The leading Symbian OS based music phones are pretty close to each other, but there are differences, and of course there is the ubiquitous iPod in the background that people will be comparing these to. After a quick straw poll of some people online, it turns out everyone seems to be asking the same things about the music phones and their capabilities - so here's a quick guide to what each solution has to offer.
The iPod is also included, in the form of the Nano, the model whose price point and capability most closely matches the Symbian offerings. And, just to show we're not blinded by technology, the latest $40 Sony Walkman is in the mix as well.
| Feature | Sony Walkman FX-488 | iPod Nano | Nokia 3250 | Nokia N91 | Sony Ericsson WM950 |
| Operating System | -- | Apple proprietary | Symbian OS 9 / S60 v3 | Symbian OS 9 / S60 v3 | Symbian OS 9 / UIQ 3 |
| Internal Storage | -- | 4GB Flash | 10MB Flash | 30MB Flash (+4GB Hard Drive) | 4GB Flash |
| External Storage | Compact Audio Cassette (1) | -- | Micro SD Card (2) | -- | -- |
| Audio Format | Linear Magnetic | MP3, AAC, Fairplay DRM AAC, M4A, M4b, Audible, Wave. | MP3, WMA, eAAC+, AAC+, M4A, MPEG-4 ACC LC, LTP, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, 64 polyphonic MIDI, RealAudio Voice, RealAudio7, RealAudio8, RealAudio10 | MP3, WMA, eAAC+, AAC+, M4A, MPEG-4 ACC LC, LTP, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, 64 polyphonic MIDI, RealAudio Voice, RealAudio7, RealAudio8, RealAudio10 | MP3, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+, WAV, M4A |
| Playback Time on Single Charge | Up to 35 hours (4) | Up to 14 hours | Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 hours | Up to 14 hours |
| Headphone Connectivity | 3.5mm stereo | 3.5mm stereo | 3.5mm stereo (on remote control) | 3.5mm stereo | 3.5mm stereo |
| Remote control in package | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Dedicated music controls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Music Transfer | No (5) | Apple iTunes (PC or Mac) | Windows Media Player / USB Mass Storage | Windows Media Player / USB Mass Storage | Disc2Phone / USB Mass Storage |
| Radio | FM, AM, TV Tuner, Weather Band | No | FM (Visual Radio) | FM (Visual Radio) | FM (with RDS) |
- Playback time up to 120 minutes, although 74 minute and 90 minute lengths are most common
- Nokia 3250 Retail packages to ship with between 128MB and 512MB Micro SD Card
- There is no (3)
- Sony Walkman WM-FX488 with single AA battery.
- Requires pre-recorded cassette tapes or home dubbed 'mix' tapes.