Sony Ericsson has shown off a range of new handsets. Probably most significant is a Walkman branded handset which is undoubtedly being pitched to compete with Apple's iPhone. The W960 comes with an internal 8GB memory, which they say can store around 8000 songs, and offers a PC-to-phone transfer of 1GB in less than 3 minutes. In addition to the more conventional keypad, the handset also comes with a 2.6" touch-sensitive screen which can respond to finger touch, or the use of a stylus. The handset supports both Wi-Fi and, unlike Apple's iPhone - it offers 3G connectivity. The phone adds a 3.2 megapixel camera to the mix. As with earlier Walkman phones, the W960 incorporates TrackID music recognition software. This lets you record a clip of a song on your phone and find out instantly the name of the artist, track and album.
On the W960 (and W910) this feature has been taken to the next level. You can now receive detailed information about the song identified ? the background of the artists and the album. New ways to search have been added in, other than just by capturing an audio clip. If you know a bands name and not much else, for example, you can text search to find out more. Search by artist, title, album or lyrics.
Nicklas Sivander, Product Manager for the W960 Walkman phone, Sony Ericsson, sums it up: "You couldn't ask for a better music mix of high performance media player and intuitive phone. The touchscreen is complemented by a regular keyboard and the phone itself is amplified by the Media Manager programme and the many music accessories. The days of taking an MP3 player, a camera and a phone with you when you leave the house are definitely over."
The W910 handset has a novel user interface. During music playback, shaking the handset controls the player, with a flick to the right advancing the track and to the left, reversing the action. Shacking the handset switches to a shuffle mode for playback. The Sony Ericsson W910 Walkman phone will be available from Q4 2007.
In the more conventional range, Sony Ericsson also announced the following handsets:
The K530 is Sony Ericsson's cheapest 3G handset so far. The handset comes with a 2 megapixel camera along with x2.5 digital zoom and video recording capabilities. The handset also supports push email services and can access RSS webfeeds. An optional accessory is available which would add GPS capabilities. The K530 is a UMTS 2100 and GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 phone and will be available in selected markets from Q3 2007.
The K850 comes with a 5 megapixel camera phone with Auto focus and Xenon flash. It is a Tri-Band HSDPA phone and has advanced digital camera features - BestPic, Photo fix and PictBridge. The lens cover retracts automatically with one press of the camera button and a new mode selector lets you switch quickly between camera, video and picture viewing modes. It will be available in selected markets from early Q4 2007.
The Sony Ericsson Z320 comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera with one-click camera access. The Z320 is a GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 and 850/1800/1900 clamshell phone and will be available in selected markets from Q3 2007.
The Z250 is a standard 19mm thick clamshell handset. The Sony Ericsson Z250 will be in the shops worldwide from Q3 2007.
 Z250 |  K530 | |
 Z320 |  K850 | |
Posted to the site on 15th June 2007
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/24368.php