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Walkman phone vs. Apple iPod, a *civilized* discussion |
Hlcn Twst
Joined: Jul 27, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Purgatory, Utah, USA
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For the longest time, I used a mobile phone + iPod. When I bought my W810 and came to Esato, I quickly recognized the, shall we say, strong dislike of the iPod here 
So, to be fair, I shelved my iPod, bought a 4GB MSDP for my phone, and attempted to use it exclusively for music. I even bought an MMC-60 and AUX-in car stereo adapter for driving use. (I had an iPod adapter until now, obviously.) After a few weeks of doing so, here's a summary of the outcome of this "experiment."
Apple iPod advantages
- storage - iPods come in GB sizes of 1, 2, 4, 8, 30, and 80. Lots of choice, and at 80GB, lots of room.
- desktop software - iTunes treats your music library as a database, easily managing your music and all associated information (e.g. user ratings). Playlists are a snap, and Smart Playlists are incredible. The seamless synchronization (done automatically, unless you choose otherwise) of music and playlists, as well as photos, with the iPod is a joy; the iPod perfectly mirrors your iTunes setup. It takes care of video conversion, too (which I found to be a bit tricky for the W810). I can't believe this is *free* from Apple, and it runs on both the Mac and Windoze, too.
- music navigation - All of the different ways in which your music is accessible makes it easy to find what you want. The click wheel is easy to use, and has a nice acceleration feature - so you can quickly scroll to what you want, then select it with ease.
- sound quality - With the EQ switched off, the iPod's sound output is completely neutral. This is, of course, an entirely subjective area that also depends on the headphones used, the listener's hearing, etc.
- in the car - Providing more than just sound and power, car stereos (OEM and aftermarket) have had iPod controls for some time now. Some, like the Alpine units of the last year, even show the iPod's information on the radio display itself, and let you navigate your music from there.
  Phone advantages
- convergence - Obviously the single greatest advantage. You always have your mobile phone with you, why not use it for your portable multimedia as well? That's also one less set of accessories to purchase.
- expandability - Need more room? Just buy a bigger memory card. Copy everything from old to new, plug it in, and you're good to go.
- USB mass storage - No need for proprietary software, just drag'n'drop your music folders onto the mounted USB "drive" of the phone (or memory card). So any computer you use with a USB port, Mac or Windoze, lets you easily copy new MP3s, AACs, pictures, movies, etc.
- onboard playlists - You can create, change, and remove playlists all on the device, without the need for a desktop computer or software.
- sound quality - Nothing beats a user-custom EQ, although "Bass" and "MegaBass" settings are quite nice!
As with everything in life, nothing is perfect. iPods and phones each have their strengths and weaknesses. As for myself, the jury is still out. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep my W810 (and upgrade to a W610 later), or replace it with a new iPod plus Cybershot camera. Assuming, of course, that the iPhone ends up being the let-down that I suspect it will be.
My last post on this subject turned ugly, partly due to yours truly  So let's let bygones be bygones, try again, and keep this factual and civilized. Savvy? 
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J.20
Joined: Oct 03, 2005
Posts: 9
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I got a W850i with a 4gb, 2gb and 1gb card. I like it way more then the ipod. I never liked ipods anyways though.
4gb of space is more then enough for music, and the quality of video the W850i can play is good enough also.
The battery life on a walkman phone is better than and ipod also. The combination of a phone, music and video player in one is good like you say.
Use M3 converter for video's and Media player or grag n drop for music and your all set. |
Hlcn Twst
Joined: Jul 27, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Purgatory, Utah, USA
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I never liked ipods anyways though.
4gb of space is more then enough for music, and the quality of video the W850i can play is good enough also.
Purely subjective. But I agree, as the W810 does OK with movies also.
The battery life on a walkman phone is better than and ipod also.
I've had the opposite experience. My old 60GB color iPod (music and photos only, no video) - with a theoretically power-hungry hard drive - would last a week or more between charges. My W810, with almost no video use, a fair bit of music use, and mild calling use (usually over  ), lasts 2-3 days.
The combination of a phone, music and video player in one is good like you say.
Indeed.
Use M3 converter for video's and Media player or grag n drop for music and your all set.
Never heard of it - is there a Mac version? I use SyncTunes to copy playlists from iTunes to the memory card (in a USB reader). I manually transfer photos between the phone and iPhoto. And I manually convert movies via QuickTime Pro, which allows exports to (amongst others) the 3GP and MP4 formats. It took a while to find the right settings to do that.
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DragonEye
Joined: Sep 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Canada
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first video on w810 is pretty pointless..... screen is too small and video quality is not that great regardless of encoder... m3 on pc or a mac app.
video on the qvga phones are decent (w850, k790 etc..)
if you want to convert video's on your mac... i use visual hub...
Shaolinmonk on HOFO Official PHONE JUNKIE
My P1i Review
http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=152437&start=0 |
Hlcn Twst
Joined: Jul 27, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Purgatory, Utah, USA
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I've only put a few movie trailers on mine. (I can't begin to tell you what an amazing film "300" is.) QT Pro did the trick, after much trail-and-error with the 100s of settings.
sells no QVGA phones in the US. The only dumbphones they've sold at that resolution are the S710a and K790a.
