I actually just bought the forerunner 220 today for that exact reason. I find wearing my iphone in an armband annoying. I do use a polar heart rate monitor but found I never look at it while I run, just afterwards to see how I did. I have the new one that connects via bluetooth to my iphone so this is what I will be doing now: Wear my new 220 on my wrist (with my fitbit, gotta get those steps haha) clip-on ipod to my shirt for music, iphone in a spibelt connect to heart rate monitor I can check afterwards. I will always have my iphone on me for safety reasons, I just have no need to actually look at it. Now that i am up to the part of c25k where every run is just a timed run with no walking I really see no need to continue using the app since I can now just look at the 220 and see how far and how long I have gone.
The more I ran the more I wanted to know how I was doing during my run (distance and spilts) and there was no way to do it with an iphone strapped to my arm. So I did my research and decided on the 220 (the 620 would have been waaaay overkill but pretty neat). For others who might read this, dcrainmaker has the best website with reviews.

I've been running for about 16 months or so, and I'm now reaching the stage where I'm considering a Garmin. Undecided about the 220, as I also cycle but can't really justify double the cost for a Tri-watch.

I would say that it's a fairly significant investment and it really only stacks up if you have some clarity about what you want to do in running once you finish the plan. I would say that it really doesn't stack up if you stick at the 5K distance, I'm only now starting to justify it to myself as I'm in half marathon training and contemplating a 50K in about 14 months time.

I know garmin has their own heart rate monitor but i just bought the H7 to integrate with my phone and really don't want to spend the extra money. My max HR and avg HR are almost exactly the same each time I exercise so i don't see the need to spend money for another HR monitor I will eventually stop using. I will always have my phone with me for safety/mom reasons no matter what I am not looking to ditch it, just not having to actually use.

I have a Garmin Forerunner 10. It's simple and easy to use, tracks your pace, calories, time and has an autopause for intersections. I really like it.
I wasn't impressed with the run/walk timer. It's been awhile since I used it but, if I remember correctly, the longest run that could be programmed was 10 minutes (I could look that up and update, if anyone is interested).
One day, I'll look into a fancier watch but for now, the Forerunner 10 is enough to help me track my pace, miles and calories. All in all, I'm very pleased with it.

ETA: the watch sometimes takes a minute or so for the GPS to boot up. When that happens a full reset helps a lot. The battery lasts about 3 runs (my run/walks are anywhere from 70-90 minutes each).

If you run on the street, just take you car out afterward. It's cheaper.

I have a 220 and really like it. I still carry my phone in case of an emergency. Normally, I run pushing a jogging stroller and that has a place in the tray for my phone, but when I run without the stroller, I have a Tune sport belt that I put my phone in. I like it because I don't have an issue with something on my waist but would be bothered by something on my arm.

Even though I use my watch, I still run Endomondo on my phone (along with c25k). I like to compare what the two say. The distance on the watch is usually about .02 mi under what Endomondo says and the calories can be significantly lower on the watch. For example, today I did 2.5 miles. Endomondo says I burned 335 calories. Watch says 213. I go with what the watch says since it's lower.

I don't wear headphones when I run, though. I play music through my phone but since I lost my hearing in one ear, I feel like I need both ears open to hear anyone approaching from behind.