Feature

Nokia Merges Sport and Music with the New 5500

Networks & Network Services
Ever since the days of footballers bouncing their permed mullets and mouthing along to FA Cup songs have music and sport have been linked. It may have taken Nokia a while to catch on, but they now have with the updated Nokia 5500 - Sport Music Edition.
The 5500 Sport Music (or spusic?... no maybe not) edition, the latest addition to Nokia's 'Active' phone family, is an updated version of the original 5500 sports phone. The handset is enhanced with a 512 MB microSD card for enjoying up to 375 songs, as well as a fitness carrying strap, bicycle holder and sports headset packed in a new 'energetic' colour (a kind of bronzey brown).

"Music is a great source of energy and inspiration for many - during a workout, a fitness routine, or just relaxing," says Antti Koivula, Director of Lifestyle Products at Nokia. "To complement its sporty and fitness-inspired design, the Nokia 5500 Sport Music Edition offers an expanded range of music features and bears the Nokia XpressMusic feature brand which guarantees an outstanding mobile music experience."

Pitched at the fitness fanatic who wants to stay in touch this "smartphone with a six-pack" lets users know the distance travelled and calories burned during a run with an integrated pedometer. Other activities such as bike riding can monitor distance and calories with an optional GPS module. All of this data can then be downloaded to a PC.

The phone has three modes; phone mode - to stay in touch, music mode - to relax or energise, and sports mode - to help users go that extra mile.

The 5500 Sport Music Edition is also a a high-powered smartphone at heart, the handset can even support text-to-speech technology. With two taps, the Nokia 5500 Sport Music Edition reads an SMS aloud.

The phone also features a 2 megapixel camera so users can snap pictures of juicy joggers, or buxom bikers that they might meet whilst burning off the kebabs from the night before.