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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Like it - but flawed, November 10, 2006
This review is from: Polar AXN700 Altimeter, Barometer, Temperature, and Compass (Sports)
I like this watch, but it's hard to give it a good review. It has all the heart rate monitor functions you could hope for and the altitude, temp and compass do come in handy occasionally. However:
The wrist band is poorly designed. My two-year-old was looking at the watch and broke the band in about 30 seconds (and it has a unique design which can only be repaired by sending it back to Polar). Kids are tough, but this watch is supposed to be for outdoor use and breaking so easily is unacceptable. My kid can't break my Casio G-Shock.
It's very thick, such that people are asking me all the time what that thing on my wrist it. These days, you could probably fit a whole PC in the volume. It also makes the face very susceptible to scratches.
The temp reading is useless on your wrist due to body temperature. Not a fault with this particular design, but it does greatly reduce the utility.
Compass not really useful for navigation since there's no way to "sight" along the watch or read it while sighting.
Despite large size of the display, many readouts are very small and the display can't be customized.
Never was able to get it to download to my computer. I have a standard Dell laptop with IR port and neither the IR or sound connection ever worked. Why not just use a mini-USB port like everything else that connects to a computer?
So basically, save your money. Buy a nice simple Polar monitor/watch ($100) for normal use and a real compass (which are $40) or GPS unit (which cost less than this watch and provide more accurate elevation) for outdoor use.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Do not buy any Polar product!, May 17, 2008
This review is from: Polar AXN700 Altimeter, Barometer, Temperature, and Compass (Sports)
I'm a gigantic idiot for buying a 2nd Polar watch, this time the AXN700, after my 1st Polar watch stopped working in less than 3 years. After chalking up my first Polar to plain bad luck I researched HRM watches and picked the AXN700. I liked the AXN700's appearance and features, and I assumed the titanium structure would mean increased durability. Not so lucky...
The AXN's band is very China-like and attached to the watch by 2 tiny plastic hooks on each side. Plastic hooks that bend, break and eventually snap. It took 1y months of regular usage before it happened to me. Ugh. 0 for 2 with Polar. A side complaint about this watch is the computer would freeze up if the internal memory was close to reaching maximum capacity...so I got use to regularly transferring my workout data to my computer once a week. The infrared data transfer is pretty slick and that's what I give the watch 1 star.
Another assumed benefit about the AXN700 is that it comes with a 2 year manufacture warranty. Since my watch broke in the 17th month I thought I was safe. I contacted Polar Electro Inc in the state of NY and they told me to submit a warranty claim. On the phone, I explained to the Polar rep that I bought my watch new, in a sealed box, on this site. I have the original warranty card that has my name on it. I have the original receipt. Heck, this watch didn't go into production until 2006, so my watch is maximum 2 years old. I shipped the watch to Polar at my expense for repair. Polar returned it to me 3 weeks later NOT repaired. The sent it back to me without any explanation (ugh) so I contacted Polar to find out more. I thought, this has to be a mistake - so I called...after holding on the phone for 40 minutes, I found out because my watch was purchased from an unauthorized Polar dealer, my manufacture warranty was void. Figures. Because Polar only supplies their products to authorized dealers I hoped for an explanation to how I could possibly buy a watch that wasn't transferred to me via an authorized dealer. The 3 different reps I spoke to were mentally incapable of following my line of reasoning. Figures. So, despite that I have a warranty card in my name, along with a receipt in my name proving my watch is 17 months old, I am S.O.L.
So get this, apparently the manual discloses the watch must be purchased from an authorized dealer but you can't read the manual until you purchase the watch and break the box's seal. Even more, the outside of the watch's box proudly reads that the watch comes with a 2 year mfg warranty but the fine print inside the box tells a different story. Be careful when dealing with Polar products. I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of NY and the Attorney General of NY. 3 different individuals at Polar told me that all I could do is buy a replacement band on the Internet. Coincidently-not, all the replacement bands are sold out / out of stock EVERYWHERE I have looked. Geez, wonder why?
I'm buying the new Garmin Forefunner 405 watch that comes out in June 2008. Crossing my fingers on Garmin...
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice option, February 5, 2008
This review is from: Polar AXN700 Altimeter, Barometer, Temperature, and Compass (Sports)
This is a nice combination of fitness and aventure wrist computer unit. Yes it is bulk but it has a lot features. look for the S725x as an option if you do not use the compass. If you need a lighter watch for daily use with compass and hr go to suunto x6hr. i hope it helps.
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