Ever since cell phones were invented, they were progressively getting smaller and smaller while adding a lot of features and replacing a lot of other devices like digital cameras, notebooks, GPS navigators and video and music players.
Almost all of the phones made in the last 5 years have at least 2 of the above features, and the most common are the music player and digital camera. But due to the small size of the device, it is currently impossible to integrate good, hi-fi quality music players inside them.
For now, if you are a big music fan and don’t go anywhere without your high-quality mp3 player and headphones, but you also don’t like to carry 2 devices with you (your phone and the player), you can get a special phone that was designed for audiophiles.
Manufacturers did this because they saw a new market, and they were right. These phones have the highest possible sound quality, while sacrificing other relatively unneeded features like a GPS, smaller size or better quality camera. They also have special controls for the player which can be accessed anytime.
Here are some of the best phones made for music currently available on the market.
Apple iPhone
I think most people know the Apple iPhone. It’s one of the best and most easy to use smart phones on the market that has a great user interface and hundreds of thousands of downloadable apps from its dedicated Marketplace. But a lot of people don’t know that it was created to have a very good sound quality coming from its 3.5 inch headphones jack. Apple’s iPod became very famous for its ease of use and sound quality, and the iPhone was basically designed to be a smart phone that has an integrated iPod. Of course, the price is higher than most other phones, but it’s totally worth it: the 3G and 3GS also have a great graphics chip for games, a good camera, a GPS navigator, Wi-fi, 3G network support and many other features. You just can’t go wrong when buying the iPhone for music.
Apple iPhone
Sony Ericsson W880i
Sony Ericsson was one of the first companies to offer phones with integrated Hi-fi audio chips and dedicated hardware buttons for the player with their Walkman phone line (their Cybershot phones are also some of the best camera phones). As such, the W880i continues this tradition by having a slim design, dedicated player controls (your music is always one click away and you can eaily control it even without getting it out of the pocket), a nice user interface and a M2 slot for Memory Sticks that store your music and other data. It is also very small and light (especially compared to the Nokia 5800 below and the iPhone). It’s more like a player with an integrated phone than vice versa.
Sony Ericsson W880i
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
Nokia’s XpressMusic phones are also targeted at the same user category as the Sony Ericsson W880i: music lovers. It’s also got an integrated high quality audio chip that outputs very clean sound, but unlike the small W880i, you can also watch whole clips and movies on a comfortable 3.2 inch display. All in all, it is a lot like the iPhone, except it lacks the massive applications collection, but makes up for it with better sound (yes, the 5800 XpressMusic has better sound than the iPhone, as a lot of users and experts will tell you).
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
Samsung Cricket (SCH-R550)
This is a very simple music phone from Samsung with a great audio quality and dedicated hardware buttons for player control. It’s made in a flip form, and has 2 screens, the main internal and a small external one. It also has a microSD expansion slot, so you can have up to 8GB of music at any time (plus more in your pocket). It’s a very good phone if you don’t need the extra bells and whistles of the iPhone or Nokia 5800 and don’t like the design of the Sony Ericsson W880i (which some say has terribly inconvenient buttons and is too small).
Samsung Cricket (SCH-R550)
Samsung Alias 2 (SCH-U750)
This is another phone from Samsung, which is similar to the Cricket above, except for one notable feature: a pretty big internal 2.6 inch display and a small, but comfortable QWERTY keboard, which are very useful for surfing the Web, watching videos and typing messages. The form factor is also interesting: the screen not only flips, but also swivels around 180 degrees, which is very useful in a lot of situations, like putting it on the table as a clock, alarm of mini player or simply watching videos in bed.
Samsung Alias 2 (SCH-U750)
As you can see, if you love music but don’t want to carry a separate player always with you, you have a good alternative. Getting one of the above phones (or any other model) will surely increase your freedom and free your pockets.
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