The New York Times recently published a Cellphones for the Music Fan article, which featured (shown from left to right): the V3i, which is a modified Motorola RAZR; the Sony-Ericsson Walkman W810i, available through Cingular; and Verizon’s LG VX8500 Chocolate.

While geeks and music fans around the world are still waiting to see if Apple will produce an iPod-inspired phone, many music lovers have already taken the plunge and are faithful users of the listed cell/MP3 player combo phones.

For the Times' take on phones for music lovers, just read more

The problem seems to be that few multimedia phones, if any, are as easy to use as an iPod. Of course, most people pick phones primarily for the phone features or service plan, but for those who put high importance on music, there is a subset of media phones designed with the music fan in mind. A few can give an iPod a run for the money.

At the top of the list is the Motorola iTunes phone from Cingular ($200 after $50 rebate with a two-year contract). The handset is a modified Motorola RAZR, called the V3i, with a music note button that takes you right to your songs. The V3i uses the same menu system as the iPod. The phone lacks the iPod click wheel, so an up/down/left/right button substitutes.