There are many benefits to replace the standard MP3 player with mobile
phones. First, you only need to carry one widget with you instead of
two. If the phone rings, you can also respond to calls without taking
the earplugs out.
Music Mobile
The times when we were talking about "music phones" is getting long ago.
Most mobile phones today can namely be called music mobile phones,
since they can play music, like MP3. The exception is the cheapest
phones, or special phones.
Many music phones have their own control keys to music player on the
outside, so you can change songs and turn up or the sound of a
keystroke.
But even though most modern cell phones today can play music, all can
not be used as a music player from the moment you unpack them out of the
box.
Music files
The music stored in computer files is often referred to as MP3s. MP3’s, a
storage format, like Word files on the PC is a storage format for text.
Although MP3 is the most widespread, there are other store formats such
as AAC and WMA. Most mobile phones can play one or both of these formats
in addition to MP3.
What do you need?
Although most phones have the ability to play MP3, it is not all phones
that are suitable for it. A minimum requirement is that the phone has
some storage.
Storage space is measured in MB (Megabytes) and GB (Gigabyte). 1 GB is
same as 1024 MB. MP3 music in good quality in three minutes takes up
about 4 MB of storage space. The more storage you have, the more music
is naturally fit.
How much music you can fit per MB depends on the quality and format of
the music is stored in. A good thumb rule is that 100 MB of storage can
store an hour of music.
Not all phones have large storage space available, and many have less
than 50 MB,
i.e.
space for fewer than 12 songs. Some of the most
media-oriented phones today have several gigabytes of built-in memory.
How much storage space your phone has, you will find in the search on
your phone in the price guide.
More space
with memory card
Some phones come with additional storage capacity so that one gets with
the music collection, but generally you need a memory card. A memory
card is a small card you insert in your phone, almost like a memory
stick or a floppy disk. This memory card can store MP3 files.
How many songs you can fit on a memory card depends on, as the mobile
phone, the card’s storage capacity.
Its
capacity is given in the same way, that
is, in MB or GB. Most phones now come with memory card included. For
some mobile there is often quite a lot of content on the memory card
before purchase, whether it may be map data or software included. Thus,
in reality, there will be very little space available, even if your
mobile has 2 GB memory card included. Thus you may need to upgrade with a
larger memory card or find out if, for example, you need all that is
located inside the enclosed card. These may with advantage deleted.
There are number of different types of memory cards. To find if your
phone can use the memory card, which should be inserted and the type,
you should refer your phone’s manual or take your phone to a store that
sells memory cards.
How to get music onto
your phone
There are essentially two ways to transfer music from computer: The
memory card reader or the data cable. It is also possible to transfer
with Bluetooth, but it is significantly slower than cable or memory card
reader. It will therefore be unattractive to most people, unless we are
dealing with small amounts of music.
Both mobile operators and handset manufacturers currently operates a
sample music stores online. These are available directly from phone, but
you can often get access to the same music from computer. Many phones
also have the opportunity to play music directly via the Internet.
1. Memory Card Reader
If your phone has a memory card, its the easiest way to use a memory
card reader. If you do not have memory card reader, you can buy so for a
low price in a mobile shop or a computer store.
Memory card reader connected to a PC allows your computer to read and
write to the memory card. You can use such a memory card which will
appear as a drive on computer along with the hard drive and CD drive.
If you use Windows PC, in most cases, it may ask you about what to do
with the card when you put it in memory card reader. If so, please reply
that you want to open the folder and see contents of the card.
Now you can see what is inside the memory card. If the card is brand
new, there are probably no folders or files on it. You can now create a
new folder on your memory card (right click in the window and select
"New" > "Folder") and then give it a suitable name, such as "Music".
You can then drag the music if you want to transfer from PC to mobile
over the folder on the memory card. Once you copy the songs, you may
want to listen it, you can take the memory card out of the memory card
reader and put it back into your cell phone.
2.
Data cable
Another and a more advanced method is to use a data cable (also known
as the USB cable). This is a wire connecting the mobile to PC, so the
two can talk. To you use this method you must have memory card that must
be placed in your phone.
When you connect your phone to your PC, many mobile phones ask you what
to do. If so, select "File Transfer", "removable disk" or similar
options.
Then, the mobile phone’s memory card or built-in storage appears as a
drive on your PC. The procedure is then as the point of memory card
readers.
If it did not come with data cable in the box to the phone, you must
look in the manual which cable you need, or ask the mobile shop.
