After my old Polar heart rate monitor became unreliable and stopped working, I bought this device with the RS300X heart rate monitor as a replacement. I expected that it would allow me to upload the data from the heart rate monitor directly to my computer's hard drive. However, there seems no option to do this, and instead, the device only appears to work by uploading data directly to Polar's website.
I have several problems with this:
1. A live internet connection is necessary to upload any data from the HRM, and it can't be done offline.
2. It means I have no choice of what software to store my training results in, unless I manually type my data into another program (which takes away the whole point of the data transfer device!), because the Polar website seems to have no option to download a batch file of all my data.
3. I regard my training data as private, and yet to use this device, I have no option but to share my training data and personal details with Polar. They have an opt-out clause in their terms and conditions that you can select if you want to increase the restrictions on how they are allowed to use your data and personal details. However, when I asked them to confirm receipt of my opt-out and let me know if there was any way of downloading data directly to my hard drive, I received absolutely no reply.
In summary, I would not have bought this device (or the RS300X, which has no alternative data transfer means) if I had been aware of its limitations prior to purchasing. I would have chosen an alternative that gave me control over my own data and a choice over the training analysis software that I can use. This was the case with my old polar HRM, which transferred to PC by IR link. Also, poor customer service from Polar, in not replying to my queries.
