Need advice from geeks for xmas present

gus

Buying my daughter a mobile phone for xmas (thats a cell phone for 90% of the board)

Now she listens to a lot of music..

Do i buy a phone with an MP3 player incorporated or do i just get her a phone plus a separate MP3 player ??

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to having both in one ? Cost wise it all ends up about the same.

Tks Gus...& no Andy im not buying the $23500 one you are going to suggest that has 28 gig of ram....an 18 meg camera with a 10-600mm F/1.2 lens.

gluwater

I don't have a cell phone with an MP3 player on it but I'm kinda skeptical about them. Neither the phone I have nor my ipod last very long battery wise so I just don't think combining the two would be very good. That is just my uninformed opinion though, but I would definitely check the battery life if you go that route.

For a stand alone MP3 player(video also) I have heard good things recently about the iriver, you should check it out. And no, it is not made by Apple even though it starts with an "i".

gus

Now theres an idea GW ! I had not seen them ....been sifting for days throught the 25847965 other styles on Ebay.

At least they have 5 to 20 gig storage & good battery life.

Thanks mate ...gus

Andy

there's cool stuff at this place

JohnR

There is the Motorola ROKR that just came out.

SnapHappy

JohnR wrote:

There is the Motorola ROKR that just came out.

As you can see from the screen, this supports itunes and should be a good phone.

Also see
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/24/review_samsung_e720/

Now my other half has just got a new samsung ( I can't identify the model) it came from Orange and looks very similar to the one in the link. It's design is specific to female, the ring tones, screen colours etc and it has an MP3 player too.

gluwater

No problem Gus, they seem to be readily available in OZ also. Happy shopping!

cabbey

jacks of all trades; masters of none
I've gone the combined route before, 'cause I wanted fewer things to cary along. It's an approach that's hurt me on a few occasions... and one I would not recomend.

Some example data points: I have a combination mobile phone / pda currently. At least twice on long trips I've desperately needed the phone, only to be unable to use it because I'd been using the palm function all week and the batteries we no longer strong enough to energize the phone's transmitter.

With that same device, I had a problem with the screen once, had to send it in for repairs... so for a week and a half I was without both my mobile, and my PDA.

I've previously had a combination music player / pda. On one occasion I saw an advertisement on a bus that I wanted to capture the information from ... I got it all jotted down in a note on the palm, only to get an error when trying to save it because the music player had consumed almost all of the devices storage the last time I loaded music onto it and not told me.

The other problem I've run into is that the longevity of these different devices is not equal. PDAs last a lot longer than music players, which seem to outlast phones for some people, vice versa for others. By purchasing them combined, you force yourself into a more sawtooth upgrade cycle... a big bill every few years to upgrade the whole device, instead of a smaller bill more often to upgrade a single component.

Now JohnR mentioned the ROKR phone... the few reviews of the device I've seen that aren't blatant fluff pieces are not glowing. I've not gotten my hands on one, but a co-worker who's opinion I trust on electronics has... he was even less impressed than any review I've seen. He actually suggested that you'd be better off buying a Motorola Razor phone, an iPod Nano, and a bottle of superglue.

These days, the only reason I'd buy a combination device is if I was able to save a significant amount of money by doing so... but even then... I'd think two or three times about it.

To maintain a photo analogy, which would you rather have:

1x 18mm lens, 1x 50mm lens, 1x 120mm lens and 1x 300mm lens

OR

1x 18-300mm zoom lens

gus

cabbey wrote:

To maintain a photo analogy, which would you rather have:

1x 18mm lens, 1x 50mm lens, 1x 120mm lens and 1x 300mm lens

OR

1x 18-300mm zoom lens

Thanks for your time here mate.

