{"id":366,"date":"2012-12-17T12:16:19","date_gmt":"2012-12-17T17:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=366"},"modified":"2012-12-17T12:16:19","modified_gmt":"2012-12-17T17:16:19","slug":"drop-the-beat-the-ultimate-smartphone-guide-part-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2012\/12\/17\/drop-the-beat-the-ultimate-smartphone-guide-part-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Drop the beat: The Ultimate Smartphone Guide, part III"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gadgets\/2012\/12\/drop-the-beat-the-ultimate-smartphone-guide-part-iii\/\"><img src='http:\/\/nccomputertech.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/smarthphone-music.jpg' alt='' \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Music has always been central to identity\u2014people express their personality through the artists they listen to. It&#8217;s common to carry thousands of songs in our pockets these days; smartphones have gigabytes and gigabytes of onboard storage, and the contents of our devices are often mirrors of ourselves. Faster processors and more storage enable today&#8217;s smartphones to do more than ever before; there are more ways to listen to music on your portable device today than even a year ago, and storefronts and apps are continually popping into existence.<br \/>\nMuch can be made about the distinction between having a song and owning a song, but the ubiquity of high speed data networks mean that it&#8217;s mattering less and less where the music actually lives\u2014whether on your phone or in the cloud, it&#8217;s easy to rock out with your phone out.<br \/>\nIn parts one and two of our Ultimate Smartphone Guide, we determined the best phone in each major ecosystem, and then we gave our recommendations for cool social apps on each platform. This time, we&#8217;re going to look at how to discover and listen to music\u2014reviewing both the buying experience with storefronts and also the major streaming services.<br \/>\niOS and the iTunes Store<br \/>\nThe iTunes Store was the first widely successful online music-buying platform. It originally sold 128kbps, FairPlay DRM-encumbered AAC files for 99 cents a pop, but it later updated to 256kbps, DRM-free, iTunes Plus AAC files with variable pricing after Apple relented to industry demands.<br \/>\nIf you use an iPhone (or other iOS device), the iTunes Store is a great place to start discovering and buying digital music. It&#8217;s organized by genre and includes a variety of lists for top singles and albums\u2014for the store as a whole and for individual genres. Tell Apple what your favorite genres are and the company will send weekly e-mails telling you about top albums, free &#8220;singles of the week,&#8221; and new releases in those genres.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gadgets\/2012\/12\/drop-the-beat-the-ultimate-smartphone-guide-part-iii\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" height=\"568\" width=\"640\" src=\"http:\/\/nccomputertech.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/itunes_store-640x568.jpg?resize=640%2C568\" alt='' \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Full Story: <a href=\"http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gadgets\/2012\/12\/drop-the-beat-the-ultimate-smartphone-guide-part-iii\/\" target=\"_blank\">Drop the beat: The Ultimate Smartphone Guide, part III | Ars Technica<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Music has always been central to identity\u2014people express their personality through the artists they listen to. It&#8217;s common to carry [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[65,549,986],"class_list":["post-366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hardware","category-technology","tag-android","tag-ios","tag-smartphone"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-5U","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7372,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/01\/08\/samsung-galaxy-note-edge-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":0},"title":"Samsung Galaxy Note Edge Review","author":"NCCT","date":"January 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Samsung isn't afraid to experiment with gimmicks. They love to include heart rate monitors on their smartphones and have web pages scroll with the movement of your eyes. They came out first with smartwatches that take SIM cards. And now, they've also added a curved AMOLED display on their flagship\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8565,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/08\/19\/intels-five-not-very-big-announcements-from-idf-this-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":1},"title":"Intel&#8217;s five (not very) big announcements from IDF this week","author":"NCCT","date":"August 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If you\u2019ve paid any attention to Intel\u2019s developer event in San Francisco this week, you\u2019ve probably gathered already that there\u2019s almost no chip news at the show. Intel has moved up the food chain, so to speak, and is showing developers what they can build with its technologies rather than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hardware&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7490,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/01\/21\/windows-10-can-microsoft-get-it-right-this-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":2},"title":"Windows 10: Can Microsoft get it right this time?","author":"NCCT","date":"January 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Later this week Microsoft will provide more details of Windows 10, most likely focusing on how the new operating system will look and feel on smartphones and tablets. According to Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft is likely to unveil a version of Windows 10 that's expected to work on Windows Phones\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Microsoft&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8120,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/04\/29\/nokia-will-not-be-re-entering-the-smartphone-market\/","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":3},"title":"Nokia will not be re-entering the smartphone market","author":"NCCT","date":"April 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, a rumor appeared that suggested Nokia was working to re-enter the smartphone market as early as next year, thanks to the efforts of a small team within the company's Technologies division. Considering mobile phones are a big part of Nokia's history, it wasn't hugely surprising to read that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8753,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/11\/16\/microsoft-writes-the-final-chapter-in-the-book-of-zune\/","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":4},"title":"Microsoft writes the final chapter in the book of Zune","author":"NCCT","date":"November 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"By Shawn Knight | TechSpot Microsoft over the weekend wrote the final chapter in the book of Zune, making good on its promise to retire a streaming music subscription service long past its prime. The move means that owners of Microsoft\u2019s failed media player are no longer able to streaming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Microsoft&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5889,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/07\/02\/exclusive-a-review-of-the-blackphone-the-android-for-the-paranoid\/","url_meta":{"origin":366,"position":5},"title":"Exclusive: A review of the Blackphone, the Android for the paranoid","author":"NCCT","date":"July 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Based on some recent experience, I'm of the opinion that smartphones are about as private as a gas station bathroom. They're full of leaks, prone to surveillance, and what security they do have comes from using really awkward keys. While there are tools available to help improve the security and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hardware&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/blackphone11-640x426.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/blackphone11-640x426.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/blackphone11-640x426.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}