The Best Cell Phones for Music Lovers

mulberry by mulberry
Last updated: 12/02/12

Finding the Best Music Phone

Cell phones offer a number of great of functions. Of course, all phones provide calling but from there, things get more individualized. Some people prioritize fast and easy texting, others want a camera that can produce great looking images on the go, while others are looking primarily for entertainment. For those that love music, there are of course music phones that stand out from the crowd and that's what this page is all about.

Read on to find out about the important features, which phones come highly recommended, and what other readers are saying about the best music phones.

What Makes a Cell Phone a Top Music Phone?

If you're wanting the best music phone, there are a number of features to consider:

  • Phone functions and service.
    Like any cell phone, your new music phone has to operate with the cellular network you will be using. In addition, if you wish to use the phone as a camera, need it to provide GPS guided direction, or to do a great deal of text messaging then attention will also need to be given to those features.

  • Types of audio files supported
    All music phones will support the most popular file type, MP3. However, you might also be interested in making use of AAC, WMA, WAV, AMR, MIDI, or other types of music files. The best music phone for you should supports the types of files you want to use.

  • Useful and easy to use controls.
    Shoppers should consider whether or not the phone offers the type of controls they want. For instance can they adjust the tone, bass, and so forth to suit their preferences. Are volume, rewind, fast forward and other functions easy to adjust? How does the music phone allow you to organize and find the tunes you want; is it convenient and quick? The best music phones let you tweak your music to suit the sound you like and make it easy to enjoy exactly the tunes you want.

    A good music phone will function like a full featured MP3 player. It can play video, offers an equalizer, may show artist, title, and so forth on the screen as your music plays, may have an airplane mode to allow you to listen without turning on your cellular service, and so forth.
  • The quality of the listening experience.
    Shoppers should listen to the quality of the sound before buying. Are the speakers good and are headphones adequate? If all is well, but the headphones aren't up to par, find out if you can upgrade them.

  • Overall music features.
    For instance, does the music phone also offer an FM radio? Does it make streaming over a wireless connection possible? Does it have enough memory to store all of the tunes you want on your phone? Phones with a few GB of memory are good but having a microSD slot to add more is nice as well.

  • Quick and easy downloading.
    Can you make use of your favorite download sites with it and can you perform downloads quickly? Obviously, a USB 2.0 connection is preferable and shoppers should assure the cable comes included when buying the phone.

  • Sony Ericsson W995 Walkman

    Sony Ericsson W995a Walkman Unlocked Phone with 3G, 8.1 MP, WiFi, Stereo Bluetooth, and Assisted GPS--U.S. Version with Warranty (Progressive Black)

    Amazon Price: (as of 02/16/2012)Buy Now

    This Sony Ericsson W995 is an unlocked, quad-band version and will work with any GSM carrier like AT&T and T-Mobile. This is a slider phone that features an 8.1-megapixel camera/camcorder with face detection, auto focus, 16x digital zoom, and an image stabilizer. It also has Wi-Fi networking, handsfree communication, GPS for location and geo-tagging, Bluetooth music streaming, and of course, a Walkman 3.0 digital media player.

    This is one of the best music phones available, with it's full-function digital audio player. It's compatible with MP3 and AAC files and has features like shake control and playback settings including an equalizer, playlists, stereo widening, and shuffle and loop modes. It even has a flight mode. The W995 also includes the Media Go PC application, which provides easy transfer of audio, photos and videos between your phone and computer via drag and drop. You can enjoy music, podcasts, and even rip CDs. With the TrackID service, you can identify any song that you can hear by just recording a snippet of sound using the microphone. After sending the file for recognition, you'll have the name, artist and album sent to your phone. It also includes a built-in FM radio with RDS, which displays the name of the currently playing song.

    This phone also provides the usual functions such as calculator, alarm clock, calendar, and full HTML web browsing. It even has a step counter and supports RSS feeds as well. It comes with a handset, battery, charger, 8 GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card, wired handsfree headset, USB cable, and Sony software.

    HTC Rezound

    HTC Rezound 4G Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)

    Amazon Price: (as of 02/16/2012)Buy Now

    The HTC Rezound is also a solid music phone. It is an Android based phone with a 1.5GHz dual core processor and 4.3" touch screen with 720p resolution. It features a Beats Audio integration with lightweight Beats headphones, stereo Bluetooth 3.0 for streaming music, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a cable remote to allow you to rewind, advance, and even pause music while answering calls.

    This phone offers a built-in microphone for hands free calling capabilities, GPS via Google Maps, corporate and personal e-mail, a full HTML web browser with Flash support, Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking, and 16GB built-in memory and a microSD card slot for expansion. You can use the 2 megapxiel front facing camera for video callling, backup up all of your mobile contacts in case of theft or loss, and get social updates, stock updates, weather, pictures, and more at a glance when you customize the home screen. Other features include visual voice mail and an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and 1080p video capture. This phone operates on Verizon's 4G LTE network and provides 6.75 hours of talk time per charge.

    Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

    Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Unlocked Phone with U.S. 3G, GPS with Free Voice Navigation, Wi-Fi, and 4 GB MicroSD Card--U.S. Version with Warranty (Black)

    Amazon Price: $269.99 (as of 02/16/2012)Buy Now

    This newer XpressMusic is a GSM quadband phone with 3.5" touch screen, built in GPS, and WiFi connectivity. Memory is expandable up to 16GB to allow you to store all of your favorite media.

