running

I’ve been an advocate and constant user of heart rate monitors (hrm) since my first Polar in 1991. Back then, use of these systems were mostly isolated to professional athletes and University sports programs. Today, heart rate monitors are used by millions of people for a variety of reasons. When used properly, every aspect of your training can become more effective; From progress, to recovery and even safety.

Polar Electronics was first to popularize personal heart monitors with a simple chest-strap/wristwatch combination. Over the past 20 years that user-experience hasn’t changed much. Of course today’s models are far more capable and sophisticated than those of the past, but as more and more monitoring data got stuffed into our wristwatch computers, the learning-curve to use those monitors went sharply upward. Today’s highest-end offerings from top brands like Polar, Suunto and Garmin still have you looking at a small, monochrome LCD screen surrounded by loads of tiny buttons. All these high-end wrist-top computers come with hefty entry prices, made higher when you add all the necessary data-input/computer-interfacing accessories. Well, our favorite hrm brands had better take a look around because the game is changing quickly.

Odds are, if you’ve recently purchased a smartphone, it has the potential of doing everything you want and more (probably better) than anything offered by Polar, Suunto, Garmin and the like. You likely have onboard your mobile a GPS receiver, full-screen maps and access to fitness applications. You also have a media player, camera and access to your favorite social networks. Yes, many of you already know these things and it’s probably why you’ve purchased the mobile you have. However, there is one accessory many of us have been waiting for that might just make our mobiles a complete workout companion; An available hrm for mobiles.

My friends at Sports Tracking Technologies whetted many-an-appetite around the world with a very limited test offering in their “Polar for Nokia” product, announced January 2009. Their award-winning Sports Tracker application became compatible with a hrm made by Polar Electronics, all packaged in a dream offering with a Nokia N79 phone called the “Active Edition”. I was one of the lucky few to get my hands on one and have used it nearly every day over the past year. Inspired by its potential impact, I began RunningDigital.com. Regretfully, I’ve never had any news to pass on as to the availability, nor anything regarding the project’s forward status. Meanwhile, Android news and Nokia stagnation ultimately led me to try something new.

Enter Android and Zephyr Technology.

Zephyr has quietly been selling out of their latest offering, a heart rate monitor that pairs with your mobile called simply “HxM”. It’s a traditional-looking chest-strap that pairs to your handset using Bluetooth. Actually, the HxM has been available for over a year now. Zephyr Technology is a leader in real time physiological status monitoring solutions for the Defense, First Responder, Sports and Research Markets. Their HxM product is their venture into the consumer market. When Zephyr first released the HxM you had to be a programmer to make use of it as there was no supporting software. You see, Zephyr had simultaneously offered up an SDK with the HxM, but until recently there was no way for the average user to make use of the HxM’s data. Again, things have changed!

If you own an Android phone running firmware 2.0 or higher, you now can use the Zephyr HxM. There is also supporting software for Windows Mobile. With four excellent Zephyr-compatible applications in the Android Market now and more in development from others, you’ll surely find a pairing that suits your interests. I’m absolutely thrilled with the way mobile phones are evolving, especially Android. By having the freedom to choose from a lively and competitive app market, with hardware accessories like the HxM being developed into competing software choices, the consumer can feel somewhat insured against any typical early-adopter tax. It’s all about choices and Android is offering the best environment around for both developers and end-users alike.

I ordered my Zephyr HxM direct from their website for $99. *(See a message at the end of the review)* International shipping via FedEx was $25. There are a few other places on the Web to order it from, but none was as economical. I took delivery in Sweden from the US just two days later. The product was thoughtfully packaged in minimalist fashion, not much unlike anything bought from Apple or HTC. Using Polar as the standard-bearer for quality hrm’s, immediately you can see Zephyr’s attention to the same. The fabric chest-strap is well-constructed, light and comfortable; More comfortable than my Polar straps thanks to Zephyr’s added bit of memory foam beneath the contacts. The small and attractive HxM data module/radio snaps easily, yet securely, onto two fasteners. The module itself appears flawless and permanently sealed. An integrated Lithium-Polymer battery is charged via the included USB cradle, eliminating country-specific powering concerns. A full charge is said to last 24 hours and the battery said to live to 500 cycles. The module also contains an accelerometer for cadence data. This way, software can be written to calculate a relative distance without the need for GPS, such as indoor sports. Overall, the HxM is a fine product with loads of potential only limited to the software developer’s ambition. Check the forums and comment boards for sport-tracking apps lacking a hrm and you’ll find numerous requests for one. The demand is apparent also in the aforementioned, twice-exhausted supply at Zephyr since its introduction. This is great news and I believe Zephyr has positioned themselves well. Not just for offering a well-made product, but for the way they’ve done so.

I’ve been using the HxM for two weeks now without a single issue. It collects and transmits data as well or better than anything I’ve owned from Polar, Suunto and Garmin. Recorded data, including max and resting hr, is spot-on. Also noteworthy is that the chest-strap is the most comfortable I’ve worn. Available applications do a fine job with the provided data, though nothing yet takes full advantage of the HxM’s potential. The silver lining here is that most Android developers are quick to respond to their user’s requests and their apps are always improving to keep their audiences. They have to, as there’s plenty of excellent competition responding just as fast.

Zephyr Technology will add an HxM Android app of their own very soon to the competition, which I can’t wait to use. Also, I’ll provide coverage of all the apps I’m currently testing the HxM with in the next few posts.

So there you have it. Zephyr HxM gets my full recommendation.

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*(Zephyr is offering $5 off the HxM to my readers! Follow this link and order as usual from their website and enter this coupon code  runningdigital (all lower-case), when prompted, to receive the offer.)