[RPGWiZaRD]

I've been looking at a new phone and portable music gear and I'd probably want two-in-one solution but iPhone is too expensive for my liking, I've also concidered for example Cowon i9 mp3 player and keep this phone a bit longer but I don't listen to music on the go too much to be worth it I think so would probably go for a cheap 3G smartphone I can surf the web with and load lots of apps to in case I get bored etc. 
 
Having said that this ZTE Blade which has been on topic quite a lot recently due to being the cheapest Android smartphone solution around and it looks like something I'm looking for. I like the android OS myself a lot. I would ofc grab PowerAMP for it in that case. Any1 got experience with ZTE Blade + PowerAMP on this forum? Do you get reasonable SQ? For this price I know I can't ask for everything and I'm not either, as it is now I barely never listen to music on the go so would be a lot nicer with at least a decent player.
 
Right now I got both a crappy oldschool Samsung phone with buttons and the only mp3 player I got is a very old Creative Zune Plus 1GB mp3 player which is the reason I don't bother with listening to music anywhere but at home at the computer.

 

[mark2410]

i have one, as a phone its great as a DAP its okay.  ive used it a couple of times and ive noticed it doesnt play nice with all headphone jacks which is weird but on ones that work fine it sounds okay.  not something id want to use everyday myself but perfectly usable

 

[Smuul]

Well ZTE Blade was meant to be a cheap Android phone, so the hardware isn't so good. I don't also think it has any good mp3 playback, because of its cheap hardware. Most of the price of this phone is made of Android supporting...

 

[129207]

I own a ZTE Blade and am running the CyanogenMod Android 2.3.3 build 39 ROM. 
 
Sound quality is pretty bad actually compared to my other DAPs. It's basically your typical smartphone SQ. Sounds comparable to my Samsung Omnia Pro. Doesn't extend very far, very digital sounding and congested. Actually, it sounds exactely like those cheap, no-name mp3 players from China you can buy on Ebay. I use the DSP EQ to add some body but only ever listen to it's headphone out when I'm watching video. A $30 Sansa Clip sounds better. 
 
I do however think that it's speaker is actually pretty decent. When you place the phone in an enclosure (say a small box) it sounds pretty good. 
 
Great phone overall, a lot of band for your buck. Community ROMs are still not 100% stable but the guys over at XDA and Modaco are working hard.