i just can't find a watch that's better for the price
the HR measurement is, in fact, much better than the Nike I used to have, and my preview purchase really sold me on the comfort and higher quality of Polar's fabric strap.

i rode and ran with it and the HR was dead on and no weird spikes. i really like the fabric strap compared to the plastic ones I have had. i think this feature combined with polar's reliable monitoring may force me to buy one of the higher end models, but for now, the RS200 just isn't that flexible for me

background: the wriststrap on my Nike HRM (old model equal to c10, which it seems is also defunct now) finally cracked and won't stay on anymore so my new watch is being compared to that. It had a timer feature that allowed 5 interval timers to be set. Otherwise a fairly conventional HRM watch.

The Polar RS200 (i didn't get the foot pod) does have the ability to set up to 3 interval timers. These can be set by HR zone, distance (w/ foot pod), and pure time. I have not yet tried the first two as I was more interested in the third. It, however, was a little disappointing because it only runs with the chronograph. My old watch allowed me to start the chronograph complete with HR monitoring and separately start the interval timers whenever I chose. So I could warm up and then start the timers for my interval sets (good feature for swim, bike or run!). The RS200 starts the interval timers with the chronograph. So, you suffer through the interval beeping in order to record the whole workout, and you then have to start the interval when it rolls around on the timer (not necessarily when you'd like to start it). So, if the interval is long at all, you might have to wait a few minutes for it to start. I imagine there are workarounds like using a fraction of the time you need and then counting, but why work for the watch if it can work for you? I'm a little torn about keeping it because of this feature, despite the reputation Polar has for quality HRM's.
On the good side...You can create and save a new interval workout and go back to it days later after doing other timed exercises. You have three customizable screens to choose from while exercising that can show you various combinations of info that you choose (split, lap, interval, zone, current time, HR, %HR). The watch holds 16 files of workouts so you can see trends graphically. There are other modes of timing that work around the principles of HR zone training that are helpful, but they are not revolutionary in any way, but the integration is very nice and a solid feature for anyone headed in that direction. And, you can download little bitmap graphics (they look very early 80's) onto the face; I have a little swim/bike/run icon now that's fun.

fundamentally, the interface works out of these screens: a watch, a chrono w/ HR, settings, and file or data. Each screen has a (sometimes complicated) series of options that are available under that screen. the buttons work consistently in the various screens/details which is good, but are not necessarily intuitive (i had to open the book to even begin to understand what the watch had as features or what it did). that's all for now...