I live in Belgium and order also directly from Zephyr (like djjstew below, same process) shipped sunday and received it today :-))),
I made a cycling workout and it works perfectly. I can't run currently (some physical issue) in order to understand and test correctly the cadence info, also I'am waiting for the run.gps developpers to dump also the 3D accelerometer info in the csv file.
I just received the Zephyr today and went for a short run to check it out. All seemed to work fine with the software. I dealt directly with the Company since I live in the USA and the folks here don't ship here so there was no point in me waiting for it to be available in the shop. I look forward to longer runs and with my bike later. If you are interested here is the Product Manager I dealt with:
JohnM@zephyr-technology.com (his name is John Molloy)
Thanks for all the input - I think I will also go with the Zephyr HxM. I'll use my phone's internal GPS for roadway trainings (dog walks, vehicle travel, etc) and get a Freedom 2000 keychain GPS for off-road trainings (hiking, mountainbiking, etc). With the external GPS, I can save some precious battery capacity for those after-work rides when my phone battery is getting low.
@recnep
I'll go the Zephyr route with an external BT GPS (for added performance compared to the internal one).
I have been testing with an Holux GpsSlim236 lately and it was perfect. also it gives flexibility to update the GPS if later on a new generation of GPS chipset arise. while with FRWD it would not be possible to just upgrade the GPs module when the new generation are there.
second point on favor Zephyr HxM is than down the road, I'am pretty sure run.gps will integrate it even better, in order to use the accelerometer to refine the GPS accuracy or when the GPs signal is not usable (like on a Garmin 305/705) line with the advantage that it will be for all sport and not only cycling like for the Garmin series.
@recneps
I've been experimenting with RunGPS on my Glofiish X800 while hiking. As far as your idea about keeping your phone inside your pack...
I set the app to give me voice info via my bluetooth stereo buds while walking. The phone stays in a belt pouch unless I want to look at the map. It worked very well, even with MortPlayer running MP3s at the same time.
Steve
I don't know any dealer in Germany but Tom and Robert said it will be available via run.gps around end of january.
in the other hand I saw, on the Zephyr website, a sales contact person in germany, so you may try him if you don't want to wait for the availability here in run.gps.