Basic smartphone that excels as a music player

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CenCalSubi

New member
Everyone,

What would be your pick for a basic smartphone that excels as a music player?

I'm thinking of the following features:

- good music player (standard 3.5mm audio jack, actual buttons to pause / play / skip instead of going into a touch-screen, good sound quality, good battery life, does not require proprietary software / cable to sync)
- WiFi with IMAP client and calendar that can be synced to Google
- usable key-pad (I dislike the flush, tiny keys of phones like the Nokia N79)
- usable camera

(I am thinking about down-grading from my current phone.)

Video and browsing are not that important to me.

The N95 comes to mind but I don't know how well it works as a music player in "real life".

Tips welcome. Thanks.
 
The iPhone 3G is now "basic" and seems like it may fit your needs. Other than that, you might like to consider the various Nokia XPressmusic. The 5530 is quite nice in use and sound.
 
Thanks. I actually had the iPhone 3G in the past, but sold it. There was a lot I liked about it, but I was put off by the need for proprietary and bloated software to do anything on the phone.

I have an HTC Magic at the moment, but it isn't great as a music device. And I'm not a big fan of the touch-screen on it.

I would really prefer a phone that has actual buttons I can push to pause, play, skip tracks.
 
The N85 and N86 are appealing, but I believe the N85 has those tiny "flush" keys like the N79 (hard to push for those of us with long fingers / large hands) and both are hard to come by here in Canada, either new or second-hand.
 
Blackberries are getting pretty good at music too. Since you're in Canada, homeland of the Berries, that should be a lot easier to find. Though they won't have dedicated buttons like the Nokia N95, 96, 85 and 86 series.
 
Thanks Drillbit -- I was actually contemplating that. Yes, Blackberries are popular here and Jim Balsillie is a national hero!

I was thinking that something like a Blackberry Pearl might fit the bill nicely at a low cost. However, I know almost nothing about the Blackberry system, how it handles music, whether it integrates well with Google Calendar and Gmail, etc. I will have to do some research.
 
That's good to know. It may also provide me a low-cost option for e-mail "data" (I have never had a data plan because I am too cheap -- and I'm not really interested in browsing, IM, streaming video, etc. -- just e-mail).

A colleague at work has a Blackberry Pearl. I will have a look at it and see what's possible music-player-wise. Otherwise, I'm thinking the N95 8GB could be a good option, as it seems to have a lot of features and is inexpensive (used) nowadays. No cheap data / e-mail, though.

Thanks
 
How about any of the nokia express music phones? They all have excellent sound quality with 3.5mm jack. And they have physical music buttons for play, pause, etc.
 
Thanks for this suggestion. I had a look at the reviews on GSMArena -- I don't think I'd be too pleased with the 5800 but some of the phones with an actual keypad look interesting. I do have to say that I'm very leery of the thin, flat keys so many Nokia phones seem to have (I tried an N79 and found it absolutely unusable).

What do the XpressMusic phones have to recommend them over something like the N95 8GB? Does the Nokia OS sync well with GMail, Google Contacts, Google Calendar (over WiFi)?
 
I've used many Nseries nokia's too like the n95 etc. The only reason i suggested express music is because they have additional DSP hardware audio chip which gives excellent music sound quality. Better than my n95 for sure. But thats about it.

My 5800 is such a good phone because of the sound quality, plus its got everything, gps, wifi, decent camera, high res screen 640x360 pixels. And all for only 200 bucks new and unlocked. There's nothing on the market that matches that price vs features. But sure it has its problems and negative reviews. But for so cheap does it really matter?

I'm waiting for the n97 mini as my next phone though.
 
I do appreciate the advice.

I've had an N79 and iPhone in the past and now have the HTC Magic. I've never had a data plan and just use WiFi at home and at the office (can't justify the data plan cost for "fun"). Each phone has its plusses and minuses.

I took a critical look at which features I really use on my phone, and which are just expensive fun. Music and e-mail (queued up for later sending on WiFi) top the list. I also find it handy to have a good camera in the phone. An FM radio and GPS would be nice to have, but lower on the list. I dislike proprietary connections and software.

The N95 8GB and the Blackberry Pearl would both partially meet my needs at fairly low prices. I need to sort through the relative advantages of each.

Thanks for all past and future tips.
 
For what its worth, I find the music player on the Nokia e63 as a fine replacement for for my iPhone. Yes, things look nicer on my iPhone, and scrolling is more fun(and anything with video looks much nicer on my iPhone), but for music, the E63 works just fine as a replacement for me(and its only like 199)
 
That's good to know. Right now it's a toss-up between the N95 and the BB Pearl for me, I think. Both are inexpensive on the used market. The N95 has a nicer camera, dedicated music buttons, GPS, and a radio. But the BB has an actual keyboard and I can use an inexpensive e-mail plan on it. I can't see myself writing e-mail on an N95.
 
Just to update this thread for anyone who comes upon it in their own phone search, I ended up getting a Blackberry Bold (after the opportunity presented itself to do a straight trade of my HTC Magic for a Bold).

The selling point for me was being able to use a cheap BB messaging-only plan from my provider to have e-mail on the go. The Bold is also quite functional as a music player, certainly better at this task than the Magic.
 
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