I received tonight the Mio Alpha heart monitor watch. It does not require the heart strap. Yeah (that was always my issue of making it work perfectly)
http://www.mioglobal.com/Shop/Mio-AL...tID=1&DeptID=1

I tried it quickly tonight and so far the data coming out of the watch are the same as when taken manually by me.

Easy to read the numbers during the day, only 2 buttons to use. It is bluetooth so I can connect to my iphone, etc.

You won't be able to read it at night (no light) but with your phone or other bluetooth app you'd be fine.

So far I like it. Will be using it more on cycling and running. More to come when I get to work more with it.