Listening to music on our cellphones is a favourite past time for many of us. But we are not aware of all features and functions of music players on our mobiles. Here’s a lowdown on all that you must know about your music phone.
Digital Music
Before the advent of music phones people mostly listened to music on their PCs. This was called digital music. Some of the most common digital music formats include MP3, AAC, WAV, AMR and WMA. As today mobile phones are replacing PCs, most mobile phones available in the market support multiple formats so that we dont have to worry about them while loading songs on the phone. However, one has to keep it in mind that the sound quality may not be the same for all formats and the file compression levels and bitrate also may be different. Bitrate is the amount of data used to store an audio file and is expressed in kilobits per second (kbps). This is important because the bitrate for speech (32 kbps) is less than the bitrate for good quality pop music (128 kbps). This means that high quality music files have a higher bitrate and the files are much heavier than lower bitrates thus take up more space on your phone's memory. Thus the bitrate plays an important role in the quality of the music.
Formats
There are numerous music formats and settings that help your phone give the best possible output. These formats (MP3, AAC, WAV, AMR and WMA) are quite popular and are most suited for mobiles as the compression is such that it maintains the same quality as any music system. Though there can be formats that have to compromise some features like changing the audio from stereo to mono.
The most common and almost universal format of music is the MP3. MP3 is an acronym for simple file extension called MPEG layer 3. Layer 3 is one of the three encoding schemes for compression of audio signals. Also this format is compressed at a maximum of 128 kbps without sacrificing the sound quality. The MP3 extension is playable in all music phones seen so far.
AAC is short for Advanced Audio Coding. This format is developed for high quality music track encoding. The entire Apple product range uses this file format, so you will have to convert all your MP3 and other files into this format so that your iPod and your iPhone can play the music.
WMA or the Windows Media Audio is a format developed by Microsoft. The WMA is compatible with many phones as well as with those running on Windows Mobile Operating Systems (OS).
Adaptive Multi Rate (AMR) is a patented audio data compression scheme optimised for speech coding. The AMR format was adopted as the standard speech codec by 3GPP in October 1998 and is now widely used in GSM and UMTS. It uses link adaptation to select from one of eight different bitrates based on link conditions. This format is supported by almost all mobile phones.
Audio recording using your mobile phone is quite simple these days, its just a press away. These recorded audio files on cellphones are recorded with the extension of .amr or .wma. Though these format are compatible with almost any phones but it is unlikely to give a good result for other audio.
Features
Most music players have an Equaliser (EQ), which may vary depending on the phone. At audio processing level, equalisation is the process for modifying the sound frequency. EQs present on the phones are mainly preset-EQs that are pre-defined frequencies such as Classical, Rock, Pop, Jazz, etc. Some phones have few presets but on an average most have five-eight preset EQs. On the other hand some phones just have a default setting for this preset and you don't have options to change that. So its preferable to go for phones where one can change EQ presets and also create their own.
Bass is an important component of high quality music and is low frequency. A low frequency makes a very low beat. Basically bass gives a good rhythm to the music.
Treble is a higher frequency than the bass. Most phones with a preset EQ have a preset for Bass booster, Classical, Rock, Pop and Jazz. Some devices have manual presser EQ where users have to change the frequency settings according to their requirement.
The Amplifier is another feature that boosts signal strength before the sound comes out of the speaker. The amplifier can either be a pre-amp or a power-amp.
The performance may vary according to the usage and the mobile phone. Recently, some new device like the LG Arena and GM 200 had a feature called Dolby Mobile. Dolby Digital -- also known as AC-3 -- is the latest home cinema sound system from Dolby. It uses five discrete channels of digital sound plus a separate subwoofer channel. This has now been incorporated into mobile phones.
Phones
There’s a variety of music phones in the market today that give a great music experience. The Samsung Beat DJ lets users mix music and play favourite tracks, like real-life DJs. The phone is packed with loads of features like DJ audio filters, audio amp from Bang and Olufsen and supports 5.1-channel output that works with only the handsfree.
The LG Arena plays all popular formats, including MP3, AAC and WMA, and supports Dolby Mobile for high fidelity virtual surround sound. The Arena is one of the few phones to incorporate Dolby Digital sound from LG. The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic also supports all popular formats. The phone comes with a preset-EQ, stereo widening, bass booster, equaliser, presets and manual preset options.
The Sony Ericsson W705 is yet another great music phone from the Walkman series. It incorporates the company’s ‘Clear audio experience’, which includes “clear sound” and “clear bass” that enhance sound quality. The W705 comes with 9 preset EQs.
Overall, we have talked about the features and formats related to music and your phones. All you need to do is recognize which features creates distortion to your music and which features enhanced your music and change your phone's music player settings accordingly. In the near future phones are expected to incorporate more sound enhancing features giving you unmatched music experience.
