Why Smart phones suck as Mp3 players
Posted on August 27, 2011 by Jingles | 2 Comments
Not so long ago I was lamenting the loss of my lost Mp3 player. Not that I was really that disappointed because I wanted a new Mp3 player anyway but I didn’t have a need (I already had one) or a good enough excuse (there are plenty of other things I wanted more than a new Mp3 player) to go buy a shiny new Mp3 player. Now I have a reason to go Mp3 player shopping since I unintentionally lost my last Mp3 player, shopping time!
Before I decided to buy another Mp3 player I had considered using my phone as an Mp3 player since I have Winamp for Android installed. I can expand the memory, a 32 GB micro SD card would do nicely, plus the internal memory should be enough for music and applications. It can stream internet radio stations, I can use it to listen to or download podcasts on the go. Never again would I be left wanting for entertainment of the musical variety. I also never loose my phone, not once have I ever lost my phone… True story. In many ways my HTC Desire HD Android phone is better than a stand alone Mp3 player. Except for one thing. Battery life.
I trilled using my phone as an Mp3 player. I used it like I’d normally use an Mp3 player i.e. I listened to music on the way to and from work which is about a 1 hour journey each way. By the end of the day my battery was dead, and that was without using my phone during the day. If I used my phone to make voice calls I would be mourning the early death of my phone battery.
I have made all the normal adjustments to my phone to make it last longer like turning down the brightness of the screen to 1/3, turning off unneeded features like GPS and Bluetooth etc… Now it lasts me a day with light usage which for me is making some phone calls, sending some text messages, check email, playing a few games and browsing my favourite tech news web sites.
The problem with smart phones is that they drink battery juice like I drink beer in summer, a lot! Like me they can sometimes guzzle it too. Smart phones are great for replacing a few different dedicated devices like Mp3 players, netbook/laptops, portable gaming devices etc… but if you were to use all the features your phone has to offer your battery juice will dry up faster than an bulimic model can purge her breakfast.
Batteries are the only thing that are letting smart phones down, until battery technology gets a lot better and/or smart phones get more power efficient I’m still going to use dedicated Mp3 player for my music needs on the go. A dedicated Mp3 player is still the way to go.
2 Responses to “Why Smart phones suck as Mp3 players”
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August 28th, 2011 @ 9:49 am
Have you considered buying a new battery for your phone? Most pre-packaged batteries that come with phones are weak. But anyways, I do agree with you that smartphones are not meant to replace actual devices.
Useful or usless?
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August 29th, 2011 @ 1:03 am
Yeah I know, I don't know why phone manufacturers don't just use the biggest capacity battery they can it doesn't make sense. Anyway with the tweaks I have made my phone lasts me a whole day which is good enough for me, I just charge it every night.
Useful or usless?
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