I've got some decisions for my next upgrade which is coming up.

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Squiddles November 21, 2010

I've got some decisions for my next upgrade which is coming up.

I currently have the iPhone 3G, and I'm between this the Samsung Captivate and the iPhone 4. What I want to know is: What is the max bitrate this phone will play? Is it WMA 726kbps like the ZuneHD? or WMA Lossless? What can this device do in the audio department?

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GB330033 2010-11-22 13:22:51

As far as I have experienced, it will play everything that the ZuneHD will. They use the same software and the same conversion settings, so it follows that it should be the same. I haven't noticed any difference in the sound quality from my ZuneHD to the Focus

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Squiddles 2010-11-22 23:29:24

But can you rip a CD to WMA lossless/768kbps and put it on the phone? Though since it does use the Zune software on the device, I'm sure my questions are in vein. Just wanna be sure it can if I choose it. Unless, can Android play FLAC? haha.

GB330033 2010-11-23 14:53:39

I honestly don't know because I haven't ever ripped a CD with the Zune software. But since the phone functions the same as a Zune when syncing, I assume that if you could do that with a ZuneHD you can do it with WP7.

Quicksilver4648 2010-12-01 18:41:40

Not trying to be too overly judgmental... But why would you want/need your phone to play lossless audio? Those files are very large and speakers are generally low quality. Do you plan on hooking your phone up to a high end sound system? Personally, 320kbps is enough for me.

Squiddles 2010-12-01 18:49:36

First off, it allows me to keep one file format on my computer. So I don't end up with multiple copies of the same track in different formats just for my portable device. I also don't plan on playing them off of the phones speakers; I'll be kind to the people in my surroundings and keep my music to myself with a pair of headphones. Hooking it up to my sound system is indeed an option for while I'm working on my computer (or a clients computer), making my music unaccessible. Sadly I don't have a designated bench for my work.

ogsy 2010-12-02 13:09:06

I haven't confirmed that the unit can play lossless WMA but the Zune software will seamlessly transcode higher bitrate files to a lower bitrate before transferring them to the phone - you still get multiple files, but the lower bitrate ones are hidden from sight and you don't have to transcode them manually.

One point I would make about this phone is that it has a noticeably louder background hiss than the iPhone 3G.

markuslaff 2010-12-02 13:26:21

just picked up a Focus (switched from iPhone 3G) but don't have any songs ripped into WMA lossless. Zune software supports it so it's safe to assume the phone will as well. You can also set Zune to compress music transfered to your phone if you want to have compressed audio on the phone and keep the lossless on your PC. Nice feature...

Couple issues I have found with the playback. There is no EQ just yet and skimming through long tracks (especially podcasts) is not nearly as seemless as it is on an iPhone.

I'll say this... if you want a stable OS with lots of polish get an iPhone 4. It can do more, is more stable, and just as fast. MS has some cleaning up to do on WP7 but if you're comfortable jumping onto a 1.0 OS, give it a shot... its pretty nice.

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gdgt

I've got some decisions for my next upgrade which is coming up.

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