Sony Ericsson Unveils New Walkman Phone
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications announced Monday the launch of a fourth Walkman music phone.
The W900 multimedia device is the company’s first UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) handset in its Walkman lineup.
The W900 3G phone has a 2.2-inch QVGA 262K TFT screen and offers several functionalities, including music player and imaging device, according to a recent news release.
“The W900 will establish a new lifestyle habit of enjoying … music and video and a full Internet Web experience on the move, from a single device,” said Rikko Sakaguchi, senior vice president of Product and Application Planning at Sony Ericsson, in a statement.
The phone features BluetoothTM and Infrared connectivity. It includes 470MB user free memory and a Memory Stick PRO Duo slot, which increases storage capacity up to 2GB. The W900 also boasts an HTML browser and support for push e-mail, SMS and MMS messaging.
With the Walkman music player, W900 users can transfer and manage various music file formats, including MP3, AAC, MIDI, WAV and XMF.
Music tracks can be imported as OTA (Over-the-Air) downloads, when available, or through the PC using the included USB cable.
Supplied Disc2Phone PC software also enables drag-and-drop transfers of music tracks from audio CDs or stored personal collections.
The W900 features FM radio access, PlayNow ring tones and games and is the first Sony Ericsson phone to include a stereo portable hands-free HPM-80 with remote control, the company said.
Adobe PhotoShop Start Edition 2.0 software comes packaged with the W900 for picture and video transfers to the PC, via a USB connection.
Users can access imported files for editing and sharing with the Adobe software or with Apple QuickTime Player for PC, according to the release.
“The W900 will not only appeal as a music phone,” said Sakaguchi, in a statement. “The superb communications, multimedia and imaging functionalities will appeal to all those wanting a true multimedia-capable device.”
The W900 will be available in black and white. Pricing details have not yet been released; however, Sony Ericsson says it expects to make the phone commercially available by the end of Q4 2005.
With the launch of its W900 mobile phone, the company also announced that it will release a Home Audio System and FM Music Transmitter for use with its line of Walkman devices.
The new MMR-60 Walkman FM Music Transmitter can be linked to a Sony Ericsson mobile device with the system connector Fast port.
From there, it transmits stored music files from the phone to be played on any radio receiver within a 10-meter range, according to a news release.
“This Walkman phone accessory is a must-have for anyone who wants to unleash the music from his or her phone and share it with friends, at a party or even in the car,” said Per Helander, product manager at Sony Ericsson, in a statement.
“You can now use any radio receiver to listen to your favorite tracks in stereo loudspeakers, wherever you happen to be.”