Sony Ericsson today updated their Walkman line with new phones, and some gimmicky new features, including Shake Control, which lets you skip tracks by holding a button and shaking the phone. On the W580, which we got our hands on at CTIA 2007, a shake will select a song at random. On the new W910, however, a flick to one side will skip ahead or back one track in your list. If the feature is reminiscent of the accelerometers on the Playstation 3's SIXAXIS controller, this might not be a coincidence. Sony also advises holding the phone like a portable gaming system to navigate your song choices. In this light, we're almost surprised that no advanced gaming features have been introduced to accompany these phones.
Along with the Shake Control, Sony Ericsson has also added SensME, which creates smart playlists based on tempo and "style," though the manufacturer provides few additional details, except to explain that the feature will have a unique graphical interface.
The W910 will first be sold in Europe, but with quad-band EDGE support, this phone could work on U.S. GSM networks, so an American release is a distinct possibility. Unfortunately, the HSDPA radio will only work on European networks, and not AT&T's high-speed service. The phone also features a QVGA screen, a 2-megapixel camera and stereo Bluetooth. A 1GB memory stick micro will be included in the retail package.
Editor's take on the Sony Ericsson W960
The W960 provides tri-band support only, meaning that it's not the most obvious import phone. However, when looking at the specifications list of the W960, the phone aspect is almost insignificant. By offering Wi-Fi connectivity, an 8 GB hard drive and video playback in TV quality on its touch sensitive QVGA screen, we wouldn't mind at all importing this phone for reviewing purposes, at least. And we suspect Web shops offering import phones are looking at their new best-seller here. - Sindre Lia
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