Im with you all the way. My phone makes phone calls & sometimes i find the calculator handy. But this is for an 11 year old so remember to throw all adult reasoning out the window.

marlof

I use a PDA that can play MP3s (heck, I use several, most Windows Mobile based, but also a Palm Treo), I use a phone that can play MP3s (Windows Mobile again), and still I use an iPod to listen to MP3s. Although it's nice to use the occasional MP3 on my phone, I like it best to have a decent selection of music with me. For instance the Rockr is limited to the last 100 songs or so. That's not good enough for me. It's also not good enough for my music craving 13 year old nephew. It's good enough for my 15 year old niece, who only listens to the last few songs that are hip at this moment anyhow.

So I guess that depends on how much your daughter is into music. If you go seperate ways, many good MP3 players and phones are out there. I'm partial to the Apple offerings, since I love iTunes. It's also a matter of price, but if I were in the combined mobile phone/music market today, I'd probably get the Sony Ericsson W800i. It's a good phone, has a decent 2 mp camera, and is also expandable by storage cards that go up to 2gb (even if it's the Sony Memorystick Duo variety, not my favorite kind...). And with the orange/silver look, it might look cool to 11-year olds. I find it a whole lot prettier than the Rockr, and I put more trust in SE as a mobile phone company than in Moto. I wouldn't go for the cheaper W550i, since I've heard bad quality control things about that one.

SnapHappy

Gus, not wanting to poke my nose where it's not wanted but I thought I would highlight such an article like the following:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4163003.stm
If I remember rightly the government here issued an official health statement that it is does not recommend usage or over usage of mobiles by children under the age of 13. Whilst mostly ignore, the future possibilities should be cause for concern and it may help with any advice you pass on.

Mike Lane

Humungus wrote:

Buying my daughter a mobile phone for xmas (thats a cell phone for 90% of the board)

Now she listens to a lot of music..

Do i buy a phone with an MP3 player incorporated or do i just get her a phone plus a separate MP3 player ??

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to having both in one ? Cost wise it all ends up about the same.

Tks Gus...& no Andy im not buying the $23500 one you are going to suggest that has 28 gig of ram....an 18 meg camera with a 10-600mm F/1.2 lens.

The Motorola ROKR apparently sucks ace big time. My suggestion, phone and separate mp3 player. I'm hoping for a 60GB iPod Video myself

DavidTO

What's your budget? The phone can most likely be had for very little, if nothing. I have a family plan and we share minutes with each extra line $9.99/month....

The thing about the cell phone is that it's nice to be able to get in touch with your daughter, but it's also a great way for her to secretly converse with her friends and BOYFRIENDS all the friggin' time. Text messaging in the hands of our youth is a dangerous thing.

I would keep the two separate. There is no phone/mp3 player combo that appeals to me. What would you get mp3-wise? The iPod Nano is incredibly cool, beautiful, sounds great....

gus

marlof wrote:

I'd probably get the Sony Ericsson W800i.

Tks Marlof...i was looking very hard at it. I think the w750i is the model before it & is a LOT cheaper just need to buy a larger memory stick.

gus

DavidTO wrote:

There is no phone/mp3 player combo that appeals to me. What would you get mp3-wise? The iPod Nano is incredibly cool, beautiful, sounds great....

Me either mate but this is an 11 year old & mp3 phones with a camera/vid are high in their market demons...i think it is easier for her to have just one item that needs to be charged up.

Ipod nanos are about $250 USD here so it all gets a bit expensive to have sep items. I assume the sound froma sony phone & an ipod are similar quality ?

gus

SnapHappy wrote:

Gus, not wanting to poke my nose where it's not wanted but I thought I would highlight such an article like the following:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4163003.stm
If I remember rightly the government here issued an official health statement that it is does not recommend usage or over usage of mobiles by children under the age of 13. Whilst mostly ignore, the future possibilities should be cause for concern and it may help with any advice you pass on.

