Nokia adds trio of music phones

The news

Apple can make all the noise it likes about its iPod music players but the fact of the matter is that music-capable phones are being acquired in vast numbers that Apple can only dream about. Of course, phones have an advantage over iPods in that many come free as part of a service package - and that knowledge only fuels all the speculation that Apple will soon introduce an iPhone.

For now, though, the force is with the phone companies and Nokia, one of leaders, this week introduced three further music models due to come available very soon - the 5300 XpressMusic, the 5200 and the 3250 XpressMusic.

The 5300 XpressMusic slide phone - €250 (£169) before before taxes and subsidies - is reckoned to holds up to 1,500 tracks, though that requires upgrading to a 2GB microSD card. And, it offers a reasonable spread of features. There's a 1.3 megapixel camera for a start, plus the ability to have video ring tones for incoming calls.

It can be used with headphones, of course (the necessary 3.5mm adaptor is supplied and let's you connect speakers, too) and there's an optional Bluetooth receiver, the AD-42 Wireless Audio Gateway, for picking up music from the phone and passing it to a stereo system.

Down a notch in features - well, presumably, because Nokia gives few details apart from the price (€200/£136) - the Nokia 5200 is another slide phone and said to be an "exciting combination of music and messaging functions" and targeted at "young and sociable" consumers.

Last of the bunch, and most expensive - at €400 (£270) - is the 3250 XpressMusic, a reworked version of the original 3250 twist phone that can hold twice as many tracks (1,500) as its forerunner - thanks to new support for an optional 2GB microSD card. As before, this is a GSM model carrying a 2 megapixel camera.