Nov
If you like music, and are still carrying around a separate MP3 player.. my guess is you are in denial on the progress for mobile phones and their music capabilities! OK, or you just like a separation of church and state for music and business.
Device Options
For those looking to converge your devices and have a single device to get you through the day, you have a few options. I’ll briefly mention them and make my recommendations.
iPhone
The iPhone (in case you live in a cave) is Apple’s answer to this problem. The company with the best selling portable music players has an amazing answer to taking your music on the go. The iPod integration is fantastic. It allows you easy access to your albums, artists, playlists and also has the ability to do podcasts, videos, tv and audio books. It really does an amazing job.
To get music on the iPhone is easy, and accomplished a couple of ways. The first is by connecting to your computer and syncing with iTunes. Anything in iTunes can be synced over. The other way is using the iTunes store right on the phone. I gotta say, on WiFi looking for songs, finding them and adding to your library has never been as easy as this. It even syncs the purchased songs back to your computer once you connect back home. Amazing.
The downside? iTunes DRM music. My wife and I each have different accounts. I think it is “fair use” to purchase a song and also have my wife listen to it. Short of burning a disc for her and letting her re-rip it for her iPhone, there is no other way. (And that way is not the legal way) . I would love to see Apple allow a couple things on the phone, neither of which they would ever allow.
First I’d like to see and Amazon DRM free store. Getting non-drm’d music for my wife and I to use together would be a dream. Unfortunately it would cut into iTunes sales and they would never let that occur.
Second I’d like to see Rhapsody on the phone. I have a Rhapsody subscription for my Sonos system and I love it. If I could sync my Rhapsody to go like I do with my Sansa player, but on my phone.. ahh yeah. Again.. no chance in.. well, you know.
G1
The G1 is a good device with integrated music player. (actually it is a download from what I understand to get the music player in place) Anyway.. it does have an Amazon MP3 store on the phone. This is far better than the iTunes DRM music, but it does lack a little in usability. It will be better over time I am sure.
A big downside to the G1 is the proprietary headphone jack. Seriously, who thought this was a good idea? The 3.5mm headphone jack is standard on everything from a tape walkman to a portable navigation device. This is actually even worse than Apple’s first Faux Paux that was a recessed 3.5mm jack that most headphones would not fit in. There are adapters in both cases, but seriously people, this is NOT a good product decision. Proprietary is so 1999.
Verizon VCast Phones
Verizon partnered up with Rhapsody to take the VCast music to the phones. I think this is a great setup if you are looking for a basic device that also doubles for music, unfortunately most of the devices lack more of the traditional “smart phone” funcitonality.
AT&T Phones
AT&T has paired up with Napster for it’s “to go” service. I don’t have a whole lot of details on this yet but it appears they are launching quite a few devices in this space. I honestly don’t know how many people will buy into this though, if you are on AT&T already, why not just get the iPhone?
Blackberry
RIM has done a good job moving from the business only devices to now marketing a mobile lifestyle device around the new lines. I’d say starting with the 8100 Pearl, the 8300, 8800 and now the Storm, they have a great suite of phones that are good for the business user as well as your personal device.
The media players are awkward on these devices, they do work though. I never really got into using my phone as a music player when I had Blackberry devices, it just was not as smooth. I think the Storm makes that better.
Sony Walkman Phones
Sony was the company that launched the portable music craze. Remember old skool cassette walkmans? Oh, and do you remember that 3 months when CD Walkmans were popular? 
They are a little behind the times, but cranking out more music phones all the time. The Sony Walkman Phones are quite useful it appears as a phone and music player. Most have external storage which is great. I personally have not spent much time with these, but they are a logical device to consider.
Recommendation
I’d say if you are into music, and really into music on the go, the iPhone is the best option. I don’t know that many people who don’t already have iPods. This is a natural extension, and you get a great phone with it. (not to mention tons of application options)
The other devices really do pale in comparison for true music on the go. The G1 is probably your 2nd best bet. I really think the G1 is the 2nd best phone out there currently. The Storm is a close 3rd, but Amazon store on the go is amazing.
If you have any other thoughts, let me know.. this is just my view, and only for the sake of thinking it through to ensure I know where I really stand. For the record, I have an iPhone.
