How is the iPhone 3GS for playing music?

AaronW · 25-06-2009, 7:04 PM

I want a phone that is good for playing music. I know the iPods are good at that they do but is the iPhone good for music? Can you use other apps whilst listining to music and will it kill the battery?

I am thinking about the either the 3Gs, Nokia N97, Samsung i8910 HD or maybe even the HTC Hero.

asimm · 25-06-2009, 7:16 PM

It's as good as the 3G which = very good. Some of the Sony's beat the iPods/iPhones but I on the whole in reviews the iPods/iphones come a close second and beat everything else.
You can surf whilst listening to music, write notes, do mail etc. I haven't seen a game/application yet that let's you use your music ingame/app.
Don't worry about battery life - you will be charging your iPhone every other day unless you are a really light user, there's no getting round it unless you buy some of those juice packs.
Good luck.

zoidy · 25-06-2009, 7:18 PM

I generally use a Sony video Walkman for my music as the sound is so much better than the iPhone, but i am sure the 3GS has a fuller, rounder sound than the 3G!

The 3GS also has stereo bluetooth and it works well with the Walkman headset.

I'd say the battery was average for a smartphone - I get a day out of it with a couple of hours music. In comparison I get 50 hours out of my Walkman!

asimm · 25-06-2009, 7:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoidy

I generally use a Sony video Walkman for my music as the sound is so much better than the iPhone, but i am sure the 3GS has a fuller, rounder sound than the 3G!

The 3GS also has stereo bluetooth and it works well with the Walkman headset.

I'd say the battery was average for a smartphone - I get a day out of it with a couple of hours music. In comparison I get 50 hours out of my Walkman!

Zoidy - do you think they have improved the sound from 3G to 3GS? I have all three models - 2G, 3G and 3GS and knew that they improved the sound from 2G to 3G (and I can tell) but I have seen no mention of improved sound on the 3GS compared to the 3G so have not tested. Will go off to do so now......

AaronW · 25-06-2009, 7:38 PM

Interesting. Thanks for all the replys.

Pug72 · 25-06-2009, 8:02 PM

I listen to music on the iPhone about 5-6 hours a day whilst occasionally web browsing and light phone use, then have the occasional tinker with apps./games, etc.

Not even come close to running out of juice yet, I do stick it on charge every night so it's ready for the next day.

Tall_Paul · 25-06-2009, 8:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asimm

It's as good as the 3G which = very good. Some of the Sony's beat the iPods/iPhones but I on the whole in reviews the iPods/iphones come a close second and beat everything else.
You can surf whilst listening to music, write notes, do mail etc. I haven't seen a game/application yet that let's you use your music ingame/app.
Don't worry about battery life - you will be charging your iPhone every other day unless you are a really light user, there's no getting round it unless you buy some of those juice packs.
Good luck.

Peggle and Flight control both do

RobM · 25-06-2009, 9:01 PM

It's the second best sounding music phone on the market today

It's very good and the interface is very slick. But going back to an iPhone again today confirmed my opinion that the HTC Magic sounds better. It's cleaner and more open sounding, whereas the iPhone sounds more enclosed and fussy. The Magic brings out the detail and sounds spacious, which makes it very easy to listen to.

I had an iPhone 3G, Touch HD, Magic, now iPhone 3GS and I've used the same headphones the entire time. The Magic sounds the best, followed by the iPhone 3G and 3GS which sound the same as each other.

dannius · 25-06-2009, 9:05 PM

Stop trying to justify your HTC purchases Rob, you know you should have just stayed with the iPhone.

RobM · 25-06-2009, 9:08 PM

What would the fun in that be?

I call an Apple and Apple... the iPhone and Magic are very evenly matched phones. The iPhone does some things better, the Magic does some things better. It just so happens that this is one-up to the Magic

dannius · 25-06-2009, 9:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobM83

What would the fun in that be?

That's true. Although that philosophy has cost me quite a few quid over the years I have to admit!!

