March 10, 2008 - We’ve had camera-focused phones, we’ve had music-focused phones, and now there’s a fitness-focused phone. Adidas and Samsung have teamed up for a new twist in training — a mobile phone that can coach. MiCoach works with Adidas shoes and apparel to plan, track and motivate users in training.The device directs and motivates users during workouts by combining a mobile phone, heart rate monitor, stride sensor, MP3 player and the voice of an electronic “personal coach.”
MiCoach hits retail stores in Europe this month and will roll out in the United States in 2009. It will cost $300 to $600 in Europe, depending on the service plan users select. North American pricing has not been set. The cool Samsung SGH-F110 miCoach mobile phone is available in seven attractive colors including Dark Gray, Tech Silver, Pink Red, Cool Gray, Sapphire Blue, Misty Blue, and Sweet Pink.
The new Adidas-Samsung collaboration is the latest of several tech-sport partnerships. Most comparable is Nike Inc. and Apple Inc.’s Nike+, a wireless system that allows Nike running shoes embedded with a sensor to communicate with Apple’s iPod Nano. An update last week allows users to plug their iPods into gym equipment and track their training there as well.
You might want to also check out Nokia’s sports tracker software (free), compatible with any Nokia s60 phones which tracks routes via gps and logs them for future comparison. You can compare performance with others through a facebook plug-in. Obviously this app doesn’t work that well if you exercise on a treadmill.
What’s next? A phone that exercises for you?
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