Mp3 cell phones: music to our ears?

Once upon a time, cell phones were used just to make phone calls-but with the influx of phones that take pictures and videos and even stream TV shows, those days are long gone.

Many new cell phones also double as mp3 players, allowing users to do anything from tranfer music from their PCs to buy music on the go. But just like the zany names of some of these new phones (RAZR, MOTOKRZR, SLVR, enV and Chocolate, just to name a few), the viability of this trend may also be a little farfetched.

Users of the phones are divided on their opinions of this technology, so recess decided to break down the good and bad of mp3 cell phones.

The Good

Based on numbers alone, mp3 cell phones have been a tremendous hit over the past year. For example, the Sony Ericsson W810i Phone, nicknamed the Walkman phone, currently reigns as the top seller in the Cell Phones & Service category on Amazon.com. And in a recent poll by the IDC, listening to music topped the "Five Most Desired Services" category for cell phones.

Users have also praised these phones for their multitasking abilities.

"It's really convenient," said senior Blair Josephs of her Samsung A950 phone. "I was commuting into [New York City] over the summer and instead of carrying my cell phone and my iPod, I just used my phone."

Ann Fields, a freshman, echoed Josephs' comments, adding that she enjoyed the ability to buy songs straight from her Cingular CU500 phone. Service providers, such as Verizon Wireless, have created stores similar to Apple's iTunes Music Store that users can access from their phones. Songs are usually $1.99 apiece and are transmitted directly to a user's music library.

Many users cite these hidden costs as the main reason they avoid downloading music to their mp3 cell phones.

"When I got the phone, they offered me a free one-month subscription to Z-Cast [Verizon's downloading service]," said senior Brian Hanson, who owns a MOTOKRZR. "But I never took the time to learn it and it costs $10 a month so I cancelled it. Maybe if they made it easier and cheaper for us I would use it."

Another crucial drawback of these phones is though a multitude of technologies crammed into one cell phone may appeal to multitaskers, this same technology can clutter a phone for others.

"It's not convenient. In 15 minutes I can download thousands of songs onto my computer, while in that same time I can only download six or seven songs to my phone," Hanson said.

Other students agree.

"Who wants to listen to music on their phone?" said senior Stephen Reading, who owns a Sony Ericsson w00i. "There's not enough storage space, you'd have to switch out songs constantly and if you do listen to music then you run down your battery faster and might not have any left when you need to make a call."

The layout of the new phones is also a source of contention for many users.

"They're trying so hard to make me use the music thing that they put not one, but two buttons on the outside of the phone that causes it to start playing music if you accidentally hit them," Reading said. "Since I don't have any music on my phone, it plays this horrible preloaded music that you can't take off that sounds like if Gloria Estefan made a tribal music album."

The Future

But maybe all these phones really need is a little change in perspective, and the newly announced Apple iPhone may be just the thing.

Since the iPhone will be manufactured by the same company that makes the ubiquitous iPod, it should have a leg up on the current mp3 cell phones.

"It's not a phone that has a token mp3 player on it, it's an actual mp3 player," said Hanson. "If you have the money to buy it, it should be pretty sweet."

The iPhone will cost somewhere between $500 and $600, but comes in 4 GB and 8 GB versions, so ample storage space is ensured.

With cell phones, cameras, TVs and now mp3 players merging into one gotta-have accessory, one thing is for sure-you better not lose it.