Mobile Phone News:

Ok, I want to know whose bright idea this was, to let me review a fitness phone. I mean come on; I’m known for being an idle sod. Oh, the delicious irony.

Anyway, the Samsung MiCoach… Well, basically, what we have here is a joint venture between Samsung and Adidas. We’ve seen these kind of joint projects before (Samsung Armani, anyone?), but I’ll wager you’ve not seen a joint venture like this before.

You see, it’s not just the Adidas name that Samsung have used. Adidas have, in fact, tweaked and had input in every aspect of the phone.

Because, folks, what we have here is no ordinary mobile phone, no sir. What we have here, in the Samsung MiCoach, is the first fully-featured, fully-reactive and adaptive ‘personal trainer mobile phone’. And because of that the accessories are a tad different than you’d usually get with a phone.

First up, you get a heart rate monitor, to, erm, monitor your heart rate (although if I was doing exercise, it would monitor I was dead). And next, a pedometer (from the Latin ped “foot” and metrum “measure”; look people expect me to be anal-retentive…), or as Adidas call it, a “foot pod”. Simply attach this to your laces (or whack it in the space specifically for it, if you’ve bought a new pair of Adidas trainers), and it measures the distance you’ve travelled, and how fast you’re going.

Sooooooooo, connect those items through Blue Robin ( a low-power-consumption version of Bluetooth, from what I’ve heard), set yourself a specific workout, and the MiCoach will jump on the case as your personal trainer, not just monitoring your performance, but crucially, TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO DURING THE WORKOUT. (Ohhhhhhhhhh, I hope you change the voice on it to be Windsor Davies!)

As well as that, you’ll have access to the dedicated website, micoach.com, where you can store your stats, program workouts… well, pretty much anything you’d need to do to get fit.

Do I think it’s a fabulous idea?

Hell, yes.

Will I ever use one?

Not a cat in hell’s chance…

[EDIT: You lazy sod… - John]