Samsung and Adidas team up for miCoach fitness music phone

Samsung has teamed up with sports giant Adidas to launch a fitness-orientated music phone, the miCoach.

The miCoach phone is a sliderphone that's geared up for sports training and music, with interactive features that include the facility to create and monitor personal training plans. The phone's software operates with an in-box heart rate monitor and stride sensor to collect and monitor personal performance data, which can be analysed for custom-made individual training regimes.

This can be tailored for personal fitness levels, training goals and time available to achieve them.This can all be synced with a miCoach web portal to chart your performances and view data.

The miCoach phone has a dedicated button to activate the fitness application. As well as monitoring your progress, measuring speed, distance, calories, stride and heart rate, a virtual personal coach in the phone gives time updates during training routines, and offers tips during the workout. Two swift taps on the phone pulls up instant updates on your workout. And you can also choose motivational music from your stored tune collection to help you along.

The Samsung Adidias miCoach phone (also known as the Samsung F110) has 1GB of internal storage you can use for tunes (although there's no further memory card expansion). Tunes can be categorised by tempo or motivational value, as well as under the usual music player headings. As well as the multi-format music player, there's an FM radio inside too.

The miCoach is a quad-band GSM GPRS/EDGE phone (there's no 3G onboard), and it has a 2-megapixel camera built in. Bluetooth and USB connectivity are also included. Measuring 101.5(h) x 45(w) x 14.5(d)mm, it has a 2-inch 262K-display, with enough room for viewing content and monitoring training progress

Made with a rugged grippable rubber-feel finish, the miCoach comes with an armband in the box for holding it while training, and stereo headphones. It will be launched in the UK in mid-March, and will be available in a choice of seven colours - Dark Grey, Tech Silver, Pink Red, Cool Grey, Sapphire Blue, Misty Blue and Sweet Pink.

The miCoach phone will be sold in two packages - the 'standard' package contains the phone with armband, stride sensor and heart rate monitor, while the 'essential' package includes just the miCoach and armband.