Gadget Review
Samsung miCoach review
Rating 
A mobile phone that also doubles as a personal fitness trainer? The miCoach handset really nails this one by providing online tracking and a heart-rate and stride monitor for those who like to take their fitness seriously, yet keep it integrated with a busy lifestyle.
At first glance, the Adidas-branded Samsung miCoach is a basic-looking slider phone with a 2-inch LCD screen, but the compact size, textured grip and rubberised navigation button make it ideal for that long, sweaty jog.
This phone is being marketed at men, but I can see a lot of interest from both sexes, especially in the post-Christmas 'get fit' drive.
The first thing to do with your miCoach is pay a visit to the site and register an account. This is where you will enter in fitness details and goals, and also where you go to download the miCoach Synchronizer, which syncs all your fitness data between your online account and your phone.
The site is pretty helpful - it allows you to build a fitness profile and pick a goal, be it running a marathon or losing weight, and you can create your own custom plan.
The key thing to using the miCoach properly is to make sure you sync and track your progress so you can see how your heart rate and stride changes, as well as distance run and calories burned.
On the phone itself, you can hear the voice of your personal trainer telling you how much progress you have made, or if your run is nearing an end. Obviously, for all of this to work, you must have music on your handset - there is 1GB of storage on the phone and it has an FM radio as well.
One thing though: the voice of the miCoach virtual trainer/motivator interrupts music playback, but a good feature is that you can play music according to tempo - essential for a motivated workout.
While the phone can be bought alone, it also comes as part of a package that includes a stride sensor for measuring steps (this can be clipped onto running shoes), and a heart-rate monitor in the shape of a belt strapped around the jogger's torso.
The stride sensor clips on easily and stays in place, but some people might find the heart monitor belt a little restrictive at first, so it might take a little getting used to.
These accessories collect the information that is synced with the phone and your online account.
Personally, I would recommend this phone for anyone interested in introducing fitness into their lives, but who also wants a robust, all-rounder of a phone.
Functionality: Unique voice coach and fitness-tracking functionality
Design: Lightweight and with good grip
Verdict: Perfect for the fitness enthusiast
Price: From €99 on prepay
Network: Ask Carphone Warehouse for details.
By Marie Boran
Post a comment about this review
Please note that comments are manually verified before appearing on the site.
