seconds then multipying that by 4), extremely light weight, and the belt is extremely easy to clean (just pop the monitor itself off the belt and wash!)
My only complaint is that the device only comes with a USB charger. Not very handy if you''re on vacation and not near a laptop of computer. However, the monitor''s battery gives you approximately 23 hours of use on a single charge, and after having it now for almost four weeks, it still has the same charge that I put on it after opening up the box!
If you''re into exercising and want to know where your heart rate is for optimal weight loss and muscle development, AND own an Android OS based smartphone, I *HIGHLY* recommend this baby!
I''ve been analyzing the packets the device sends over Bluetooth, and have found out that, contrary to my previous belief, in addition to the average heart rate, the device transmits the actual RR intervals in milliseconds. This means that with the right software, the device could easily be used to analyze heart rate variability, and that you aren''t limited to the heart rate averaging algorithm that the device itself uses (which seems to be pretty solid anyway though).
I also love that they include a USB charging cradle. Much better than the Polar heart rate monitors with the expensive alkaline batteries that you have to replace every few weeks.
So in summary a great piece of kit. My only ask is that Zephyr makes the API available publicly for free; I think that would boost developer adoption and we''d see a lot of Zephyr HxM apps on the market.
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I really wanted to like this product it''s very cool to be able to integrate my HR with my Android phone & use SportsTrackLive to monitor my pace & distance, and to have my heart rate announced to me every X seconds while I''m running so I know just how I''m doing, all while listening to tunes on Pandora.So, that''s great and all, but very frequently after a half hour or so, the Zephyr will tell me that my heart rate has dropped way down for example, from 160 to 80. It''s so irritating and makes me completely lose focus on my run when I hear the thing announce such a low heart rate. It''ll often happen during a very difficult part of the run when I''m really pushing myself, so it''s especially distracting when I know my HR has got to be getting close to the max and the thing tells me it''s at 80. I end up slowing way down and futzing with the unit, re-positioning the strap, unsnapping and resnapping the module, etc. Sometimes the HR will get back to normal again, but it''s typically a bit messed up from that point on.
I''ve followed all of the suggestions that are on the Zephyr web site, including wetting the strap, making sure it''s tight enough, and positioned high enough. I''ve also had several different phones in the time I''ve owned the Zephyr HXM, and this problem is consistent across all of them. I believe that the problem is happening after I''ve worked up a good sweat it seems to mess things up when it gets too wet. Another reviewer, "S. Cronin", had this same problem, so it''s not unique to me.
I have sent 4 emails to support over the past several months, and they haven''t answered a single one. I posted on their forum and this has not been answered either. I believe they''re ignoring me because they know that this issue has no solution. Either that or they just don''t care to answer emails from their customers. Either way, it''s not a good sign that the company won''t take the time to answer a customer who is having issues.
I finally got so fed up with it that I went out and bought a Garmin 610 with HR monitor, abandoning the tracking-runs-using-my-phone concept altogether. The Garmin is working great. The HR readings have all been accurate with no sudden drop-outs. I do miss having the voice cues, but I''m willing to sacrifice them in the interest of accuracy. I''ll just have to get used to looking at my wrist for HR data.
I recommend staying far away from this product. For me, I think it''s done more harm than good it is incredibly distracting having an inaccurate HR announced to you, especially when it happens when you''re really exerting yourself. There are a bunch of positive reviews out here, and I can''t say why they haven''t seen the issues that I have, but there are also several negative reviews. Maybe myself and the other negative reviewers just have a faulty units. If that''s the case, I still can''t get through to anybody at the company to replace it, and at this point I don''t even care to. Maybe my HR runs higher than the people who don''t have issues, and it''s confusing the unit & causing the bad data. Who knows all I know is I can''t get through to anybody to troubleshoot it, I''ve completely given up on the HXM and the Zephyr company in general, and will be tossing this one in the trash heap. It was a complete waste of time & money. My advice is to stay far, far away from this one. Maybe the bluetooth HRM from Polar is better......
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**UPDATE 7/21/11: I finally heard from Zephyr. They never did answer any of my emails to the support address, but I decided to give it one last try and sent an email to the address they give for requesting an RMA# to return a unit. I received instructions on how to return it, and they will be sending me a new one. Hopefully the new one doesn''t have the issues that my original did. So, I''m glad that I finally heard from them and that they''re willing to replace the unit, but the whole lack of answering any of the emails to support, or to the two individual addresses that I had tracked down still leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth... I can''t say for sure if the new one will have the issues that the old one had, but I''ll post my findings and will modify the review accordingly.I''ve been using the HxM for a few weeks paired with my Motorola Droid (using 2 different apps) and I''m very happy with the product. Unlike my previous Polar strap, the HxM strap is all-fabric with no plastic contacts that get all sticky on my skin. Because let''s face it, when you''re working out, if you aren''t sweating you''re missing the point. The HxM is very light, thin, and soft. I could easily wear this all day. There''s plenty of battery life to last a week between recharges. If you want to get a leg up on working out and really get some peak performance out of your body, do yourself a favor and get the HxM now.
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I was having a lot of reception issues with my Polar heart rate monitor. I was about to give up on the whole Bluetooth concept with an HRM, but gave the Zephyr a try since it had some positive reviews here on Amazon. I''m really glad I did! After three weeks of use for backpacking in Acadia National Park, several hundred miles of cycling, and a fair amount of running, it''s performed better than I could have hoped. It is extremely accurate (I am very adept at doing manual heart-rate counts), has tremendous range (and has a nice long 20hr life. As others have mentioned, you have to charge it with a USB connection into a notebook or PC, but that''s not an issue for me. If it''s a problem for you, get a really cheap adapter. My phone came with one, and I have a ton more of them from other devices I''ve owned in the past.The main issue I had with my Polar is that while cycling, I got terrible reception to my HTC Sensation when keeping the phone anywhere but directly in front of my body. Bluetooth is pretty infamous for having a terrible time broadcasting through the human body, and so I had basically assumed that Bluetooth would never work for the application I needed for most: cycling. I tried this one out, and was very surprised at how well it worked. Just how good? I had my friend carry my phone on a ride, and it never lost connection as we road over 20 miles on a trail--the whole time we were fairly close together, but at times were at least 10-15 feet apart with the phone in his bike''s rear carrier. That really impressed me. I''ve worn this riding home in the rain and never lost connection--again something my Polaris struggled with.
This is the best heart rate monitor I''ve ever owned, and I''ve owned quite a few the last 5 years. It''s the only one that Bluetooth works properly on in my opinion. It''s worth spending a bit more for this unit vs. the Polar for that very reason.
I use the Zephyr literally everyday with Endomondo fitness tracker (look me up if you use Endomondo--I use my real name there too) and it''s been flawless. As an aside, I''ve tried most of the fitness trainers like Cardio Tracker and iMapMyRun and Endomondo beats them hands down, at least with my phone. Highly recommend this HRM and Endomondo both.
Feel free to ask questions in the comments--I''ll do my best to answer them.
*****Update*****
After a month and a half of use (on a nearly daily basis), I am still extremely impressed with the Zephyr. It just works.
However, I did want to note that when I housed it in my 100oz Camelbak, it lost connection with the chest strap. Since bluetooth doesn''t transmit well through water, I guess I could have predicted that it would have problems. So if you plan to use the Zephyr, keep in mind it won''t broadcast through your Camelbak & your body both.
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