Features
The Alpha comes in a little cube box that contains the unit itself along with a USB flip charger.

The size of the Alpha is quite comparable to most other sport watches on the market. It is very similar in feel and size to Nike’s Tom Tom GPS unit, though it does hug the wrist a bit closer. The size is not too large or too small, and I think it would fit well for both men and women.

In terms of weight, the Alpha feels great. You know it is there on your wrist, but it does not feel too heavy or too insubstantial. The fit is snug yet comfortable—truly a good fit.

Set-up and Activity
Starting up the Alpha is quite simple. Once the time is set up, the heart rate displays continuously on the screen. Besides this, the only other function of the Alpha is a standard timer. That’s it.

The Alpha measures heart rate through a sensor on the bottom of the watch, but it doesn’t record it. That’s rather unhelpful for anyone analyzing hard efforts later on.

One other feature of the Alpha is that it is Blutooth Smart compatible. If your phone is Bluetooth 4.0 compatible, then the Alpha can pair with that device and transmit heart rate.

Accuracy
The Alpha was was extremely accurate and on par with the heart rate functions of every other unit I tested it against.

Summary
The Alpha is extremely accurate and easy to use and it does do what it claims to do and does it quite well. That said, I do not think the Alpha is worth the $200 price tag. That’s pretty pricey for the convenience of ditching a heart rate strap, especially given the limited feature set of this watch.