Verizon Wireless V Cast Music

CNET editors' review

• Reviewed by: James Kim
• Edited by: Jasmine France
• Reviewed on: 02/03/2006
• Released on: 01/17/2006

Buying music using a cell phone is underrated. We've been using Verizon's V Cast Music Store since it officially launched a few weeks ago, and so far, we're impressed. Verizon is the second major wireless carrier to launch a music store in the last couple of months--the first was Sprint, and lesser-known Amp'd Mobile is another--and its version is more in tune with the typical user's needs than Sprint's. While it has some rough edges, Verizon's V Cast Music Store is a sign of things to come.

Verizon V Cast Music Store is a dual-platform music store; that is, it can be accessed wirelessly using a compatible Verizon phone, such as LG's VX8100, Samsung's SCH-A950, or Audiovox's CDM-8945, as well as more conventionally from within Windows Media Player 10's media mall on your PC. We first accessed V Cast Music on the go, using the multimedia-friendly LG VX8100--you should hear the stereo speakers on this thing. The V Cast Music interface is surprisingly intuitive; browsing and purchasing tracks was a simple and empowering process. Sure, browsing and downloading was a stop-and-go affair just like the good ol' days of dial-up, but in the end, we purchased tracks left and right. Because each $1.99 tune also came with a higher-quality version that we could download onto our computer via the Windows Media Player-based V Cast Music, we got to take tracks well beyond the phone's memory card and the duration of this review.

First, you'll need one of the three available phones. Second, you'll have to sign up for the V Cast Vpak. For $15 a month (in addition to your normal calling plan), it provides access to the Music Store and a decent nest of V Cast video clips, including news clips from NBC, CNN, and ABC, as well as unlimited access to Mobile Web 2.0. The price isn't bad, though you'll have to pay more if you want nonentertainment data services. It's more than the monthly price of "terrestrial" music subscription services, but you're basically paying a premium to shop wirelessly. Once signed up, you're ready to rock and roll.

It took about 10 seconds to reach the V Cast Music home page, which is cast in a reddish theme that reminds us of Virgin Digital. It features a colorful sliver of a featured artist--for example, Mary J. Blige. The top row of the interface includes Home, Search, and Help, while the bottom half of the screen lists What's New, What's Hot, Features, Browse, Download, and Alerts. The LG phone's controllers are a breeze to use, and each numbered menu item can be conveniently accessed through the phone's keypad.

The store currently has a catalog of more than 500,000 tracks from all major labels and a handful of indies. Compared to iTunes' 2 million-plus tracks, the library isn't that inclusive. However, just being able to access tunes on the go is a treat, and the selection isn't bad. When you dive into What's Hot, for example, you get a list of three albums (Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable, Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts, and Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi, in our case) with many more below; accessing these takes a second of network delay. Once you select an album, you get a full-screen display, including album art and info with track names. Previews last 20 seconds, take about 7 seconds to buffer, and can be paused and replayed. When you buy a track, you agree to pay a stiff $1.99 (but cheaper than Sprint's $2.50), then select either your phone's memory or your memory card. Our 1GB Mini SD card had more than enough space to hold System of a Down's 1.48MB track, "Hypnotize," which took about 25 seconds to download. This is definitely not a bad way to kill time while waiting for a bus.

Other features include artist or genre alert and the built-in V Cast music player, which breaks your music down by genre, album, songs, shuffle, and so on. You also get the ability to close, then command the phone from the exterior using the smaller LCD and the dedicated music player controls. The playback screen features album art and a control diagram that truly makes the phone feel like an MP3 player. You can create playlists in Windows Media Player, though not on the fly. Unlike with Sprint, the software doesn't support native playback of MP3s, though Verizon plans to add it.

Still, you can transfer protected and nonprotected WMAs as well as converted MP3s using Windows Media Player 10, which includes the PC version of V Cast Music. It's the blown-out version of the phone's music store, but it feels a lot more like Wal-Mart Music than, say, Rhapsody due to the lack of extra content. What's cool about V Cast is that for each 64Kbps WMA track (a 1GB card can hold about 500 of them) you purchase on the phone, you'll be prompted by the PC version to download a higher-quality file of at least 160Kbps--for free. These tunes will work with any compatible device, and they can also be sent back to the phone. In this day and age, purchased music should be accessible by more than just a phone.

To plug your phone into a PC, you must purchase the $30 Music Essentials Kit, which includes headphones (a 2.5mm plug and a call/answer button), a starter CD with Windows Media Player 10 and the required USB driver, and the proprietary USB cable.

While the V Cast Music experience isn't perfect by any means, it definitely gives WMA enthusiasts another option for browsing and shopping for music. Unlike iTunes, which doesn't allow wireless access on the Motorola Rokr or Slvr, V Cast Music is much more dynamic, and it's more flexible and cheaper than the similarly featured Sprint service.

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User opinions

WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW How would you rate this product?

• 3/10 Poor March 6, 2006

  by techgrl22 (see profile)

  "Coming in first (or second in this case) to the market doesn't excuse mediocre software design" Read more >>

• 1/10 Abysmal March 26, 2006

  by charliemenns (see profile)

  "Vcast can not be used off of EV-DO network!! Sprint's Power Visions is better!" Read more >>

• 4/10 Mediocre March 8, 2006

  by chuchucuhi (see profile)

  "Its a start to hopefully something that will become a whole lot better" Read more >>

• WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEWSee all 7 user opinions >>

Where to buy

Verizon Wireless V Cast Music

The manufacturer sells this product directly from its Web site, where you can find configuration and pricing information.