A couple of days ago I received a product update from Polar (the company that makes heart rate monitors). Around two years ago I upgraded to a new polar heart rate monitor. At the time I did some research into the different options. It was clear that GPS was finding its way into distance and speed measurement. But the units were a bit too bulky for my liking. There was also the issue that I had an Ipod shuffle strapped to my left arm when running and the thought of having a device on the other arm simply didn't appeal to me (nowadays the Ipod is hidden in my back short pocket). When I read that Polar had added what they called a G3 GPS sensor to their RS800 training system I was hoping for a cool new innovation.
Nope... Polar has opted for the arm strap solution. Disappointing. Had they produced a heart rate monitor with in-built GPS, instead of a separate unit, I would have been first in line to buy one. See the RS 800
here. I am guessing it is still too costly or difficult to add a GPS unit to a wristwatch without changing size and appearance siginificantly.
