Its easy to see and does NOT seem detrimental to battery life. Actually, two minor complaints: 1) I wish it had a decimal point. When Im walking 3 MPH is way different than 3.9 MPH... 2) Its got the speed nice and big, but the time is awfully tiny in the corner. Whats the point of easily being able to see the speed but I have to put on glasses to see the time. iTunes says there are advanced features for 99 cents, but I dont see a way to access any other features.