Digital Music
Before the advent of music phones people mostly listened to music on their PCs. This was called digital music. Some of the most common digital music formats include MP3, AAC, WAV, AMR and WMA. As today mobile phones are replacing PCs, most mobile phones available in the market support multiple formats so that we dont have to worry about them while loading songs on the phone. However, one has to keep it in mind that the sound quality may not be the same for all formats and the file compression levels and bitrate also may be different. Bitrate is the amount of data used to store an audio file and is expressed in kilobits per second (kbps). This is important because the bitrate for speech (32 kbps) is less than the bitrate for good quality pop music (128 kbps). This means that high quality music files have a higher bitrate and the files are much heavier than lower bitrates thus take up more space on your phone's memory. Thus the bitrate plays an important role in the quality of the music.
Formats
There are numerous music formats and settings that help your phone give the best possible output. These formats (MP3, AAC, WAV, AMR and WMA) are quite popular and are most suited for mobiles as the compression is such that it maintains the same quality as any music system. Though there can be formats that have to compromise some features like changing the audio from stereo to mono.
The most common and almost universal format of music is the MP3. MP3 is an acronym for simple file extension called MPEG layer 3. Layer 3 is one of the three encoding schemes for compression of audio signals. Also this format is compressed at a maximum of 128 kbps without sacrificing the sound quality. The MP3 extension is playable in all music phones seen so far.
AAC is short for Advanced Audio Coding. This format is developed for high quality music track encoding. The entire Apple product range uses this file format, so you will have to convert all your MP3 and other files into this format so that your iPod and your iPhone can play the music.
WMA or the Windows Media Audio is a format developed by Microsoft. The WMA is compatible with many phones as well as with those running on Windows Mobile Operating Systems (OS).
Adaptive Multi Rate (AMR) is a patented audio data compression scheme optimised for speech coding. The AMR format was adopted as the standard speech codec by 3GPP in October 1998 and is now widely used in GSM and UMTS. It uses link adaptation to select from one of eight different bitrates based on link conditions. This format is supported by almost all mobile phones.
Audio recording using your mobile phone is quite simple these days, its just a press away. These recorded audio files on cellphones are recorded with the extension of .amr or .wma. Though these format are compatible with almost any phones but it is unlikely to give a good result for other audio.
Features
Most music players have an Equaliser (EQ), which may vary depending on the phone. At audio processing level, equalisation is the process for modifying the sound frequency. EQs present on the phones are mainly preset-EQs that are pre-defined frequencies such as Classical, Rock, Pop, Jazz, etc. Some phones have few presets but on an average most have five-eight preset EQs. On the other hand some phones just have a default setting for this preset and you don't have options to change that. So its preferable to go for phones where one can change EQ presets and also create their own.
Bass is an important component of high quality music and is low frequency. A low frequency makes a very low beat. Basically bass gives a good rhythm to the music.
Treble is a higher frequency than the bass. Most phones with a preset EQ have a preset for Bass booster, Classical, Rock, Pop and Jazz. Some devices have manual presser EQ where users have to change the frequency settings according to their requirement.
The Amplifier is another feature that boosts signal strength before the sound comes out of the speaker. The amplifier can either be a pre-amp or a power-amp.
The performance may vary according to the usage and the mobile phone. Recently, some new device like the LG Arena and GM 200 had a feature called Dolby Mobile. Dolby Digital -- also known as AC-3 -- is the latest home cinema sound system from Dolby. It uses five discrete channels of digital sound plus a separate subwoofer channel. This has now been incorporated into mobile phones.
Phones
There’s a variety of music phones in the market today that give a great music experience. The Samsung Beat DJ lets users mix music and play favourite tracks, like real-life DJs. The phone is packed with loads of features like DJ audio filters, audio amp from Bang and Olufsen and supports 5.1-channel output that works with only the handsfree.
The LG Arena plays all popular formats, including MP3, AAC and WMA, and supports Dolby Mobile for high fidelity virtual surround sound. The Arena is one of the few phones to incorporate Dolby Digital sound from LG. The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic also supports all popular formats. The phone comes with a preset-EQ, stereo widening, bass booster, equaliser, presets and manual preset options.
The Sony Ericsson W705 is yet another great music phone from the Walkman series. It incorporates the company’s ‘Clear audio experience’, which includes “clear sound” and “clear bass” that enhance sound quality. The W705 comes with 9 preset EQs.
Overall, we have talked about the features and formats related to music and your phones. All you need to do is recognize which features creates distortion to your music and which features enhanced your music and change your phone's music player settings accordingly. In the near future phones are expected to incorporate more sound enhancing features giving you unmatched music experience.
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