10th May 2006
The reason for the inclusion of the S60 operating system becomes clear when you look at the software - the Nokia 5500 has three different operating modes, ''Phone'', ''Sport'' and ''Music'' which are accessible through an ''instant swap'' key. In sport mode, the Nokia 5500 has an exercise monitor, pedometer and calorie counter. In music mode, it can play back MP3, AAC, WMA and RealAudio tracks (plus others).. and of course you can even use it as a phone. On top of this, the Nokia 5500 Sport has a web browser, email client and the usual range of PIM functions, plus a text-to-speech application, RSS news reader, Push-To-Talk (PTT / PoC) and a whole host of other quite useful features.
And on top of that, there's a FM radio, flashlight and 3D sensor that includes a simple ''screen tap'' function for ease of use while in sport mode. Physically, the 5500 Sport is a tri-band 900/1800/1900 handset with GPRS and EDGE data, measuring 107x34x16mm. Talktime is 2-4 hours with up to 11 days standby time. All of this is wrapped in a stainless steel chassis with a spash and dust resistant case with rubber grips.
Perhaps we sound a bit breathless and excited about the Nokia 5500 Sport, but to be honest we at Mobile Gazette are not a sporting bunch.. it just seems that the Nokia 5500 Sport is actually a great phone. If you ignore all the sporting pretensions, the Nokia 5500 is a well specified and practical phone with lots of useful features. It can also withstand the odd knock and occasional rain shower. It's a great all round phone, and the only major flaw that we can see is that the battery life could be better.
Nokia say that the 5500 Sport should be available from Q3 2006 in a sober ''Black'' version or more funky ''Grey'' version (with brightly colours stripes!). The Nokia 5500 Sport should cost around 300 Euro before tax and subsidy.
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