Sony Ericsson W550i spinner Walkman handset debuts

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	Sony Ericsson W550i spinner Walkman handset debuts	By Jørgen Sundgot, 8 August 2005

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Following hot on the heels of its flash-only Walkman phone for the US market, the W600a, Sony Ericsson unveils an identical version for the European market dubbed the W550i.

Here's a novelty: a handset first introduced for the Americas by a European-Asian manufacturer which is then brought to its home market. Stepping off the beaten path, Sony Ericsson today unveiled the W550i, matching the feature set of its previously introduced W600a Walkman spinner step-by-step with the exception of its GSM frequency support, rendering it the second of two Walkman handsets headed for Europe.

Boasting a spinner form factor as opposed to the candybar styling of Europe's first Walkman handset, the W800i, the W550i centers around its 1.8" display with 262K colour depth and a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels. As with the W800i, its audio player software offers a broad range of functionality commonly found in dedicated portable audio player products, supporting MP3 and AAC file formats.

Transfer takes place via the USB connection of the handset, with the W550i boasting a whopping 256 MB of onboard memory as opposed to the 34 MB of the W800i, which instead comes bundled with a 512 MB Memory Stick Duo card. Unlike the W800i, however, the W550i does not feature any means of memory expansion, starkly limiting users to its 256 MB of onboard memory.

The W550i comes bundled with Disc2Phone PC software which manages the transfer of music to and from the handset, and also ties into Sony's CONNECT music download service to allow for the playback of DRM-protected audio on the handset. According to Sony Ericsson, the W600 will play music for up to 15 hours with the phone on, or up to 30 hours with the phone in music mode, in which case the phone module is shut down.

Another feature of the tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz handset is support for GPRS, with EDGE notably lacking from the list as a bonus to buyers of the American version of this handset. A 1.3 Megapixel camera has also found its way into the W550i; a step down from the 2-Megapixel version found in the W800i, yet still offering the ability to both record video and shoot stills.

Similar to the W800i, the W550i is also equipped with an integrated FM radio, which trumps that of the W800i through its inclusion of RDS to avoid frequent tuning issues in densely populated areas. Users can listen in either through the built-in stereo speakers of the handset, or alternatively employ the 3.5 mm headset jack to connect the headphones of their choice. As with its older sibling, the W550i is also capable of muting music upon receiving incoming calls, shifting to the 40-tone polyphonic ringtones of the handset - or MP3/AAC ringtones.

Equipped with MegaBass bass enhancement as well as stereo widening and software to let users mix their own music and video clips on the phone itself, the W550 offers support for J2ME MIDP 2.0 to allow for the installation of 3rd party applications as well as 3D accelerator hardware for improved gaming. Other highlights include integrated Bluetooth and Infrared for short-range connectivity, a HTML-capable microbrowser and support for SMS, MMS and Wireless Village based instant messaging.

Similar to the expected US availability of the W600a, the Sony Ericsson W550i will be available in Europe early in the fourth quarter of 2005 at a 'mid-range' price.