Phone with an mp3 player that DOESN'T suck
Lately, I've been in the market looking for a cell phone with an integrated mp3 player. The criteria is pretty strict:
-It CANNOT be a smartphone, not even a Blackberry. Having all the extra bells, whistles and capabilities, coupled with the compulsory data plans needed to use those features, becomes very expensive in the long run. Plus, it would be a waste of phone since I don't plan on using them at all. Seriously, why does anybody need to pay $100+ for freaking phone service anyway? Unfortunately, even the most basic of phones are getting more data-based features and services packed into them these days.
-Absolutely no touchscreen capability. The day you need your phone the most is the day you can't use it all that well because, over time, the screen got so worn and scratched out that you can barely call that one important number you need to reach. Buttons, however, are generally more reliable even when worn and damaged, and may be easier (and cheaper) to replace than their touchscreen counterparts.
-Preferably a bar format phone. Flip-style or slide-style is okay, but the less moving parts getting worn and broken over time, the better. Kind of related to the previous point above.
-Music management capabilities that don't suck. The Samsung T-339 I had during the contract with T-Mobile held ten fixed playlists that could only hold thirty songs each, and no more. You couldn't even make additional playlists despite being able to throw in a microSD card that could hold well over 300 songs. And if you had another track located on another playlist, one would have to manually exit the playlist and switch to the one which had the tune they wanted to listen to.
Right now, the preferable choices are either the LG Muziq and the Fusic.
-It CANNOT be a smartphone, not even a Blackberry. Having all the extra bells, whistles and capabilities, coupled with the compulsory data plans needed to use those features, becomes very expensive in the long run. Plus, it would be a waste of phone since I don't plan on using them at all. Seriously, why does anybody need to pay $100+ for freaking phone service anyway? Unfortunately, even the most basic of phones are getting more data-based features and services packed into them these days.
-Absolutely no touchscreen capability. The day you need your phone the most is the day you can't use it all that well because, over time, the screen got so worn and scratched out that you can barely call that one important number you need to reach. Buttons, however, are generally more reliable even when worn and damaged, and may be easier (and cheaper) to replace than their touchscreen counterparts.
-Preferably a bar format phone. Flip-style or slide-style is okay, but the less moving parts getting worn and broken over time, the better. Kind of related to the previous point above.
-Music management capabilities that don't suck. The Samsung T-339 I had during the contract with T-Mobile held ten fixed playlists that could only hold thirty songs each, and no more. You couldn't even make additional playlists despite being able to throw in a microSD card that could hold well over 300 songs. And if you had another track located on another playlist, one would have to manually exit the playlist and switch to the one which had the tune they wanted to listen to.
Right now, the preferable choices are either the LG Muziq and the Fusic.