Jonathan Takiff: Cricket phone features unlimited music downloads

THE GIZMO: Samsung Suede phone with Muve Music from Cricket Communications.

WHO TRIES HARDER? New means for getting music onto mobile phones have become a hot topic, with Amazon's and Google's just-announced "cloud-based" music locker services, and an Apple variation in the wings.

The idea is that you will first upload tunes you own to a distant server, then later download the stuff to a mobile device or connected computer. Kinda cute, though that whole up-'n'-down streaming process seems tedious, limiting and expensive if you're also buying tracks from the providers.

And, frankly, it's not nearly as exciting and spontaneous as the first-of-its-kind customer proposition now offered by Cricket Communications, wherever this "we try harder" mobile phone company is chirping. (That's in 63 markets nationwide, including Philadelphia, with Cricket's 3G network backbone and in all 50 states through retransmission pacts with other carriers.)

SCORE A DEAL: A mobile phone provider for people who don't want to be nickel-and-dimed (or more accurately, $80 and $100-a-month'd) to death, Cricket offers a monthly $55 Unlimited Wireless Rate Plan that includes unlimited talk, text, web and (signal the trumpets) music downloads. The latter is a sonic buffet, updated weekly, with millions of offerings you can share with fellow Cricketeers in nu-social fashion.

Being a music buff as well as a tech lover, I jumped at the chance to try out the first Cricket phone to feature Muve (pronounced "move") Music.

A (PRETTY) SMOOTH OPERATOR: Samsung makes the Suede smartphone specially for Cricket with Muve. Please to admire the music-note-embossed button to get in and out of the service.

As Cricket operates in pay-as-you go fashion, customers buy this three-inch color touchscreen model outright for $199 (including a nice set of earphones with phone mike). There are no penalties, though, if you cancel or suspend service for months on end. And your library of music, loaded inside the phone on a special 4 GB (or upgrade to 8 GB) SD card is unlocked whenever you renew.

"We serve a unique customer segment," said company spokesman Greg Lund. "Fifty-five percent of our [5.5 million] customers are younger than 35. Sixty percent are from ethnic groups. Seventy percent earn less than $50,000 a year. Seventy-five percent use Cricket as their only phone. And for many customers, this is also the only way they get Internet service."

Not incidentally, Cricket customers LOVE music.

"We discovered this two years ago when we started offering ring-back tones," Lund said. "With a base then of 4 million customers, we were second only to Verizon in cash generated by the tones."

That revelation triggered lots of Cricket market research and the two-year development of the Muve service and hardware.

WHAT YOU GET: At the moment, Muve boasts 2 million-plus tracks in its library covering every category from alternative/indie to world/international. There are menu stops along the way for classical, comedy, contemporary Christian/gospel, country, electronic/dance, hip-hop/rap, jazz/blues/folk, kids, three flavors of Latin (pop/rock, regional, urban), lite sounds, pop/rock, R&B and reggae.

You can also search by artist name or "New releases," this week running the gamut from Wiz Khalifa and Beastie Boys to Musiq Soulchild, Jennifer Lopez, Sade, Fleet Foxes, Poison and Blind Boys of Alabama.

I went digging for old faves the Grateful Dead and Pat Metheny. I can't say I found as many titles as I would at, say, Rhapsody or Napster, stand-alone streaming music services that cost $10 a month on an Android mobile or iPhone. But in no instance did I come up hungry, and the sound quality through the companion earphones was sweet.

I loved the special integration Muve has with the Shazam music identification service. Listening to a track on the TV or radio? Tap the Shazam symbol for ID purposes, then another soft button and the same song is magically transferred to your phone. Tap the "Shout" button to send a track to another Cricket Muve customer.

DELAYED REACTION: Muve doesn't stream music live. It first preloads the content onto the phone, a track at a time. Takes about 20 seconds for a single track, about 4 minutes for an album. You can start listening after one track is loaded or listen all along to other previously loaded music. But I heard persistent, mildly annoying dropout clicks during this multitasking.

One great thing about preloading the music is, of course, that you can listen anytime, anywhere, out of reach of Cricket's 3G phone service. Also, the music restarts instantly after ending a call.

STICKY WICKET: Phone calling, texting and shooting/sharing photos and videos (with the three-megapixel camera) all work decently on this phone. Ditto Bluetooth and Nuance speech-triggered control, useful for (almost) hands-free calling.

On the downside, the Cricket app store is barren, gaming options are few and Internet surfing on the phone is painfully slow and clunky.

An Android-based phone with Muve Music, due out later this year, should likely fix those shortcomings. Then Cricket will really sing.

Send email to takiffj@phillynews.com.