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Verizon promotes healthy living via new apps

Bathing suit season may be over soon, but Verizon Wireless has just rolled out new healthy living applications for customers to get fit.

Verizon hopes these new applications, including one that counts your calories, will help users develop a healthier lifestyle while living their everyday life. The five applications range in price from $5.99 to $2.49 per month.

"These applications are targeted toward people who use their wireless phones as part of their lifestyle," said Brenda Boyd Raney, executive director of corporate communications at Verizon Wireless, Basking Ridge, NJ." They can benefit from always having [the applications] handy on their mobile devices."

Verizon Wireless, a wireless voice and data network, serves 87.7 million customers and is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone.

The Bones in Motion ($5.99 per month) application records running, cycling and walking activities using GPS with maps, speed, distance, elevation and calories. Users can save their activities to a Web journal to share with friends.

Diet Fitness Diary ($2.49/month) has calorie, fat and protein counters that cover over 500 food items. Also included is a Burn Meter with more than 40 exercises and a Body Mass Index tool.

The Pill Phone ($3.99/month) provides information on a variety of medications including dosage, side effects, drug interactions and indication. There is also a Medication Reminder feature for users to schedule reminders.

Healthy Body by AMA ($2.99/month) is a guide where users can work on getting a healthy body through diet and exercise. The application by Advanced Mobile Applications Ltd. offers diet quizzes and a personalized plan on how to reach the desired body goal.

"Verizon Wireless offers a wide selection of applications on our devices, the same way we offer a variety of devices that cater to different customers' needs," Ms. Raney said. "Customers have different needs and wants so we want to make sure we have applications that suit different lifestyles."

Additionally, the Howcast channel on V Cast Video on Demand offers health and beauty tips through videos.

"These are applications that can either complement a customer's healthy routine by helping them keep a record of what their activities are or help get them on the path toward healthy habits through tips and data like the calorie counter," Ms. Raney said.