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Need a music phone with a price that's music to your ears? Try the Samsung Trill, a stylish, well-built handset sporting a music player with Bang & Olufsen technology.
Physically, it features slim lines and a curvaceous design. We don't know if you'll love the look (you can judge for yourself in the pic), though I find it a bit too cheap-looking for my tastes. Do note we're talking about the one with the gray and blue color scheme, though - the black version actually looks much better. Overall aesthetic is very similar to the Samsung Trance.
It comes with a 2.1-inch screen, with a 176 x 229 resolution. While small, the display is great with gorgeous-looking color. The slider keypad is a little flat to the touch, but it's well-spaced and comfortable.
As a phone, the Trill manages impressive call quality, with clear calls that are completely void of static. Speakerphone was decent, although voices didn't sound very natural. On the other end, callers reported a slight distortion, but generally good quality. Battery life lasts for around 4 hours of non-stop calls.
Highly-deserving of being called a music phone, it leverages Bang & Olufsen's ICEPower technology to produce exceptional audio quality. With a strong bass and stellar surround sound, it's a worthy replacement for a dedicated MP3 player. The music player is a notch above what you can find in regular handsets, with handy controls, equalizer options, 3D sound and an attractive appearance.
The rest of the feature set is mostly low- to mid-range. There's a 1,000-entry phonebook, basic messaging (SMS and MMS; no email), stereo Bluetooth and GPS. It also comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera module that produces average shots.
Overall, the Samsung Trill is an excellent music phone. If you're looking for a replacement to a dedicated MP3 player and don't mind working with mostly basic features, it can prove to be a great value. US Cellular has it for only $19.99 on contract.
Samsung Trill Pairs Stellar Audio Quality With Basic Phone Features3.5625noel2010-03-07 11:49:18
Phone ReviewsSamsung Trill Pairs Stellar Audio Quality With Basic Phone Features
Low-end music phones are among the most popular market segments, as they combine the two features most people would bother carrying a handheld for - phone calls and mobile tunes. The LG GM205 candybar fits squarely in that niche, bringing just enough looks and features to make it of interest to younger users on a budget.
Physically, it does nothing to set itself apart from other affordable music phones. The colorful back panel adds some flair, but it's just a straight up plain candybar otherwise. Build seems sturdy, although the plastic protector along the edges seems a little too loose for comfort. The 2-inch screen only has a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels. Colors are bright, but sharpness is naturally affected. It's pretty much unusable under sunlight.
As a phone, the LG GM205 makes for good calls. There's some sharpness, but it's generally clear with plenty of volume. Those on the other end report excellent sound. Battery life is rated at 8.5 hours, which translates to roughly four days of casual use.
On the features end, it keeps everything else basic while throwing a crown around the music capabilities. While the music player isn't particularly special, the phone does manage better-then-average audio, especially with Dolby Mobile and LG Equalizer processing. The 2.1-channel speaker is a surprise, belting out excellent sound quality - lots of power and no crackling even at maximum loudness. There's also an FM radio on board.
Like all phones, it can handle the basics: standard messaging (SMS, MMS and email), stereo Bluetooth and some productivity tools. There's also a 2-megapixel camera. Editing options are lacking, but photo quality is about on par with similar modules.
While it bears largely unexciting looks, the music features on the LG GM205 are enough to make this a very worthy purchase. The 2.1 channel stereo makes for good quality listening even without headphones and there's enough extra features thrown in to let you do just a little bit more.
LG GM205 Sticks Well-Done Music Features On A Basic Phoneunratednoel2010-02-04 17:13:23
Phone ReviewsLG GM205 Sticks Well-Done Music Features On A Basic Phone
The Nokia X3 is one of the two pioneering handsets in the Xseries line, the company's new music-centric brand. We've already looked at the first of those phones, the S60-powered Nokia X6. This time, we check out the lower-end model, which runs on the company's S40 operating system.
Physically, the X3 is a noticeable departure from the sleek curves of XpressMusic handsets. Sporting a slider form factor, it is marked by sharp, angular lines. While overall construction seems good, the sliding mechanism doesn't feel very sturdy.
The screen is a bit small at 2.2-inches, especially since the phone is rather big. Actually, it's probably the most disappointing part of the handset as the LCD's quality simply isn't up to par with what Nokia has been putting out as of late. The keypad and the navigation array, however, are well done.
As a phone, the X3 makes for an excellent handset. Voices sound clear with almost no traces of interference. Volume is a bit lacking, though, so you might have a hard time when making calls in noisy, crowded places. The speakerphone, on the other hand, works the opposite way - decent volume but below average quality. Battery life is rated at 7.5 hours, which should be good for several days in between charges.
Music is, of course, its best feature, coming with stereo speakers, an excellent music player and a fair amount of supported formats. Audio is good whether you're listening via the 3.5mm port or using the onboard pipes. Nokia does seem to limit the volume a little too low, though, especially if you intend to listen using the excellent-sounding speakers.
