it can tell time

too many things cause interferance

junk it is junk. false readings often adn polar support is terrible. They just give you the run around. I will never get another polar product again.

Pretty simple to use. It's great when its working. I really like the infrared data upload to the pc and software.

Yet to figure out if you can reset to zero before each ride. Looses its mind randomnly.

I purchase the 720 about a 1 1/2 yrs ago. I loved the thing at first but I'm looking for something else. This watch just looses its marbles for no reason. I've called support and they wanted it shipped in to replace the battery. I changed it myself twice and it still just goes nuts. It will blank out, then reset and all your ride data for the past 2 or 3 hrs is gone.

Similar Products Used:

cateye.

Weak removes elevation feature of the original S702i. (Polar says they no longer offer it in that model) So the S720i no longer has cummulative elevation and the S725i does have that but has no Autostart ! Well on to the Cyclesport HAC4. Wow Polar sucks. I used my trusty S720i for years and they go and ruin it !

Lap settings, keeps track of cadence, speed, calories expended and all sorts of other averages. Ability to upload and download settings.

No audible alarm for intervals when using the watch in auto-start mode on the bike. The stored results of any exercise are a little hard to scroll through, but that's the nature of a small device that stores so much data.

I love this product. I use it for Cadence and Speed, as well as heart rate. Once you get used to the settings they are a breeze to cycle through as you ride. There have been a couple of complaints registered here about electromatic interference during the ride, and there's a place I ride where I get a big spike in my readings almost every time, but the software makes it easy to normalize this spike with the rest of the data, so it's no big deal. Same with the complaints about the altitude readings. Yes, the readings depend on atmospheric pressure, so they will change from day to day, but if you know the altitude at the start of the ride, it's easy enough to set it then. Most days I don't even bother with that since I'm really interested in my gain or loss in altitude during any particulare ride. The temprature setting confused me for a while, since I noted that on some days the temprature showed up and on others it did not. I finally realized that the temprature only showed up if you were using the interval settings, or whenever you marked a lap. The lap marker is a really great feature, as it gives me a chance to compare the same subarea of a ride on multiple days. During multi-day light tours, I set the recording interval for the heart rate to sixty seconds, and I am able to record the entire tour on the watch for retrieval into the software when I get home. In short, S720i does everything I need it to do and more.

Similar Products Used:

Cateye Astral

Plenty of features and information, if you know how to use it to its full usage.

Not the easiest of things to operate, probably too much information.

The Polar 720i is OK, but I found it quite difficult to get to know how to set up the training programs and when I eventually was able to download the information I hadn't a clue what it all meant! [maybe I'm stupid?] I'm sure if I stick with it my knowledge of how to get the best out of it will eventually improve, however my opinion is it would be a great training tool to have if you could simply pass it on to a coach for him/her to analyse, leaving me time to do better things than get stressed out trying to understand it! My HRM is now up for sale.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Solid hardware, good performance.

Poor software, non-standard USB IR interface. No Mac support from Polar.

The Polar S720i is a solid unit which allows one to use wireless speedometer, HRM and cadence sensor, and optional power meter. It logs information from all of the above, plus altitude and temperature (which it samples only once per "lap"). The wireless units all work well, except that the sensors tend to not work below 25F (common problem to almost any other competing product). The placement of the sensors and main unit is important to obtain reliable reading. Read the manual carefully. The data provided by the unit has been quite accurate, and provides a wealth of training information. Perhaps the most useful role is that of a personal training journal to motivate me to do more training. The software is mediocre at best, with a poorly designed user interface. Polar decided to NOT implement a standard USB device for IR transfer, which means that it can be used only on the PC platform. If you use a Mac, tough love. There is really no good reason for this design decision. Polar should consider complying with the standards to encourage users to develop software which ultimately makes purchasing a Polar system more attractive. Software is also compatible only with very few laptop IR ports, so budget the USB IR unit into your purchase

Similar Products Used:

Vetta Wireless.

As advertised: it reads HR, speed, alt. Cadence and power are optional. Setup is easy. Anyone with a modicum of patience can figure out how to program it. I haven't even scratched the surface yet. I haven't done the various calibrations or programmed workouts. I make goals and aim for them. The 720i keeps your cockpit nice and clean--only one gadget for everything. With a PC, interface is very simple and reliable (same cannot be said of PC).

