[nue]

So, anyone got any suggestions for this? Searched a bit but nothing really conclusive other than IPHONE lulz.

I'm really only looking for a phone that's:

1) Relatively small. (Think Gameboy Micro but thinner)
2) Decent amount of battery life (15+ playback/talk time)
3) Good music playback.
4) Standard 3.5mm.

Currently using a Nokia 5310 but it's really only good with the first and fourth requirement. The other two are rather lackluster. Is there anything on the market that hits these requirement? Don't really care about touchscreen/Wi-Fi/qwerty keyboard/camera etc. Would be fine to have as well but they're not a necessity. Just want something that's more or a less as close to a DAP as possible but with the abilities to make calls.

 

[pxl1500]

Sony Ericsson phones supposedly have good sound quality.

 

[righteousball]

As close to a DAP as possible, that criteria alone will require the phone to be a fairly capable smartphone, i.e. I think you need all the features you "don't really care about" in order to provide you with a good semblance of operating a DAP. That's my opinion.

Sony Ericsson would've been a prime pick for you, something like the old W890 is small and sleek enough. But they still hasn't gotten around to putting the 3.5mm jack on most of its regular phones. You will be stuck using their connector, which adds an ungainly black blob on the side of the handset. Also the battery life is questionable.

 

[Hobohodou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nue /img/forum/go_quote.gif Currently using a Nokia 5310

IMO, the phone you described is your phone...minus battery life =/ No other dedicated music playback phones that are smaller/thinner...the 5310 is pretty darn slim...[size=xx-small]This also used to be the phone that I used, I was a huge fan of the revived nokia 5 series...before it got awful again[/size]

I'd avoid the iphone, it's a very overpriced brick...But it looks soooo pretty ! I'd say enjoy your pricey contract to get it...however, it's not so small, quite heavy for a phone too compared to the 5310...

Closest other phone you'd have would be as others said, the W890 (but it is larger and no 3.5mm jack)

Good luck on finding one...but nothing smaller than the 5310 as a dedicated music phone..and the 5310 is not that bad (apart from an appaling battery life)

 

[StevenBrouwer]

I have a se w995 and wanted to use it for dap also, but I am kinda "meh" about it.. I would take a seperate dap and a mail/browse or camera phone.

 

[Sparky191]

None of the SE phones I've had over the years (including the W995) come close to the Sony DAP A818 for SQ. Any other phones I've had just sound worse than the Sony SE phones.

Other people say the iPhone 3GS is the best SQ in a phone. But I've not tried that.

 

[ZARIM]

Samsung Omnia and LG sets has great sound quality..........

 

[129207]

I own and use a Samsung Omnia and I can assure you these DO NOT have good SQ. They need an adapter since they don't have a 3,5mm and sound horribly compressed and hollow. You can make them sound a little bit better by installing a custom rom from the Modaco forums and installing the SRS WOW plugin. This makes the SQ decent enough to watch some movies but I wouldn't recommend it for music listening.

I actually think my girlfriend's Blackberry Bold sounds halfway decent. It even has a 3,5mm headphone-out. The sound is clear and enjoyable but lacks soundstage and depth.

If you have the budget, I'd say get an Iphone 3GS, a LOD and a nice sleek amp. Best sound possible from a phone imho.

 

[heishiro]

i love how they sound

 

[dippyboy_87]

an iphone or the old nokia N91 are the best you can get in a mobile.

 

[jjsoviet]

IMO the Motorola ROKR series is one of the best sounding phones out there, especially the E8. And considering it is powered by Linux, it's customizable and moddable. One thing too..

... it has Rockbox.

 

[Mr Do]

The new Google Nexus One seems to be worth a listen.

Do!

 

[chengdude]

The Meizu M8 SE with a latest-generation Wolfson chip, loud-as-heck stereo speakers, and wide out-of-the-box codec support (audio and video) is also worth considering. It's a great bargain (under $300) in China, but loses a bit of that once you start dealing with importers.

 

[lucky13th]

I have the W980 and it sounds great as far as I can tell. The only problem is that it doesn't have a 3.5mm. The SE fast port is notorious for wearing down. In fact mine has become too loose. If I move it slightly, the sound becomes muffled.

So right now I too am in the market for a new phone. Though I could easily send my 980 to be fixed.

From what I have heard, the ROKR has laggy menus. Well that reminds me, the W980 is fairly laggy when the music player is running which makes texting and listening to music at the same time a bit of a pain.

Not to hijack this thread since it might serve the TC as well but has anyone tried Docomo phones and can review their sound quality.

 

[Deep Funk]

At the moment I use a Nokia 6303. First I had a Nokia 6234. The 6303 sounds more than O.K. and the 128 kbps WMAs with an Aurvana Live as headset are a good combination on the move. I use 4 gb now but it'll become 8gb or 16gb later.

I have to experiment with 320 kbps WMAs to find out if that will improve the detail and overall sound quality. Maybe a Fiio E5 can do wonders.

For now the sound is satisfactory and Nokia hasn't really let me down in the hardware department.