MOBILITY
» Smartphones
» Cell Phones
» More...
PHOTOGRAPHY
» P&S Cameras
» HD Camcorders
» More...
GADGETS
» Tablets
» MP3 Players
» More...
DIGITAL HOME
» HDTVs
» HTS
» More...
» Archive » Product Guide
» Compare » Expert guides
» RSS & Alerts » Ask The Editors
Home / Mobility /
Review: Nokia Music StandBy Jørgen Sundgot, Monday 18 August 2003
GALLERY
Enlarge
 
 
The latest in mobile phone accessories from Nokia lets users tune in better, turn up higher and chat with fewer hands - Jørgen Sundgot grooves with the Nokia Music Stand.

Joining an increasingly growing array of Nokia mobile phone accessories, the sleek and stylish Nokia Music Stand is a highly uncomplicated gadget, which performs only a few tasks - all revolving around audio. Compatible with recent Nokia mobile phones sporting the manufacturer's proprietary Pop Port expansion solution and featuring audio functionality of some kind, the Music Stand quite simply consists of a pair of speakers and a microphone.

The first and foremost task of the Music Stand is to enable owners of audio capable Nokia mobile phones to connect their handsets via the Pop Port, cradle-style, to enable playback through the Music Stand rather than the internal speaker of a phone. Thus far, only phones with built-in radio capabilities are available in a form factor compatible with the Music Stand, but there is little reason for why the Music Stand should not work with any type of audio.

Ill: Nokia


Using the Music Stand for this purpose is an excellent way of replacing the typical transistor radio, as an extra antenna attached to the Music Stand allows for more than adequate reception and the speaker quality in such a scenario is impeccable. Those looking to replace a mini stereo should however look elsewhere, as the Music Stand falls dreadfully short on bass and loudness for such a purpose.

In addition to its radio capabilities, the Music Stand also enables users to connect any other type of stereo equipment through a connector on the back of the stand, allowing scenarios such as connecting portable CD, MiniDisc or MP3 players for those who prefer to have the same music available on the go as in the office or at home - a nice touch which contributes to reduce hassle.

Also conveniently reducing hassle is the two centered controls of the Music Stand, a small scroll wheel for adjusting volume and a send/receive button to initiate and end phone calls on the lower front part of the stand. Both are self-explanatory, but there is one drawback to the volume control: even at its lowest setting, the volume is loud enough to generate an annoying amount of background noise when for instance making a call from a nearby landline phone. Fortunately, two other features mitigate this fact: the Music Stand automatically mutes both audio from the mobile phone itself or any external audio source upon incoming phone to the phone itself.

Lastly, the Music Stand offers a loudspeaker feature for compatible phones, but falls dreadfully short of this task due to the less-than-mediocre quality of its integrated microphone. Cable of picking up speech at a level comfortable for the recipient up to a distance of only two meters, one might just as well settle for using the built-in loudspeaker of the 7250i.

Availability

The Nokia Music Stand is available throughout Europe now.

Conclusion

The Nokia Music Stand doesn't do much, but what little it does it does well. Apart from it being virtually useless for loudspeaker purposes, it could very well replace or augment the typical transistor radio, or even act as a centerpiece for those with an active lifestyle. The inability to quickly mute the stand entirely when receiving a landline call is somewhat annoying, but should not prove a major problem - and the functions in place for minimizing hassle when receiving calls on the mobile phone itself are both welcome and very useful.

  • What's positive: Versatility, more than adequate audio quality
  • What's negative: Poor microphone reception, volume adjustment issues
Overall:
TOP-RATED
Motorola Droid 3
95%
T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide
95%
Motorola Droid X2
95%
HTC EVO 3D
95%
T-Mobile G2x
95%
Nexus S 4G
95%
HTC Thunderbolt
95%
Motorola ATRIX 4G
95%
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
95%
HTC EVO 4G
95%
HTC Sensation 4G
90%
Motorola Cliq 2
90%
HTC Inspire 4G
90%
Samsung Infuse 4G
90%
HTC EVO Shift 4G
90%
Samsung Epic 4G
90%
Motorola Droid 2
90%
Samsung Droid Charge
87%
ADVANCED CHART »
 
RECENTLY RELEASED
T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide
HTC Status
Motorola Droid 3
HTC EVO 3D
Samsung Exhibit 4G
Motorola Xprt
Samsung Gravity Smart
HTC Sensation 4G
MORE »
 
PHONES FOR...
» AT&T
» Verizon
» Sprint
» T-Mobile
» Unlocked
» Android
» BlackBerry
» iOS
» WP7
» WebOS
» Gamer
» Geek
» Mainstreamer
» Navigator
» Road warrior
» Texter
» Video chatter
» Specs search
» Compare phones
 
 
 
SUBSCRIBE
RSS   |   YouTube   |   Facebook   |   Twitter
SMARTPHONES
HOTTEST
 
TOP-RATED
 
COMING SOON
TOP STORIES
Droid 3 by Motorola Review
 
Top 5 Big Screen Phones
 
Top 5 4G Phones - Summer 2011
Hottest Upcoming Phones
 
Top 10 T-Mobile Phones
 
Top 10 Verizon Wireless Phones
NEW REVIEWS
Motorola Droid 3
T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide
Samsung Gravity Smart
Motorola Xprt
HTC HD7S
Samsung Exhibit 4G
HTC EVO 3D
Pantech Crossover
HTC Sensation 4G
RESOURCES
EXPERT GUIDES
 
PRODUCT GUIDE
 
SIDE-BY-SIDE
MOBILITY HEADLINES
Android 4 Breaks New Ground (Part 6)
 
Android 4 Breaks New Ground (Part 5)
 
Android 4 Breaks New Ground (Part 4)
 
Android 4 Breaks New Ground (Part 3)
 
Android 4 Breaks New Ground (Part 2)
Android 4 Breaks New Ground (Part 1)
iPhone 4S Gets Official Release Date
iPhone 5 Predicted As Sprint Exclusive
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Offers Super AMOLED Plus Magic
MOBILITY EDITION
Check out infoSync Mobility, where you'll find in-depth coverage from the mobile world.
 
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITION
Check out infoSync Photography, where you'll find in-depth coverage from the photo world.
 
GADGETS EDITION
Check out infoSync Gadgets, where you'll find in-depth coverage from the world of gadgets.
 
DIGITAL HOME EDITION
Check out infoSync Digital Home, where you'll find in-depth coverage from the CE world.
About us | Site map | How to advertise | Feedback | RSS Feeds | | Archive
Copyright 1999-2011 © infoSync World