General: Best Mobile Phone/mp3 Player/radio/camera Combo?

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    • CommentAuthorLorna
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2009
     

    Hello,

    I'm looking to replace my mobile phone (it's a rapidly dying, 4 year old, Samsung something or other) and also my mp3 player (a gradually dying, 2yr old, creative zen vision m).

    I want to buy the best combination of devices which will give me:
    A decent mobile phone
    + An mp3 player (needs to be compact enough to use in the gym)
    + A radio
    + A semi-ok compact camera for snapshots
    + make me sleek, shiny and cutting edge enough to fit in at work (it's an investment bank, everyone has the latest, greatest gadgets)

    I like the idea of the iPhone. It would fulfill the phone category, plus give me decent internet access on the go, which would be a bonus. But I've heard bad things about the camera, it's too big to use as an mp3 player in the gym, has no radio and I strongly suspect I'd end up loathing myself for buying into the hype.

    I also like the idea of an iPod Nano. Small enough for the gym, but lack of radio is again a deal breaker (must have Radio 4 in the morning!), but that could be fixed by buying a decent phone with radio + ok camera. However, I have no idea what would constitute a decent phone with a radio + ok camera.

    I saw a picture of a pink Samsung Tocco in London Lite the other day and thought it looked pretty. I know nothing more about it than that.

    Does anyone have any suggestions for good things which partially or completely meet my criteria? I haven't done any research at all yet, so would appreciate a few pointers.

    •  
      CommentAuthorClubBarf
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2009
     

    I just got a Sony W595. The camera's not a bad spec for a camera phone, but I doubt it's really up to a proper point & shoot either (only 3.2 Megapixel - havn't really tried it though, the camera was never important to me). It does radio, mp3 player, and it's fairly sleek/shiny. And it does 3G/HSDPA Internet for mobile broadband. The built-in email client is fairly good too - supports POP3/IMAP4 etc.

    And it synchronises nicely with Outlook for your contacts, appointments and such, which makes it a handy substitute for a PDA, if you don't need anything too advanced. Although bluetooth means your PDA/Laptop can talk to it if you do. And the QVGA screen is gorgeous.

    And they're fairly cheap too. I got mine on O2 PAYG (unlocked) for £140. If you're on a contract you can probably get your network to send you one for free.

    Downsides are it has no headphone jack - a multi-purpose connector is used for charging it as well as plugging in the headphones - although it's not as bad as it sounds since it comes with a 3.5mm jack adapter. The other is that it uses Sony's own memory cards, which are a bit more expensive than micro SD. 8GB is gonna cost you about £20-£25, where MicroSD would probably be £12.

    I'm sure Nokia has something similar, as will Samsung.

    Ok, there's my mini-review of the Sony W595. :P

    •  
      CommentAuthorClubBarf
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2009
     

    Oh, and just a couple of other things I forgot to say - getting the battery cover off is a PIG. And it comes with a 2GB memory card.

    •  
      CommentAuthorcrazy pete
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2009
     

    Hi Lorna. I'm a big fan of my Nokia N96. I think it satisfies all your criteria, except perhaps looking slick. It's not the most user freindly device but it is very flexible if you're happy to spend a bit of time setting it up. It's got a full size headphone socket and a decent RDS radio. It comes with a net radio app and the beeb do a version of iplayer for it too. The camera is not bad (for a phone) and there's plenty of storage for music and photos. It's probably a bit big for the gym though.

    The N97 is out soon which adds a large touch screen and a qwerty keyboard.

    • CommentAuthorLorna
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2009
     

    Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll take a look.

    At the moment I'm leaning towards a Samsung Pixon and an iPod nano for the gym.

    •  
      CommentAuthorClubBarf
    • CommentTimeMar 10th 2009
     

    http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/

    I find the reviews on there helpful to avoid buying a dog of a phone. I would lean toward Samsung if you already have one, assuming the accessories for your old phone fit the new one. I have several chargers for my old Sony that swung me away from a Nokia back to Sony when I bought my new phone last month.

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      CommentAuthorHuddy
    • CommentTimeMar 16th 2009
     

    Not sure if I've come to the party too late! Hope I can still contribute :)

    I'd agree with Pete about the N96. However, if you're not too bothered about having a smartphone, you might want to look at Sony Ericsson. The walkman series (try the W890i) might be a good place to start. Although the new W902 incorporates features from ericsson's cybershot series too, so I'd encourage you to look seriously at it - it has both the music capability and a decent camera.

    So to summarise...if you want a smartphone, go for the N96 (that's what I'd go for if I wasn't waiting for the N97 later this year). If you're not too bothered about a smartphone, the W902 is definitely the way to go.

    If you're still looking at the Pixon, there's a review here:
    http://stuff.tv/Review/Samsung-M8800-Pixon/

    W902 review here:
    http://stuff.tv/Review/Sony-Ericsson-W902/

    • CommentAuthorLorna
    • CommentTimeMar 16th 2009
     

    Hi.

    Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I ordered the Pixon at the weekend. I usually get on well with Samsung products (I'm writing this on a Samsung laptop while watching a Samsung tv!) so I went with a brand I trust.

    I'll let you know how I get on.

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