Epson PULSENSE PS-100 Heart Rate Monitor with Activity Tracking for iOS- Turquoise M/L

Highlights:- accurate heart rate and step tracking under a variety of conditions- relatively comfortable and lightweight, even when active- records 480 hrs of data without needing to sync- charges quickly- battery lasts several days of continuous useProblems:- Bluetooth pairing is unreliable at best, and in fact mostly broken- software tends to lag and seems to only make Bluetooth issues worse- there doesn't appear to be a way to pull out the actual recorded heart rate numbers from the history view in the app- band tends to get caught on long sleeve shirts, sweaters, and coats- very slow to sync data with phoneOverall, I'm somewhat happy with it, but I wouldn't recommend it until the Bluetooth pairing issues are fixed. For reference, it was almost unusable with android 4.4, but now that I'm on 5.0 appears to have improved. I still have to unpair/repair regularly though, and the pairing process can be extremely finicky.

Dislikes -Strap - poorly designed because it easily pops off, unlike a watch-type strap. Also, it is not simple to reattach, given that you have to resize it every time it pops off. Kinda hard to explain, but not worth getting hung up on. The strap popping off is particularly frustrating at night, which has happened at least once each night since I tend to shove my hands under my pillow at times. Setting the size and clipping the strap in the dark is frustrating. It also pops off from time to time during the day.Heart rate zones - entering/leaving a heart rate zone triggers an alarm (either vibration, light, or a combination thereof). The problem is that the heart rate zones are predetermined, not allowing me to individualize my desired training regimen. As a result, I'm concentrating on my BPM shown on the app at certain points during a workout, while vibrations/lights are distracting me at the predetermined zones. I could turn off the vibration/light alarms completely, but that turns off my morning vibration alarm, which is a feature I really like. Having to mess with those kinds of settings regularly is not something I want to have to do, given my difficulty with the App.App - the app has been frustrating to say the least. Every time I navigate to a new part of the app, I sit around waiting while a "communicating" notice pops up, regardless of whether I have actually changed anything in the settings. The time spent waiting adds up with each button I press to navigate and it makes me lose interest in what I am doing it, even if it is simply to see how much battery life is left.Bulky - the overall design is bulky. It feels a little awkward under my dress shirts. More than anything, I find myself knocking it against things, which to be fair isn't necessarily a fault in the design, but it happens and then I have to deal with the strap issue. It is definitely more bulky than many of the other trackers out there.Placement on the wrist - the recommended placement is on the non-dominant hand, away from the ulna bone. This means I should put it on my left hand along with my watch. Kinda feels like there's a lot going on the left wrist at that point. Understanding that the reason for this probably has an impact on the pedometer, could you design a setting for whether you place the strap on either the dominant or non-dominant hand and make an equation that compensates for a typical difference in motion between the two? It could be included as an option in the device settings. Also, avoiding the ulna bone places the strap way to high up on the wrist. Not comfortable at all up there. Is there a way to design the strap around the ulna, instead of avoiding it?Instructions - for basic use, it is basically plug and play. But, I'm pretty sure every time I tap the screen the light blinks at me for a reason. I have no idea what that reason is, but it would be nice if that kind of information was readily available since touching the screen was one of the first things I wanted to do.Likes -HRM is consistent with what I was getting with my chest strap. That was a big worry of mine, but there was no reason to worry.I really liked being able to use the app to view my beats per minute, even if the app was slow at times. Wahoo fitness app also pairs with it if you like that interface for simple BPM viewing.The device has the ability to store a lot of information and last without recharging for a while if you adjust the settings correctly.Cool technology - The light sensing technology used to determine BPM is pretty cool, and is accurate.Overall-I really wanted to like this device, especially because I waited for over 7 months after pre-ordering it. But, I was underwhelmed. Many of the issues I mentioned, including the app and the device settings, could be easily tweaked to make it more user-friendly. The strap and bulkiness issues will have to be addressed on later versions.From now on, this device will be relegated to individual workout sessions. There are just too many frustrations to deal with for it to be an all-day, every day type of device.