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 It's no secret that cell phones are morphing into multifunctional wonders with capabilities that go way beyond voice calls. For the music fan (and who isn't one?), the idea of playing music on a cell phone is one of the most attractive new combos. Why lug around an MP3 player if your cell phone can handle your music-listening needs?
Unless you need a massive library of music with you at all times, using a cell phone for your portable music needs makes a lot of sense. You reduce the amount of devices you carry around and you likely won’t miss a call because you’re listening to tunes. They typically hold up to 2GB of music on a microSD card -- more as capacities increase to 4GB, then 8GB and beyond.
That said, taking the portable music plunge isn't about just buying any cell phone that touts a music player feature. They vary a great deal, and some of them don't qualify as full-fledged digital audio players. Aside from choosing a music phone that takes its music feature seriously, there are audio formats, music stores, headphone preferences, and more to consider. This guide to buying a music phone should help clarify a few of these issues so you can pick the music phone that’s right for you. After all, what good is a music phone if you can’t listen to the music you want to hear?
Eliot Van Buskirk is a freelance technology journalist who has written columns, blogs, reviews, tutorials, and books about digital music for CNET, Wired, PC Magazine, McGraw-Hill, and others.
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