Nokia 5800 success shows users ditching iPods for music phones?

Posted: 27 January 2009

The Nokia 5800 looks set to become one of the most popular mobile phones ever released; MobileWhack are reporting that after Friday's official UK release of the Nokia 5800, and including previous sales in overseas markets such as Russia, the Finnish manufacturer have shipped 1 million units of the new touchscreen music phone.

But the success of the Nokia 5800 is also raising an important question about how people use their phones. It's one of many handsets that focus on music as a key feature, and with an overwhelming proportion of new mobile phones building music in as one of their main selling points, it begs the question of whether phones like the 5800 will one day completely replace mp3 players, including the beloved iPod, as the main way people listen to music on the move.

Music phones have grown in popularity, even since the start of 2008, and it's becoming increasingly commonplace for manufacturers to focus entire product lines on that feature. A case in point is the famous line of Walkman phones, produced by Sony Ericsson, that encompasses lower-end handsets for the budget-conscious, such as the W302, all the way up to market-leading Walkman phones such as the current flagship, the Sony Ericsson W902. Part of the success of their range of Walkman phones can surely be attributed to the brand name, as it's a name that carries a lot of history, all of it related to personal music on the go, from the late 70's onwards. The fact that Walkman phones are routinely among Sony Ericsson's bestsellers is very telling.

Brand recognition arguably plays no small part in the success of one of Sony Ericsson's key rivals in the music phone arena, the Apple iPhone, as not only does it share the iTunes platform with its sister device, the iPod Touch, the design of the two devices is almost identical. In essence, it could be argued that Apple are dealing with consumers' movement from iPods mobile phones, by making a device that is both iPod and phone. The iPhone also demonstrates another emerging factor in the success of music phones: the ability to buy music directly through the handset itself.

That facility to buy tunes on the fly isn't limited to the iPhone, however, as more and more mobile phones are starting to pick up on this trend, the most notable being the T-Mobile G1, the Google Android powered smartphone which includes a direct link to the Amazon MP3 Store. Sony Ericsson Walkman phones don't intend to be left behind in this trend, and we will soon see their PlayNow service extended to provide a similar service. At the same time, Nokia are pioneering a service that includes unlimited downloads, Comes With Music, and this service is set to be extended across a whole range of mobile phones, from the 5310, the first phone to feature Comes With Music, through to the N95 8Gb, and beyond to the aforementioned Nokia 5800.

Coming full circle back to the Nokia 5800, this new touchscreen phone is continuing to raise the important question of whether the mobile phone will soon replace the iPod and its ilk, as customers' portable music player of choice. The Nokia 5800 is a good indicator of this trend, as it hits all the right notes. In terms of music, it produces an exceptional quality of sound, the touchscreen gives the user a level of direct control found only in the iPhone and G1 previously, and even without the Comes With Music service, the 5800 still gives customers direct access to Nokia's Ovi Portal, including the over-the-air music store and download service. It's easily one of the most accomplished music players available today, even taking standalone mp3 players and iPods into account.

However, pure musical aptitude alone isn't enough to explain the fact that Nokia have already shipped 1 million 5800's, including to overseas markets since late 2008, and into the UK since it was launched last Friday. The key issue is that whilst it is an exceptional standalone music player, it also excels and the more traditional mobile phone features, such as clear call quality, fast internet access, and a well-featured 3 megapixel camera. In essence, it gives the best of both of worlds, combining the best of standalone music players with the best of mobile phones.

That's a trend that looks set to continue indefinitely, and that's why it seems likely that the future belongs to music phones. Phones like the Nokia 5800 can do everything an iPod can do, but the iPod simply can't do everything the 5800 can do, and for that reason, as the evolution of the mobile phone continues, we may well see it out-evolving the iPod to replace it as the device everyone associates with music in future.