iPod Replacement

[reeneebob]

As an iPod Touch and iPod Classic owner, I tried using my Pearl and then my Curve for an Mp3 player, and 24 hours later my iPod was back in my purse.

If you are used to the ease of your iPod, you will be disappointed. As an mp3 player, the Curve is a fantastic PHONE.

[mattkrass]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, since I've got your attention I have a few other things to ask.

Mostly about the built in media player, does it support playlists and maybe sorting by album/artist/etc ? If not it's not really a big deal but it would be nice. And any good third party, preferably free apps that you may recommend for this job?

Thanks!

[GrandMasterB]

I have had at LEAST 2 dozen different MP3 players over the years ,everything from iPod Shuffles/Classic/Touch/IHP120/IHP140/PPC's/CreativeZens/creativePearl/Philips many MANY LG phones and Zunes to my very first 128mb RCA Lyra that I got almost 7 years ago.

I'll take the convinience the Curve provides as a mulitmedia phone , over carrying additional devices attached to the BatMan type utility belt (or Purse) that would be required to do what the Curve can already do. So as far as "ease" of use the Curve has your Classic beat IMHO.


Matt,
When you pull up the media player you have,

Music
Videos
RingTones
Pictures
Voice Notes

The music sub menus are,

Now Playing
All Songs
Artists
Albums
Genres
Playlists
Sample Songs
Shuffle Songs

It has been my experience that everything is well sorted ,tagged and cover art intact AND you are welcome to put together your own on the fly playlists if you wish.

[scottlucky13]

thanks for the info on the battery life guys/gals

[phantomsphan]

I use my BB as an MP3 player everyday using my stereo bluetooth headphones. The media player isn't the greatest, but just the fact that I can combine 2 devices into one, more than makes up for it. I'd use it to watch more videos too, but I already have tons of them converted for my Axim and the BB won't play Xvid files and after shrinking I don't want to convert them again.

As far as playing music and navigating, the easiest thing for me is to create playlists for your albums (if you load albums). That way you don't have to worry about tags and just have to go to 'Playlists' and see everything you have.

[phantomsphan]

Freeware MP3 tools I would suggest:

mp3tag: Tool to easily edit tags, or look them up and add if they are missing.

MP3Gain: MP3Gain analyzes and adjusts mp3 files so that they have the same volume. (Doesn't edit the file or change the quality). I use it a lot on low volume podcasts. (Quick Guide).

Album Art Downloader: Searches Amazon.com (and other sites) and downloads album art. Set it to save the file as 'folder.jpg' in your album's folder and media player will display the album art when the songs play.

BoncEnc: BonkEnc is a CD ripper, audio encoder and converter for various formats. It can produce MP3, MP4/M4A, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, Bonk and FLAC files. I use it to convert lossless FLAC files to high quality mp3s to listen to on my BB, or you can use it to convert to lower bitrates (thus smaller files) and fit more music on your memory card.

mp3DirectCut: mp3DirectCut is a fast and extensive audio editor and recorder for compressed mp3. You can directly cut, copy and paste without reencoding. This is nice to use to load up a favorite song, select a snippet of the best part and then save it out as a ringtone.

Hope those are useful for you (or anyone else out there). Since you are getting a Verizon Curve, you also might want to check out the guide in my sig if you want an easy way to convert videos using another good freeware product (should also work with other providers as well).

[mattkrass]

So does anyone feel the regular media player is inadequate for this job? I was looking at xPlayer, the price is right but I've read so much memory trouble here I'm afraid to load any third party app that isn't strictly necessary.

Also, this is going to sound stupid, but if I have it in the nice shiny leather OEM belt holster, I can't control it without unholstering it right?

[phantomsphan]

Originally Posted by mattkrass

So does anyone feel the regular media player is inadequate for this job? I was looking at xPlayer, the price is right but I've read so much memory trouble here I'm afraid to load any third party app that isn't strictly necessary.

Also, this is going to sound stupid, but if I have it in the nice shiny leather OEM belt holster, I can't control it without unholstering it right?

I would say wait until you get it and use the built in media player and if it suits your needs, then I wouldn't worry about xplayer. If you find it lacking, then try installing it. I didn't like it at all, but that's just me.

To answer your other question.. if you get bluetooth headphones, you can use the buttons on them to (generally) pause/play, control volume and skip tracks. If it has a mic too, you can use it to take calls as well. I don't know if there are any wired ones that do that. The ear buds that come with the Curve just play and pause the music and take calls.

[myt_mouse]

Originally Posted by mattkrass

So does anyone feel the regular media player is inadequate for this job? I was looking at xPlayer, the price is right but I've read so much memory trouble here I'm afraid to load any third party app that isn't strictly necessary.

Also, this is going to sound stupid, but if I have it in the nice shiny leather OEM belt holster, I can't control it without unholstering it right?

I know this is a old thread but...You can change the songs when the phone is in the holster by holding down the up and down volumes keys for a few seconds to make the player move forward/backward.