In the title of this post I am very deliberate in asking if MP3 playing phones can compete with the iPod as compared to the iPhone because, for at least the foreseeable future, the iPhone itself, is still a niche product, as compared to the emergence of of smartphones and feature phones that can play MP3s.
I’ve just purchased my first BlackBerry that can play MP3s and, to be totally honest, although it is kind of a cool feature, I cannot see my BlackBerry Pearl decreasing my use of my iPod even slightly. I’ve got an iPod Video and have 55 gigs or so of music, movies, and podcasts that I couldn’t move to my BlackBerry even if I wanted to.
On a side note, I still carried around my iPod Video even when I was regularly lugging my iPhone around because I only had the 4 gig model which was good for only about 2 or 3 DVDs worth of movies.
The other problem that I see is that songs tend to cost more through the wireless companies music download sites than via iTunes. Granted, on some of the newer devices, you can transfer your CDs to your device or even buy music online on your PC and transfer it, but I have yet to come across any combination of MP3 phone and music download service that make it as easy is iTunes.
I admit that I am probably biased towards iTunes and the iPod, however, so are probably the tens of millions of iPod users out there that are the exact demographic for MP3 playing mobile phone market.
What do you think?
Well, for now I don’t think so, and mainly because of the battery if you use you’re heavy on the phone calls. The drain would cause the issue of recharging if you’re not around an outlet or don’t carry a spare battery. Perhaps down the road when the audio quality, battery and storage is enhanced on the phones would it then be able to compete. Would make life a little easier with one less gadget to carry…
Robb,
When are you going to give us your review of the VZ Pearl?
Hopefully this week.
After trying many MP3 phones, I have seen nothing better than iPods and iTunes. As there is no iPhones here in Venezuela yet and my Blackberry is CDMA, I bought a new iPod Nano, beautifully small that I can carry with all the rest of my gadgets
Here’s my review of the Verizon Pearl…lovin’ it!
I don’t think the current crop of music phones can in any way compete with the iPod (allowing for the exclusion of the iPhone of course). You are so correct…most music phones are clumsy in their execution of the music player functionality. There is nothing that can compete right now with the usability and elegance of the iPod/iPhone/iTunes ecosystem. Even with the wireless music store, Apple totally outdoes the competition, even though the carriers have been attempting to create a viable wireless download service for some time now.
It will only get better for Apple and worse for the competition. Imagine a few years down the road, when there may be a $150 iPhone that may be better than the current version today. Look at what’s happened with the evolution of the iPod, and then extrapolate similar progress to the iPhone in terms of design and price.
bluehorseshoe,
thanks for the in-depth analysis on the Pearl.
I think this is a flawed question. Can MP3 playing phones compete with standalone mp3 players is actually the more appropriate question. FYI, every mp2 player doesnt have an apple logo on it. MP3 playing capabilities on a phone is meaningless feature to me. I have a creative Zen V Plus which is small enough to fit into the small pocket in my jeans above the right front pocket. It has a voice recorder, 16 gigs of music and is small enough to take anywhere, so I take it everywhere.
And I dont particularly care for itunes because
a. it is a system hog
b. i dont own an ipod
and
c. i dont buy music online.
although i must admit it is a formidable 1 stop shop for music and video that no other content provider has matched.
I dont need a device that does every single thing I want done, especially when it does many of those features at a low level, or does the thing its primarily suppose to do (like be a phone) poorly.
Unlike Kai, I love having a device that does everything I need it to do. I love having one device that can servce as phone, PIM, media player, internet browser, as opposed to having to either swap out devices day-to-day or tote several at once.
I think MP3 phones cannot compete with dedicated MP3 players for those folks who want to carry huge amounts of music/video on them at all times. From a pure storage standpoint, with SD cards maxing out at 16GB (assuming your phone can handle such cards), a phone can only approach the capacity of the “low end” of iPods/Zunes/Zens. What doubly sucks for BIS users is that a lot of IT departments lock out media card use. >:-(
For those folks who don’t need that much capacity and/or BB users who can get by using the onboard memory, I think the phone rises or falls as a viable option based on how easy and cheap it is to get songs onto the phone and manage the songs themselves. And that, of course, can depend on phone manufacturer, OS, carrier or all of the above.
So while I like the media player on my Curve, I’m barred by IT policy from adding sufficient storage capacity for it to serve as an iPod replacement. That’s why I’m carrying an iPod Touch as well.
Perhaps the rumored BB 9xxx can meet all of my desires……
@ Gordon Gecko
You should know better…do your research. However, ‘”bluehorseshoe loves the Verizon Pearl.”
Seriously, it’s a good phone. By far faster on the data (over TMO or AT&T), reception is solid for the most part (they all have issues in dark areas), and is quite reponsive when selecting applications, etc. No delay time. If I had to complain about one thing, and it’s the only thing I can think of…it would be the track ball. Not sure if it’s an improvement from the previous track ball. I personally prefer the older version. Camera and Video are good. Keyboard is an improvement, keys feel solid. Tethering is easy and speedy, reception has been fine and been doing it via bluetooth. I’d highly recommend the phone.
There’s my quick summary. 🙂
2 or 3 dvds? your too stupid to convert the files to the native resolution of the phone…? i have probably a days worth of video on my bb as long with alot of music