The X3's 3.2 megapixel camera is commendable, easily pitting itself as one of the best we've seen in this category of feature phones. It comes with limited editing options, no autofocus and no flash, but the resulting image quality is definitely something to appreciate.
Nokia updates the S40 a bit here, putting the beginning of what we expect to be their multitasking implementation for future iterations. The entry-level OS can now do web-related background tasks (such as check your mail server) while you work on the foreground. The browser can also stay running while you do a few limited things, such as make calls or read messages.
Like other S40 handsets, the X3 comes with a full messaging suite and a good selection of apps (from PIM tools to games). Other features include stereo Bluetooth, microSD expansion and a full HTML Webkit browser (although it doesn't support 3G connectivity).
Overall, the Nokia X3 is an excellent music phone, especially at the low price (between $180 to $200 unlocked, depending on where you buy). Sure, the affordability comes with some sacrifices, but it remains a great value nonetheless.
Nokia X3 Brings Sharp Lines, Excellent Music And Rudimentary Multitasking On A Cheap Packageunratednoel2009-12-30 11:09:07
Phone ReviewsNokia X3 Brings Sharp Lines, Excellent Music And Rudimentary Multitasking On A Cheap Package
LG has announced a new entry-level phone with some music-centric features that might appeal to younger crowds. Called the LG GS200, the black and red candybar handset holds back on most features, but throws in enough musical niceties to make it worthwhile to a very specific consumer segment.
Those in the market for a music phone should find plenty to like here - a full-featured music player, FM radio, FM recording and stereo speakers that allow it to deliver "rich and loud" sound. Like every self-respecting musical device, it sports a 3.5mm audio jack, stereo Bluetooth and offers microSD card support (up to 8GB) to load a slew of your favorite tunes.
Unfortunately, that's where the party ends, as the rest of the feature set is decidedly basic. Details of the GS200 include a 2-inch TFT display (176 x 220 pixels), a 1.3 megapixel camera module and USB connectivity. It comes with an 1100 mAh battery, that's rated at six hours of talk time, 14 hours of music playback and 55 hours of standby. There's no 3G or Wi-Fi support.
The LG GS200 is now out in Russia, woth a price of 3,990 rubles (approximately $130). Though it hasn't been officially announced for other markets, you should expect it to roll out across Europe and Asia soon too.
[via Unwired View]
LG GS200 Now Out In Russia, Comes With Stereo Speakers And Other Music-Centered Featuresunratednoel2009-12-23 09:47:48
NewsLG GS200 Now Out In Russia, Comes With Stereo Speakers And Other Music-Centered Features
The Nokia X6 is one of the more interesting music phones released by the Finnish company. It's a bit of a mixed bag in performance, though, compared to the company's popular 5800 XpressMusic.
Physically, it's a very attractive device - slim lines, sleek angles and overall good-looking profile. Build is quite sturdy too, with a good feel in the hand. Instead of using resistive panel (as has been Nokia's habit), it comes with a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen (360 x 640 resolution), making it more responsive and easier to use.
As a phone, we found the call quality to be a bit disappointing. We've grown accustomed to excellent voice performance from Nokia handsets - this one, however, made for unnatural sounding voices. Overall navigation and operation works well, although it can be sluggish at times. Battery life is rated at 6 hours of talk time, making it good for around a day and a half of non-stop music (and more for regular use).
On the features end, the X6 shines in some areas. It comes with the Symbian S60, which means excellent messaging support and a host of smartphone capabilities. Since it's a Comes With Music phone, memory is very generous at 32GB, allowing for plenty of space to store all those songs you download from the service. The onboard 5.0 megapixel camera is a joy to handle, with its above-average capture quality and exceptionally fast shutter speed. In daylight settings, I wouldn't mind using this to take photos I intend to keep for posterity.
While it's a music phone, it bears noting that the X6 is not XpressMusic-branded. As such, audio is not as good as devices under that line, which makes the idea of downloading DRM-infested (i.e. you can't play them anywhere else) songs onto it a tad less appealing. Other features include aGPS, stereo Bluetooth and 3.6Mbps HSDPA support.
If you're shopping for a music phone, the Nokia X6 is definitely a handset to consider. With a capacitive touchscreen, massive storage and the Comes With Music service behind it, it's easily a viable choice among the current crop of models going after music fans. Available unlocked for around $650 (with a full year of free music downloads from an extensive catalog), it's a bit expensive, though.
Nokia X6 Boasts Capacitive Screen, Comes With Music Service And A Whopping 32GB Of Storageunratednoel2009-12-14 14:50:27
Phone ReviewsNokia X6 Boasts Capacitive Screen, Comes With Music Service And A Whopping 32GB Of Storage
