Others say...

"love my garmin!"
I've had for one week, and I'm thrilled!! I just wanted distance, pace, and heart rate, and it gives me all of these, plus more! Also, when I get home from my run, it makes nice fancy graphs and records all of my information while I recover!! Its my own little robot :) This price is a STEAL compared to any other vendor. I chose this over a Nike + Sportsband, and the two don't truly compare. Its easy enough for a first time runner, but good enough for one who plans to run for a long, long time!!

"Great hardware, Garmin Connect still developing"
I did a lot of research before purchasing and was down to the 305, 405, and 50. I really wanted a GPS watch, but the price of the Forerunner 50 with footpod and HR monitor couldn't be beat. I also liked the smaller watch and the fact that it didn't need to be charged.

After owning it a week:
I really like the watch. I don't typically wear them, but it is very comfortable. It is only slightly larger than a typical watch and has a fine adjustment on the band. I'm wearing it all the time.

The hardware is impressive. The foot pod and HR monitor worked very well right out of the box, and were comfortable to wear. They "paired" right away and were ready to go when I was ready to run. The ANT installation went as advertised on windows vista, and the upload works automatically for Garmin Training Center, but not Garmin Connect.

Possible improvements:
For the watch itself, the number of "views" while in training mode can be confusing. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it with use or reading manual, but it is clearly more than I'm used to.

Installation: The process seemed to drive you toward choosing either Garmin Training Center (software on your computer) or Garmin Connect (web sofware), but not both. I didn't know the pro/con of either, so I wanted to try both. It was awkward when it wanted me to install ANT drivers again for the installation of the second one. I canceled the installation at that point - but found that Training Center was installed.

Software: It is really not clear to me if Garmin Training Center is still being developed. They seem to be improving Garmin Connect (web) regularly, but at its current state, it doesn't have any benefit over Training Center. (remember - I'm not seeing the GPS/maps, so maybe there is distinction there). So after a week, I still find myself bouncing back and forth. There are a few bugs in Garmin Connect and a few notable features that I would really like to see (that is available in other web training software).

Results:
I'm very happy with the HR monitor and cadence results. They seem spot on and reliable. I'm still working on the distance and pace. I did a test 3 mile run on a measured course and found that it recorded 3.1 miles. I messed up a calibration run by hitting the wrong button, so I'll be trying that again (a subsequent 8 mile run was recorded as a 9 mile run... argghh). I've found that the instantaneous pace is not accurate, but hope it will improve with calibration. Garmin Connect is also doing something weird with the average pace calculation... but I think that is a bug that will be fixed.

Overall I'm very happy with the purchase, but hope they continue to improve the software. Currently, that is the weakest link. If they don't, there may be other sites that accept forerunner uploaded data to fill the gap.

"Great Garmin"
Very good product. The things I like best about this product are:
1. You don't have to charge the watch, like some other models
2. It isn't bulky, like some other models
3. The foot pod is great for measuring speed, cadence, and distance

The only cons I have are that the telemetry strap is not compatible with cardio machines in a gym that have heart rate monitors built into them (so you always have to bring the watch with you), and the software for viewing your comleted workouts is pretty bare bones. I am willing to bet that Garmin will roll out software upgrades in the future though.

"Great product, hard to get started"
I have used Garmin products before and have always been satisfied. The Forerunner 50 is replacing one of the older, much larger GPS Garmin units. My only hesitation was giving up the GPS option, but with the foot pad it still does a great job at tracking distance.
The only downside so far has been the computer link. The Garmin website would not allow me to register (this step is needed to link to computer with the ANT USB). I contacted Garmin and they did the registration process for me (very good customer service, but a step I could live without). The first few syc's didn't register any info, but now has been working fine.
Overall, once you get it going a great product.

"Garmin Forerunner 50 with Heart Rate Monitor, Foot Pod, USB ANT Stick"
Too much setup timed required. Also is too complicated for most computer users. It is not user friendly at all.