Heart rate monitor recommendations

I was looking into getting a stopwatch and a heart rate monitor, but then I saw that there were really cool fancy heart rate monitors with stopwatches built in and a whole lot more. It would be really cool to have one that you could program in HIIT intervals and such. There are a lot of brands and models out there though, so I'm a little confused.

What are some good brand names to look for, and what models are people here familiar with? I'm willing to pay a premium for some whiz-bang features like being able to track and upload data to my computer, program in HIIT timings, etc.

My Journal: Jheft's Heftorium

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." -- Mark Twain

*bump*

Is it that nobody reads the equipment forum way down at the bottom of the page or that nobody uses a heart rate monitor?

My Journal: Jheft's Heftorium

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." -- Mark Twain

I have a Polar AXN700. Would highly recommend it!

5ft 10"
205lbs.

Wow, that version apparently has an altimeter, barometer and compass... I don't know if I'd use those features. A couple questions:

How well does it connect with your computer and how is the connection handled? (USB, IrDA, Bluetooth?)
What features does it have for interval timing?

My Journal: Jheft's Heftorium

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." -- Mark Twain