Music Retailers
If you have purchased mobile that is locked by an operator then it can
usually be used by the operator’s music solution. Today mainly Netcom and Telenor operate its own store music solutions. These will as
usually be available through phone’s browser on phones that are
purchased with the bond. If you have an unlocked phone, you can usually
go to their operator’s mobile site to access the solution. You will also
be notified there if mobile does not support the service.
Nokia and Sony Ericsson also run their own music services. For Sony
Ericsson phones, its possible under the music menu called PlayNow. Nokia
has integrated its music solution program store Ovi-large. If you do
not have their own application for Ovi-store on their mobile phone then
you can access this via their mobile browser.
Streaming
This is a field that is constantly increasing. Today the most famous
service for streaming on mobile is "Spotify". Many of us know that it is
a good service from desktop computers. In order to use Spotify on
mobile you must pay for a so-called premium account. This costs $14 USD a
month and gives free access for playback via the Internet. Spotify is
now available on mobile platforms based on Android and S60 in addition
to the Iphone.
One should however be aware that streaming Music on mobile requires
substantial amounts of data traffic, so we should have a subscription
that provides for high consumption if you use such solutions often. Many
of the operators have today ceiling on data traffic per day, so you
still will not be ruined by this type of services. Telenor and Netcom,
for instance, respectively have maximum limits of 10 and 9 per day.
Spotify also offers an "offline mode" – which can be used to save the
music from the service temporarily on the phone. This creates "My
Playlists" and selects them to be available until later. Mobile can then
synchronize these free of charge when it is within the coverage of a
wireless network. You can sync and play their lists when you have 3G or
super 3G coverage, but the cost of data traffic will again had to take
into account.
There are also some software packages that you can download to both the
phone and computer at home. Best known of these is possibly "Simplify
Media", which is an iPhone application. These have varying opportunities
for transferring music to your phone playback without web access, but
typically these will be suited best to streaming straight from the home
archives.
Play music with mobile
When you have music on the memory card and this is mounted inside the
phone, you can play the songs. To do this, open the phone’s music
player. This can be found in the phone’s menu, either as a separate
option, or menu item under "entertainment", "media" or something like
that.
Many phones will find the music stored on memory card automatically.
Some phones require that you update music library by accessing the music
player’s menu and select "refresh" or similar.
Other phones, Nokia phones typically require that you show how music is
stored. If so, select the memory card and folder "music", if you’ve
called the folder for this.
Note: Some phones
from Samsung and LG require that your music is added in the pre-defined
folders on the memory card. If you can not find the music in music
player and has a phone from these manufacturers, we recommend you to
check in manual for instructions on how music must be stored on memory
card. As a rule, the music inside the "music" folder on memory card. If
you have such a phone, it pays to put memory card in the phone first,
and then the PC. The phone will namely, in many cases, create the
necessary folders themselves.
Here you will find the music player on some phones. Entering the main
menu, and look for these options:
- Nokia: Select the "media", then
play. - Sony Ericsson: "Playback" or "Walkman"
- Samsung:
"Programs", then "MP3 player". - LG: "Multimedia", then "Music".
When the music player has found the music files, you can put in time and
listen to your music.
Start using your MP3
player
On most phones, you can use your MP3 player so that you would use an
ordinary MP3 player. For example, create playlists so that you can play
the songs in the order you want.
Many phones will sort your music in a music library. From here you can
choose, for example, only want to hear songs from one artist, or just an
album. This is found in the MP3 player’s menu.
You can also use the mobile phone for other things while listening to
music. If you, for example, want to write a text message, you can add
music player in the background. How you do this on your mobile phone;
you can check out the manual for your phone.
It is nevertheless wise to read the manual. Then you can learn what all
are the features of the music player that you have and how to use them.
Choose the right headset
There are only a few mobile phones that come with earbuds that provide
good sound. If you are keen to have slightly better audio music you
should get a better headset. Manufacturers such as Sony, Koss and
Sennheiser are known for making headsets with good sound to a reasonable
price.
If you take the drop by a store that sells headsets, you are usually
allowed to try headsets before buying.
If your phone does not have built-in output of 3.5 mm jack, or if it
does not follow the transition in the box, you must also go for
purchasing a transition from the phone’s contacts to a common jack for a
headset. Missing phone memory card also adds to this cost. Total price
of memory cards and transfer will usually amount to about Rs. 4000. In
addition, there is the cost of the headset chosen. If you want to buy a
new phone, it is therefore a point to consider whether such equipment is
supplied in a more expensive phone and how much price difference is. If
you are in doubt about what to choose, we recommend you ask in the
mobile shop.
