Slide to the beat
There is an ever-growing selection of music phones available.
Two of the latest are Sony Ericsson's W850i and the Nokia 5300. Both are slider-style phones and, with their rounded corners and large screens, they bear a remarkable resemblance to each other.
Slightly larger and thicker, the W850i is a sleek number that comes in black or white, and is 3G-compatible, supporting video calls.
Like other W-series phones, the W850i comes equipped with Sony Ericsson's Walkman software for easy access to the phone's music catalogue.
There is also a dedicated play and pause button so you won't have to navigate through tedious menus to control playback.
Sporting a white design with either red or grey accents, the Nokia 5300 also features music-specific capabilities with Nokia's XpressMusic platform.
This includes specific music buttons for playback, rewind and fast-forward functions located on the side of the display.
However, the 5300 is not 3G-enabled, and sports only a 1.3 megapixel camera, compared to the
2 megapixel camera of the W850i.
Both are true music phones, meaning they will easily connect to a computer for file transfer and synchronization with your music library.
Beyond those capabilities, however, neither phone has much to offer except, perhaps, its distinctive looks.
None of the main features, such as display quality, network access, or software support is particularly outstanding.
The W850i has a price tag of $3,980, while the Nokia 5300 is likely to sell for about $2,500 when it is released this month.
PROS: dedicated music functionality, distinctive design
CONS: average features, thicker than most phones
