RHYTHM+: A Heart Monitor For Your iPhone

There's two ways to look at the current state of personal health monitoring devices. Old jocks are amazed that everyone can personally keep track of the kind of health data you used to get once a year at your checkup. Young gearheads will point out that we've been subjected to a series of monitoring devices that fall apart or get recalled (Jawbone UP, Fitbit Force).

Scosche has just released an updated RHYTHM+ Heart Rate monitor ($79.99) that aims to do one thing: monitor your heart rate during a workout and send the data to a mobile device. It works with any ANT+ device or Bluetooth smartphone and it's really good at its job.

You wear the RHYTHM+ on your forearm just inside the elbow. The device itself goes either right in the crook of your arm or in the opposite spot on the outside of your arm. It attaches with a washable strap and the monitor itself comes with a charger that plugs into a USB port.

It's a heart rate monitor. It doesn't count your steps or analyze your sleep cycles. The fact that it attaches to your arm instead of your chest is a huge plus. Once you get used to having something strapped to that part of your arm, you'll barely notice it's there.

The RHYTHM+ replaces the old Scosche Rhythm. The old device came with its own iPhone/Android app but that app doesn't really work with the new device. Scosche figured out that its customers were already using apps like Runkeeper, Digifit and Strava and figured that we'd be better served plugging its data into a set we're already using.

I've been using it with Runkeeper and it does exactly what it sets out to do, not attempting or promising to be a all-around fitness solution. There are a lot of rumors about upcoming fitness platforms from the big phone manufacturers but this is a device that's here right now and working flawlessly.