No Mac support. In the past this was acceptable and understandable, but today, not so much. Mac users tend to be generally wealthier and better educated than PC users, so Polar should realize that there are probably many Mac users who are forced to use PCs just to download their own data. "PC-only" is a sad anachronism. Also there is less that 12 hours of storage if recording speed, altitude and HR at 5 second sampling rate. This means it has about 100 KB of memory. It's 2005, surely you can pack in a little more memory. It's a real pain on long trips. A Palm can be used, but it is very experimental.

The 720i is really great, and it does what it says. Mounting it was easy, and contrary to many other reviewers, I find using it to be very straightforward. It is true that not all the features are accessed in an intuitive way--for instance to see the outside temperature, you must be viewing the altitude (below a post claims temp is unavailable, this is false). However, with only four side buttons and the red one, all the features of the watch can be set. This is quite a feat, I'd say. My main gripe is that the USB interface does not work with with Macs. I am forced to use a PC to download the data. This would likely be solved if Polar would use a standard USB device for their IR interface. Polar, however, is a highly anal company and they are unlikely to change. I guess it's too cold in Finland to lighten up. I have found a solution to the limited data storage capacity of this watch: it is possible to download the data to a Palm handheld. I have not fully tested this program, but it seems promising. This really beats dragging around a ten-ton Dell "laptop" when I go on trips. I am changing the meanings of the ratings: "value" = rating of watch, "overall" = rating of watch+computer interface

Similar Products Used:

Cateye wireless

This HRM does all of the heart rate info collection nicely. Computer analysis of data is amazing. For the price I paid, I would buy this product again in a minute!

Computer program is clunky and buggy now and again. The choices for setting up interval training programs within the computer program is limited. It would be nice to have more options in setting up workouts with the computer program.

The 720i is marketed as a top of the line HRM with computer interface functions to allow for detailed tracking of fitness improvement. I've found that the heart rate functions for the 720i are quite good. It records everything it claims with great consistency. The Polar Precision Performance computer program on the other hand does not quite live up to the hype. I run a Windows XP PC with great components all around. It took a great deal of time to get the computer program to work properly, and that was only after I accidentally found a software update on Polar's website. I use a Polar IR interface for downloading and uploading, and either there is a problem with the IR or the receiver because I have about a 60% success rate with transmitting all of my data at one time. The other time 40% of the time involves me shutting down the computer program and restarting it in order to establish a link or backing out of Connect mode on the receiver and coming back into Connect mode. Overall, when I do get all of my info onto the computer program I'm amazed and satisfied with the detail the 720i provides for my workouts, but I do a good bit of swearing now and then to get to those moments of amazement.

Similar Products Used:

First HRM.

This is a quality product (not chintzy). Software does a very good job of monitoring and analyzing results. And I reallly like the wireless feature. Also, includes feature for programming exercises.

Expect to lose a signal periodically (which they warn you against), which could ruin readings for a full ride. Keep your existing computer for all your bike readings. That way you'll still retain everything except the HRM data.

Purchase price included Speed and Cadence Sensors, Bike Mount, plus IR interface. Also got free 2nd day shipping. Bike installation of transmitters and handlebar mount very straight-forward. Everything worked first time. Performs exactly as advertised. IR interface works flawlessly as well. Bike readings compare spot-on with my existing computer. The VO2 calculation is amazingly accurate, based on clinical tests. User's manual could be better organized, but is easy to understand -- and is accurate. It just takes several readings to absorb it all. A great tool for interval training. I would purchase this unit again in a "heartbeat."

Similar Products Used:

Specialized wireless computer

Mass amounts of data to view on my computer, altimeter seems very accurate if you reset it to your home altitude before you ride (which is pretty easy to do). Both cadence and speed sensor are wireless, which reduces weight and the clutter. Have everything in one unit. Calculate the percent grade for you in the software and your total altitude gain.

Have to scroll through a number of functions on the display before you get to the one you want. There's no way to view the temperature on the monitor, it is downloaded and viewable on the PC data though.

I've been very pleased so far. Has everything that I could want in a cycling computer/Heart Rate Monitor. Overall, everything works well and accurately to my knowledge. I use speed, cadence, altitude, but not the power unit.

Similar Products Used:

Polar S610i, Shimano Flight Deck SC-6501, Cateye Astrale 8