Sony Ericsson trots out motion sensors in its new Walkman
Sony Ericsson today announced a total of six handsets, putting an end to all the rumors circulating on the Web recently. But more interestingly, the Japanese-Swedish company is also introducing motion-sensitive features on the new W910i Walkman phone.
Motion-sensitive capabilities are not new. Samsung (SGH-E760), Nokia (5500 Sport) and Mitsubishi (D904i) have had it. Sony Ericsson had it on its earlier W580i Walkman phone, too.
By holding down the Walkman key, the user can shake the W580i and it will randomly select a track from the playlist. This shake feature is taken a step further on the W910i where it enables the user to skip forward or backward tracks simply by flicking the handset. Rocking the phone back and forth will shuffle the playlist.
No less earthshaking is news of a 5-megapixel Cyber-shot K850i as well as a W960i Walkman with 8GB of onboard memory.
In the case of the W960i, notable goodies include a 3.2-megapixel camera and a 2.6-inch screen with touch-sensitive controls besides its whopping onboard memory. The tradeoff is the phone does not come with an expansion card slot.
With a 5-megapixel sensor and a Xenon flash onboard, some are bound to wonder if the Cyber-shot K850i will rival Nokia's N95. We'll only know once we get our hands on a unit, but if it performs as well as, or better than, the earlier Cyber-shots (K810i and K800i), we don't see why snapshooters wouldn't like the phone. Also augmenting the Cyber-shot family is the entry-level clamshell Z320i with a 1.3-megapixel shooter built in.
According to the press release, the Disc2Phone software on the earlier Walkman series will now be replaced by a new Media Manager on the W910i, W960i and the Cyber-shot K850i. The new software comes with a new SensMe feature which will incorporate mood analysis into the track details when you import music into the program. It also allows the user to manage playlists, create backups of pictures on the phone, and acts as an audio and video podcast RSS feed reader.
That's not all. The company also announced five music accessories, one external GPS enabler and three new Bluetooth watches. Check the tables for a quick breakdown of the specifications and availability of the new products in Asia.
Sony Ericsson handsets
| Model name |
In a nutshell |
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Cool factor: HSDPA Walkman phone with shake control
Notable features:
W910i--GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900; 3G; HSDPA 2100
W908c--GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
2-megapixel camera
Bluetooth stereo A2DP
240 x 320-pixel 2.4-inch screen
40MB built-in memory; Memory Stick Micro expansion card slot
99 x 50 x 12.5mm; 86g
Availability: Q4 2007
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Cool factor: Slim 3G Walkman with 8GB onboard memory and 3.2-megapixel camera
Notable features:
GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900; 3G
3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus
Symbian operating system
Bluetooth stereo A2DP; Wi-Fi
240 x 320-pixel 2.6-inch touchscreen LCD
8GB built-in memory; no expansion card slot
109 x 55 x 16mm; 119g
Availability: Q4 2007
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Cool factor: 5-megapixel Cyber-shot camera-phone with autofocus and Xenon flash
Notable features:
K850i--GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900; 3G; HSDPA 850/1900/2100
K858c--GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
5-megapixel camera with autofocus and Xenon flash
Bluetooth; PictBridge
240 x 320-pixel 2.2-inch screen
40MB built-in memory; Memory Stick Micro and micoSD expansion card slot
102 x 48 x 17mm; 118g
Availability: Selected markets in early Q4 2007
|
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Cool factor: Compact clamshell with a 1.3-megapixel camera
Notable features:
Z320i--GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900
Z320a--GSM/GPRS 850/1800/1900
1.3-megapixel camera
128 x 160-pixel 1.8-inch screen
12MB built-in memory; no expansion card slot
87 x 47 x 20mm; 90g
Availability: Selected markets from Q3 2007
|
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Cool factor: Slim 3G candy-bar phone with weather forecast application
Notable features:
GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900; 3G
2-megapixel camera
Bluetooth stereo A2DP
FM radio
220 x 176-pixel 2-inch screen
16MB built-in memory; Memory Stick Micro expansion card slot
102 x 46 x 14mm; 92g
Availability: Selected markets from Q3 2007
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Cool factor: Stylish clamshell that is just 19.5mm thick
Notable features:
Z250i and Z258c--GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900
Z250a--GSM/GPRS 850/1800/1900
VGA camera
128 x 160-pixel 1.8-inch screen
10MB built-in memory
85 x 47 x 19.5mm; 90g
Availability: Q3 2007
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