Nokia 5500 Sport: The Ronaldinho of phones

By Andrew Lim on 11 May 2006, 11:42am

Phone design is getting more and more specific. Whether it's a night out, a trip to Antarctica or just a walk down to the corner shop, you can buy a mobile phone to suit almost every need.

Nokia has made sure that you can even use your mobile when you go for a run or play sport. (Warning: taking a call from your mum while defending a corner may result in a beating from your Sunday league teammates.) The 5500 is an addition to the cult 5-series sport phones collection that featured rubber casings and, er, thermometers.

We liked the Nokia 5140, but it wasn't the best-looking phone we've had in the Crave lab and we're very glad to see that the 5500 has shed the chunky shell for a more refined look. It's made of stainless steel and rubber and features dust- and scratch-resistant surfaces, so you could even use it to play catch with your dog.

The specs are also pretty impressive and the 5500 features a 2-megapixel camera and a dedicated mode key that lets you select a music mode and a sports mode. This includes a pedometer to keep track of how many steps you take from the office to the car -- sorry, we mean on your three-mile daily run. There's also a feature called text-to-speech that will read your text message out to you, so that you're not distracted from running or playing hopscotch. According to Nokia the 5500 will cost around £200 and be available in about three months. Expect a full review then. -AL