    This is one of the best music phones available with a 3.5mm audio/video jack, a graphic equalizer, dedicated volume keys, bass booster, stereo widening, and compatibility with MP3, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, and WMA digital files as well as built-in FM stereo.

    It also features a built-in 3.2 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and dual LED flash with a red eye reduction mode. It offers autofocus and 3x digital zoom. Users can also record videos at 30 frames per second.

    In addition, this phone features a hands-free speakerphone, vibrating alert, e-mail support, SMS, MMS and instant messaging, conference calling, calendar, alarm clock, reminders, notes, to-do list, converter, calculator, clock, voice dialing and voice recorder.

    Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Review

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    Nokia X6

    Nokia X6 Unlocked GSM Phone with 5 MP Camera, Capacitive Touch, GPS with Voice Navigation, Car Holder, 3G and 16 GB Memory (Black Cap)

    Amazon Price: $335.00 (as of 02/16/2012)Buy Now

    The Nokia X6 makes it on the list of best music phones based on it's sound quality which is said to rival that of standalone media players. The X6 features an equalizer, 3.5mm headset jack, and built in radio.

    This music phone comes with headphones, USB cable, software CD and a one year paid subscription to "Come With Music" that allows users to enjoy free music downloads. The X6 offers 32GB of built-in memory for storing video and music. It has a 3.2" capacitive display and a built in 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar optics which can also record 640x480 video at 30 frames per second. This phone also includes a web browser and on-screen QWERTY keyboard.

    Nokia X6 Music Phone Review

    Nokia X6 Review
    by PhoneArena | video info

    264 ratings | 422,844 views
    curated content from YouTube

    HTC Sensation XE

    HTC Sensation XE Z715E with Beats Audio Unlocked GSM Android Phone - International Version - No Warranty - Black

    Amazon Price: $538.48 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

    The HTC Sensation XE makes the list of the best music phones based upon it's integration with the Beats brand. It incorporates the Beats Audio technology and includes a pair of in-ear Beats by Dr. Dre headphones for a superior listening experience. They even provide a remote control which allows users to play, pause, forward through tracks, answer and end calls remotely.

    It runs on a 1.5GHz dual core processor, Android OS, and a powerful 1730 mAh battery. This music phone featues a 4.3" qHD touch screen, a front facing camera for video chat, and an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash. It can even record 1080p video. The Sensation XE has 1GB of onboard storage and a microSD slot that can accommodate up to 32GB cards for expansion.

    Sony Ericsson Aino

    Sony Ericsson Aino U10 Black Color Unlocked Cell Phone GSM Mobile International Version Sim Free

    Amazon Price: $369.00 (as of 02/16/2012)Buy Now

    The Aino is another impressive music phone, in fact it's a great all round media phone. It features a slide out keyboard as well as a 3" touch screen with fantastic color and resolution. It has a built-in FM radio, Bluetooth stereo headsets (but no 3.5mm headset jack), and an 8GB microSD card slot to help store all of your music. It has an airplane mode to allow you to listen even when flying and offers features like an equalizer, playlist function, shuffle and repeat modes, clear bass, TrackID, shake control, and more.

    The Aino will sync with your computer and wirelessly pull media content to keep you entertained. It can also access and control your Playstation3. If you have PlayTV you can even watch and record live TV with it This music phone also offers built in GPS and an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash.

    Sony Ericsson Aino Review

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    Reader's Poll: What's the Greatest Music Phone?

    Samsung Juke

    1 point

    Nokia N95 8GB

    1 point

    Samsung Galaxy S

    0 points

    HTC Desire HD

    0 points

    Music Phones in the News

    Band makes music with phone apps
    Technology has certainly changed the way the world thinks, at least for a five-member band based in Bengaluru who made full use of mobile technology. Rave iBand, that comprises of serious musicians Riccha Paul, Charan Raj, Dj Jdee, Vanil Veigas and ...
    Seven brilliant smartphones for music fans
    There is no need to describe what a wonderful music phone the Sony Ericsson's Mix Walkman will be. The company has a tradition of launching a number of high quality music phones. The Mix Walkman is one of them, which runs on an 800MHz processor and has ...
    Playstation certified HTC phones and tablets coming soon
    This move by HTC will add another segment in their smartphone lineup as they already have a dedicated music phone segment from Beats Audio. This is HTC's attempt to diversify its product portfolio by offering something for everyone.
    Nokia Expands Dual SIM Phone Market With New Devices
    Speaking at the launch of the two new dual SIM phones, Nokia X2-02 and Nokia Asha 200 at the weekend, Nokia Sevices Manager, Mr. Olumide Balogun described the Nokia X2-02 as the lowest cost music phone targeted at the young at heart.

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    HTC Surround 

    HTC T8788 7 Surround Unlocked Phone with Windows 7, Surround Sound, 5MP Camera and HD Video - US Warranty - Black

    Amazon Price: $169.95 (as of 02/16/2012)Buy Now

    The HTC Surround is among the best music phones available. It offers 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi networking, built in GPS, a 3.8 inch touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, digital compass, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash as well as 720p HD video recording, and great sound output. The built in media player includes an FM radio and supports MP3, WMA, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ music formats and MPEG4 video files. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack, Dolby Mobile and SRS surround with built-in dual slideout speakers and microphones, a sound enhancer app with preset equalizer settings, and a kickstand to listen handsfree.

    This Windows 7 phone has a 1 GHz processor. It gives users access to downloadable Zune music, XBox Live games, and more.

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