Meridius · 25-06-2009, 9:22 PM

hi all got a ipod touch 1st gen as i will be getting the iphone 3gs, i have a pair of denon c751 which are very high quality.

i was woundering will the iphone 3gs sound much better than the ipod touch 1st gen and if so why ?

thanks for any info on the subject

adrian3221 · 25-06-2009, 9:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meridius

hi all got a ipod touch 1st gen as i will be getting the iphone 3gs, i have a pair of denon c751 which are very high quality.

i was woundering will the iphone 3gs sound much better than the ipod touch 1st gen and if so why ?

thanks for any info on the subject

I've made the same upgrade mate - 1st gen Touch to 3GS. I think the 3GS is noticeably better sounding than my touch. Sound is cleaner and more detailed.

Got £125 for my Touch on Ebay and £50.00 off Mazuma for my rubbish Nokia 6500 slide which paid exactly for my 32GB 3GS. Simples!

asimm · 25-06-2009, 9:49 PM

TallPaul - thanks for the app tips on in game music. I have just tested the iPhone 3G and 3G3 using same earphones at same volume and same tracks. I can't notice a difference although I do have a bit of a cold so could be wrong!!
Hope this is helping the original post - don't forget Apple do the 14 day guarantee thing and maybe Sony do to (as well as other companies) so if you can be bothered with the hassle of returning what you don't want then why not give a few a try?

Meridius · 25-06-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adrian3221

I've made the same upgrade mate - 1st gen Touch to 3GS. I think the 3GS is noticeably better sounding than my touch. Sound is cleaner and more detailed.

Got £125 for my Touch on Ebay and £50.00 off Mazuma for my rubbish Nokia 6500 slide which paid exactly for my 32GB 3GS. Simples!

sold mine to my mate for £140 and going to part ex my nokia E65 for £35 so i only need to add a £10 to make it to £185

are you happy with your upgrade anything you like over the touch apart from the phone

also how is the battery over the old touch i use my ipod touch for 2h 30min a day for music how would uisng it as a phone impact this ? are you finding it ok

*Cyborgmatt* · 26-06-2009, 8:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asimm

I haven't seen a game/application yet that let's you use your music ingame/app.

One of the features in the new firmware was the API for allowing the developers to use the music db on your phone, so expect a lot more apps/games to come with ingame controls for your music.

asimm · 26-06-2009, 8:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyborgmatt

One of the features in the new firmware was the API for allowing the developers to use the music db on your phone, so expect a lot more apps/games to come with ingame controls for your music.

Thanks - This should be good - Resident Evil whilst listening to the Carpenters!

Gary D · 26-06-2009, 9:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobM83

It's the second best sounding music phone on the market today

It's very good and the interface is very slick. But going back to an iPhone again today confirmed my opinion that the HTC Magic sounds better. It's cleaner and more open sounding, whereas the iPhone sounds more enclosed and fussy. The Magic brings out the detail and sounds spacious, which makes it very easy to listen to.

I had an iPhone 3G, Touch HD, Magic, now iPhone 3GS and I've used the same headphones the entire time. The Magic sounds the best, followed by the iPhone 3G and 3GS which sound the same as each other.

its a shame WinMo is so pants at everything else!!!

I look at my iPhone as a package deal, i can get a better sounding MP3 player but why would i want to carry multiple devices. the iPhone is simply the best all rounder on the market - nothing else comes close.

G

adrian3221 · 26-06-2009, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meridius

sold mine to my mate for £140 and going to part ex my nokia E65 for £35 so i only need to add a £10 to make it to £185

are you happy with your upgrade anything you like over the touch apart from the phone

also how is the battery over the old touch i use my ipod touch for 2h 30min a day for music how would uisng it as a phone impact this ? are you finding it ok

Im very happy with it!

At the moment getting about a day and a half out of the battery but thats beacuse Im still playing around with it a lot. Charged overnight on Weds, made 40 mins of calls since + 3 hours of music, maybe 20-25 mins surfing and still got 19% battery left.

I used to get 4-5 days easy out of my Touch using it 1-2 hours a day for music but the Iphone has SO much more to offer that the reduced battery life is a VERY small price to pay.

You wont be disappointed.