She wont have the $ for that mate...its just an emergency contact thing & a music player/camera. It will be interesting in future years though...i work with people that seriously would spend several hours a day with the things stuck to their heads.

snapapple

Gus, having raised two daughters, I would find out what the other girls have. At that age it's more about peer pressure than anything else. My husband has shopped for the best and paid more only to find she's not happy with it because it's not what is currently "cool". Are phones that do everything "cool" in her group? Or is "a picture phone" all she really wants, and the neon pink mp3 player is "the rage". Or is color "totally out"? High tech silver look in? Get my drift? The ideas given sound very good for choices. Just my $.02.

marlof

Humungus wrote:

I think the w750i is the model before it & is a LOT cheaper just need to buy a larger memory stick.

The k750i is also cool. It looks a bit more business like, and it doesn't have the Walkman-branding (and functionality?), but it's a *very* cool phone.

DavidTO

You can make ringtones from mp3 files. My advice: record your voice and save it as her ringtone.

It should say something like: "Honey, this is your father. You have a call. Be careful, be safe, and remember if it's a boy to tell him I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it. Have a nice day."

Mike Lane

DavidTO wrote:

You can make ringtones from mp3 files. My advice: record your voice and save it as her ringtone.

It should say something like: "Honey, this is your father. You have a call. Be careful, be safe, and remember if it's a boy to tell him I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it. Have a nice day."

gus

snapapple wrote:

Gus, having raised two daughters, I would find out what the other girls have. At that age it's more about peer pressure than anything else. My husband has shopped for the best and paid more only to find she's not happy with it because it's not what is currently "cool". Are phones that do everything "cool" in her group? Or is "a picture phone" all she really wants, and the neon pink mp3 player is "the rage". Or is color "totally out"? High tech silver look in? Get my drift? The ideas given sound very good for choices. Just my $.02.

Thanks SA but she is her own kid....never a care what the others are doing just her own world. Her friends pay out on her constantly because her favorite music is the Beach Boys thats just plain weird for an 11 yr old girl in 2005 i think but good on her for sticking to her guns though. She just wants a phone/mp3 & camera in one.

snapapple

Humungus wrote:

Thanks SA but she is her own kid....never a care what the others are doing just her own world. Her friends pay out on her constantly because her favorite music is the Beach Boys thats just plain weird for an 11 yr old girl in 2005 i think but good on her for sticking to her guns though. She just wants a phone/mp3 & camera in one.

Sounds good to me. I have to admire an 11 year old who thinks for herself. That will serve her well in the future. Very well indeed. Congratulations on raising a terrific kid.

Mike Lane

Humungus wrote:

Thanks SA but she is her own kid....never a care what the others are doing just her own world. Her friends pay out on her constantly because her favorite music is the Beach Boys thats just plain weird for an 11 yr old girl in 2005 i think but good on her for sticking to her guns though. She just wants a phone/mp3 & camera in one.

You should pre-load it with Brian Wilson's Smile. That's supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread and if she likes the beach boys then she should like that

devbobo

Hey Gus,

Perhaps the Nokia N91 smart phone...it's not released yet but should be before xmas. It has 4 GB hard drive and a 2 MP camera. Plus 802.11b/g wireless and bluetooth.

Here's a link to a preview.

It's touted as Steve Job's wet dream...so it must be pretty impressive

Cheers,

Dave

cabbey

Humungus wrote:

Thanks for your time here mate.

No worries, just killing time on a insomniac night.

Im with you all the way. My phone makes phone calls & sometimes i find the calculator handy. But this is for an 11 year old so remember to throw all adult reasoning out the window.

Haha, I did miss that little bit in the original question I guess.

gus

devbobo wrote:

Hey Gus,

Perhaps the Nokia N91 smart phone...it's not released yet but should be before xmas. It has 4 GB hard drive and a 2 MP camera. Plus 802.11b/g wireless and bluetooth.

Here's a link to a preview.

It's touted as Steve Job's wet dream...so it must be pretty impressive

Cheers,

Dave

WOW ...thats the ducks guts mate.

But sadly its going to lob at about $1100 shekles.