Editor's note: Click here for our in-depth, hands-off impressions of the W880.
Sony finally took the wrapper off their newest Walkman phone, the slim W880. Though enigmatic photographs had been distributed at CES 2007, details were only released today about the 0.4 inch thick, 3.5G device. As predicted, the phone has a front-facing camera for video-conferencing over a UMTS network, as well as a 2-megapixel auto-focus camera around back. It will come bundled with stereo headphones and a 1GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion card. The phone features an FM radio, as well as TrackID software which can listen to a song on the radio and identify the title and artist.
The phone comes in two flavors, one brushed metal and black, the other black and orange. The 1.8-inch display shows 262,000 colors at a QVGA resolution. Sony Ericsson says the phone will be available in select markets in the first quarter of 2007, but since the phone was released London, that might be a hint that it's not coming here. Unfortunately, the phone uses the UMTS 2100 band, so importers won't get 3G speeds on AT&T's UMTS network here in the States.
Sony Ericsson's Walkman brand is clearly in direct competition with Apple's iPhone, which will pair an iPod and mobile phone. Previous Sony attempts to unseat the iPod have been unsuccessful, but the W880 has a few features the iPhone won't have, at least not right away. The 2-megapixel camera and 3G networking are better than what you'll find on Apple's device, but Sony Ericsson's failure to release the device stateside is puzzling. Except for the front-facing camera, which many manufacturers simply remove for the U.S. version of their device, the phone seems ripe for an American audience.
Specifications
Size: Candy bar, 103 x 46.5 x 9.4 mm (4 x 1.8 x 0.4 inches)
Weight: 71 g (2.5 oz)
Screen: QVGA 262,144-colour TFT, 240x320 pixel
Network: GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz, GPRS, UMTS 2100 MHz
Camera: 2-megapixel
Memory: 16 MB internal, Memory Stick Micro memory expansion
Multimedia: Music player, Music controls, A2DP
Video conferencing
Price & availability
The Sony Ericsson W880 is now available for approximately $550 US.
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