Handsets: Let These Entertain You
New cell phones come outfitted for listening to music and watching TV on the go.
What's on TV?
Designed for the latest high-speed cellular data networks, LG's VX-8100 and Nokia's 6682 take video to new levels. The LG--a CDMA and EV-DO handset--is outfitted for Verizon's VCast TV service, which brings snippets of such programs as
Both handsets can capture small snapshots, play music, and record videos. But whereas the $350 GSM- and EDGE-enabled Nokia can record a 1-hour video clip, the LG maxes out at 15 seconds. Videos on a preproduction Nokia looked bright but grainy and occasionally choppy. The preproduction LG's video quality was worse: dark and mottled.
These phones have memory card slots for holding data downloaded from the carrier's site, and for transferring photos, videos, and other content to and from a PC (with a card reader). The Nokia phone ships with a 64MB Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC). LG doesn't bundle a card, but you get a generous 512MB of internal memory.
For standard phone functions, the LG's intuitive menus and well-marked buttons (for quickly accessing apps and content from the service provider) make it easier to use than the Nokia. The LG's speaker and volume controls beat the Nokia's, which were so poor that I could scarcely hear the people at the other end. Fortunately, the Nokia did sound better on speakerphone than when held to the ear.
Both the Kyocera Slider Remix KX5 and the Sanyo MM 5600 try to free you from having to carry separately a cell phone and an MP3 player. Both phones will play MP3 and AAC music files. If Sprint is your carrier and you have an MM 5600, you can hear streamed music over the Mspot radio and video service.
These phones won't satisfy a music fan who wants hundreds of tunes on hand at all times. Neither the Kyocera, which will not be available until late August and hasn't been priced yet, nor the Sanyo ($430 from Sprint) has onboard memory for music. Instead, each includes a micro-SD Card slot through which you can add up to 512MB of tracks, enough for about 8.5 hours of music encoded at 128 kbps.
The sound quality of both phones was surprisingly good. But for best results, you'll need headphones equipped with a jack even smaller than the one used for most portable audio players (or you'll need a converter jack). I was sorely disappointed by the $6-per-month Mspot service, which I tested over the Sprint network in the San Francisco Bay Area. Regrettably, service cut in and out, and the sound quality was atrocious.
Grace Aquino and Edward N. Albro