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Tehy03
Joined: Feb 02, 2005
Posts: 386
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I would still buy phone and ipod. Walkman phones are good but iPod is the best
Here's more my thoughts about this subject:
http://www.sefanatics.com/art[....]-ericsson-w880i-vs-ipod-video/ |
suland
Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 122
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What is the point to have 2 devices for music and for the phone...No way I need it. I have had Sony HDD-player and SE-phone. After 4Gb cards became availbale - just sold mine HDD-player and really happy with one device for everything.
The sound quality of IPOD is lower than SE-phone (P990i).
I don't know why all the people in this world going to buy IPOD's...Probably because they were first on the market. As for me - the design is just UGLY, sound not good enough (but loud). All IMO.
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arien617
Joined: Feb 01, 2006
Posts: > 500
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I'm happy with just my W810, mainly because I'm not bothered about movies when i'm out and I know as a fact that I'll never fill 80gb with music.
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DragonEye
Joined: Sep 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Canada
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On 2007-04-05 20:09:13, Hlcn Twst wrote:
I've only put a few movie trailers on mine. (I can't begin to tell you what an amazing film "300" is.) QT Pro did the trick, after much trail-and-error with the 100s of settings.
sells no QVGA phones in the US. The only dumbphones they've sold at that resolution are the S710a and K790a.
ya if you need 850 you suck lol... i don't care that much about 850..1900 runs well in the city.. which is where i am mainly.. |
Hlcn Twst
Joined: Jul 27, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Purgatory, Utah, USA
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ya if you need 850 you suck lol... i don't care that much about 850..1900 runs well in the city.. which is where i am mainly..
Gee, thanks 
In the US, we have T-Mobile and Cingular. Cingular relies heavily on 850. T-Mobile only uses 1900, but has roaming agreements with Cingular. So if you're in a T-Mobile black hole (e.g. where I work  ), you still need 850.
The only people that "suck"are those who mock the unavoidable misfortunes of others.
@suland: iPod is ugly? Sound isn't good enough? Yeesh. To each their own.
@Tehy03: There's no point comparing 2 devices based on the included headphones, as this is the first upgrade most people make anyway. I dislike both the Apple and packed-in ones. (Though I admit has the advantage here.) There's a reason some call these included headphones "throw-aways."
You also neglected the one area where the iPod trounces any phone: integration/synchronization with one's (desktop PC-stored) music library. The iTunes-iPod combo is idiot-proof and bullet-proof. And creating, managing, and transferring playlists couldn't be easier. On the W810, I have to manually re-create the playlists, and it's a bit of a pain. Adding a folder of music also produces some undesirable results, mainly everything being added backwards.
@arien617: 360 CDs (my library) @ 256 kbps (my happy medium of sound quality vs. disk space) = 40 GB. It's extremely convenient to have your entire music library with you wherever you go. No need to re-copy new music every time my tastes change.
Still, it's hard to beat the convenience of an all-in-one device.
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DragonEye
Joined: Sep 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Canada
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On 2007-04-05 22:03:09, Hlcn Twst wrote:
ya if you need 850 you suck lol... i don't care that much about 850..1900 runs well in the city.. which is where i am mainly..
Gee, thanks
In the US, we have T-Mobile and Cingular. Cingular relies heavily on 850. T-Mobile only uses 1900, but has roaming agreements with Cingular. So if you're in a T-Mobile black hole (e.g. where I work ), you still need 850.
The only people that "suck"are those who mock the unavoidable misfortunes of others.
just having a little fun with you relax.... you should get the k550i or w610.. a2dp, walkman 2.0 and video playback is 30fps.... |
Charge
Joined: Jan 07, 2006
Posts: 205
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Everyone seems to have missed one of the major advantages that music cell phones have over the ipod line - speakers.
You can't listen to music without earphones on an ipod.
And the newer music phones also support a2dp... making wire hassles a thing of the past.
And you can transfer songs over bluetooth.
And you can download songs off the net on the move.
And most music phones have a radio built in. |
Hlcn Twst
Joined: Jul 27, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Purgatory, Utah, USA
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just having a little fun with you relax....
Heh, I thought so. But people on Esato get really pissed about the iPod for some reason, so you never know 
you should get the k550i or w610.. a2dp, walkman 2.0 and video playback is 30fps....
W610 isn't available Stateside yet. If I buy a K550, I'm buying an iPod Nano, too!
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Hlcn Twst
Joined: Jul 27, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Purgatory, Utah, USA
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And the newer music phones also support a2dp... making wire hassles a thing of the past.
...
And most music phones have a radio built in.
Not sure about others, but the W810 needs a wired headset (HPM-70, HPM-82) to use the radio, as the wire acts as the antenna.
So wires aren't going away yet, and the radio isn't 100% "built-in."
Current iPod Nano and iPod video have available an HPM-82-like accessory, providing wired control + FM radio reception. The iPod itself has the radio application, controlled via the click-wheel.
And you can transfer songs over bluetooth.
is still slow. I wouldn't use it for more than 2-3 small files. Anything else, take the memory card out and use a USB 2.0 card reader.
[ This Message was edited by: Hlcn Twst on 2007-04-05 21:55 ] |
DragonEye
Joined: Sep 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Canada
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On 2007-04-05 22:33:38, Hlcn Twst wrote:
just having a little fun with you relax....
Heh, I thought so. But people on Esato get really pissed about the iPod for some reason, so you never know
you should get the k550i or w610.. a2dp, walkman 2.0 and video playback is 30fps....
W610 isn't available Stateside yet. If I buy a K550, I'm buying an iPod Nano, too!
w610i is released you'll be able to get one from you local import shop soon... | |
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Posted: 2007-04-05 17:23
