Mobile phones have been playing music for years and with internal storage memory now measured in GBs, they are good alternatives to having a dedicated music player.
But not all are as good as each other and the quality of the supplied headphones can vary a lot – so Which? puts each phone to the test to see how it performs playing music.
The top 5 music player mobile phones
Apple iPhone 4/4S
iPhone 4
Essentially an iPod Touch with phone features thrown in, the iPhone is a natural choice for music lovers. If all you are interested in is music, it may be worth going for the now cheaper iPhone 4 rather than 4S – as the latest version doesn’t add anything in the music playing department – but all versions of the device offer integration with iTunes and the music features you would expect from the maker of the iPod. You will also be able to download music focused apps like Spotify for streaming music.
See how the iPhone’s music player, and the rest of the device, performed in our lab tests
Desire HD
HTC Desire HD
While it may be a bit too big to comfortably fit in some pockets and it isn’t the newest phone on the market, the Desire HD still sounds like a good music playing device. Featuring SRS surround sound enhancement and Dolby Mobile, HTC has included some nifty features, plus the 8GB of internal storage can be expanded to a hefty 40GB by using the microSD memory card slot.
Read the full Which? review to see how the HTC Desire HD performs
Lumia 800
Nokia Lumia 800
Nokia’s first Windows Phone smartphone not only included the new operating system but also comes with exclusive apps, such as Nokia Music. This free service lets you stream music to your phone so you can listen to whatever you fancy. Plus, you can download a playlist ahead of time over wi-fi – saving on your data allowance and allowing you to still listen to music, even if you lose signal.
Find out how the Nokia Lumia 800 stacks up against the competition
Xperia Ray
Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray
The Xperia Ray is an affordable smartphone and with measurements quite a bit smaller than some of its rivals – it’s friendly on the pocket in more ways than one. While it doesn’t carry Sony’s Walkman branding, the company has learnt a thing or two about music playing mobiles over the years so we would expect it to stand up well to the competition.
See how the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray performs in our lab tests
X2
Nokia X2
The X2 isn’t a smartphone and so lacks some of the features of the other phones in this list, but it is also a lot cheaper and still aimed squarely at music lovers. It doesn’t have a large fixed memory but it does come with a 2GB microSD memory card – enough room for around 500 songs – and this can be expanded to 16GB if you need more space.
Check out how the Nokia X2 compares with the rest by reading our full review
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The best music player phones – Top 5
Mobile phones have been playing music for years and with internal storage memory now measured in GBs, they are good alternatives to having a dedicated music player.
But not all are as good as each other and the quality of the supplied headphones can vary a lot – so Which? puts each phone to the test to see how it performs playing music.
The top 5 music player mobile phones
Apple iPhone 4/4S
iPhone 4
Essentially an iPod Touch with phone features thrown in, the iPhone is a natural choice for music lovers. If all you are interested in is music, it may be worth going for the now cheaper iPhone 4 rather than 4S – as the latest version doesn’t add anything in the music playing department – but all versions of the device offer integration with iTunes and the music features you would expect from the maker of the iPod. You will also be able to download music focused apps like Spotify for streaming music.
See how the iPhone’s music player, and the rest of the device, performed in our lab tests
Desire HD
HTC Desire HD
While it may be a bit too big to comfortably fit in some pockets and it isn’t the newest phone on the market, the Desire HD still sounds like a good music playing device. Featuring SRS surround sound enhancement and Dolby Mobile, HTC has included some nifty features, plus the 8GB of internal storage can be expanded to a hefty 40GB by using the microSD memory card slot.
Read the full Which? review to see how the HTC Desire HD performs
Lumia 800
Nokia Lumia 800
Nokia’s first Windows Phone smartphone not only included the new operating system but also comes with exclusive apps, such as Nokia Music. This free service lets you stream music to your phone so you can listen to whatever you fancy. Plus, you can download a playlist ahead of time over wi-fi – saving on your data allowance and allowing you to still listen to music, even if you lose signal.
Find out how the Nokia Lumia 800 stacks up against the competition
Xperia Ray
Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray
The Xperia Ray is an affordable smartphone and with measurements quite a bit smaller than some of its rivals – it’s friendly on the pocket in more ways than one. While it doesn’t carry Sony’s Walkman branding, the company has learnt a thing or two about music playing mobiles over the years so we would expect it to stand up well to the competition.
See how the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray performs in our lab tests
X2
Nokia X2
The X2 isn’t a smartphone and so lacks some of the features of the other phones in this list, but it is also a lot cheaper and still aimed squarely at music lovers. It doesn’t have a large fixed memory but it does come with a 2GB microSD memory card – enough room for around 500 songs – and this can be expanded to 16GB if you need more space.
Check out how the Nokia X2 compares with the rest by reading our full review
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