
Europe
: Sony Ericsson today adds its first UMTS handset to the Walkman range
of music phones bringing the total number of phones in the range to
four. The W900 is a high quality fully specified music player, phone
and imaging device capable of super-fast downloads of all types of
multimedia – music, video and graphics. It follows the highly
successful global market launch of the W800. Two previously announced
Walkman phones are also about to launch, the W600 in the Americas
and W550 in the rest of the world, meaning there are now Walkman phones
meeting a broad spectrum of mobile music needs and price segments.
As a music player, the
W900 makes it easy to import, transfer, manage and play music from
operators’ over-the-air (OTA) music download services, allowing
tracks to be downloaded directly to the phone while on the move and,
from a PC when tracks have been copied from the owner’s CD collection.
“The W900, along
with the rest of the Walkman phone family, will establish a new life-style
habit of enjoying superb quality music and video and a full internet
web experience on the move from a single mobile device,” says
Rikko Sakaguchi, Senior Vice President, Product and Application Planning
of Sony Ericsson. “In our first UMTS Walkman phone we have combined
fast download speeds with superb sound quality and crystal clear 30
frames a second video recording and play-back in a really simple and
easy to use device. The W900 will not only appeal as a music phone.
The superb communications, multimedia and imaging functionality will
appeal to all those wanting a true multi-media capable device.”
Music transfer and download
One of the most appealing features of the W900 is how easy it is to
import, transfer, play and manage music files. Tracks can be imported
from a variety of sources, either over-the-air direct to the phone
if it supports an available operator music download service, or via
a PC.
Transferring digital music
files from a PC to the phone is a simple ‘drag and drop’
and the W900 is also fully compatible with user-copied content from
all leading music management software packages. This is particularly
useful for consumers already owning another type of digital music
player who want to transfer tracks that originate from their CD collection
on to the W900.
The supplied Disc2Phone
PC software allows the user to easily transfer music to the phone
from audio CDs and a PC music collection. Disc2Phone can transfer
music based on playlists and has a fun and easy-to-use shuffle functionality.
The W900’s large internal 470MB user free memory provides space
for between 120 and 240 songs. The storage capacity is easily increased
however by inserting a Memory Stick PRO Duo, currently available in
retail outlets at up to 2GB, giving space for up to 1,000 tracks.
Music files can be stored in all the key formats: MP3, AAC or AAC+,
MIDI, WAV and XMF.
Functionality and design
The versatile swivel design makes it easy to multitask between the
W900’s many functions, a feature which gives the phone an advantage
over dedicated music players. The direct music buttons get the user
swiftly into the Walkman player where it is possible to scroll through
play lists, artists or individual songs. Users fed up with missing
calls because they are listening to music will love the fact that
the phone’s ringtone cuts into the audio and pauses the track
while the user takes the call.
The phone swivels open
automatically with the lightest of touches, revealing a large keypad.
Virtually all functions can be performed with the phone closed, and
users can read messages or search through their music library without
opening the phone.
Imaging and multimedia
More than a fully featured music player, the W900 is a highly advanced
imaging and multimedia device with broadband-fast download speeds,
smooth, responsive browse capabilities and a large, 2.2 inch QVGA
262K TFT screen, one of the brightest ever seen on a mobile phone.
The 2 Megapixel, autofocus
camera with LED flash- or picture-light is perfect for capturing priceless
moments and, thanks to the Sony Ericsson dual fronted design, is operated
with both hands in a horizontal position for maximum stability. The
camera also shoots video at up to 30fps (frames per second), double
the speed of most conventional imaging phones and the playback quality
threshold for television.
With the supplied Adobe
PC software, pictures and videos can be easily imported to a PC as
soon as the phone is connected using the fast USB connection. They
can then be edited, printed and shared using the easy-to-use and powerful
Adobe software, and videos can be played back using Apple QuickTime
Player.
As an entertainment device
the W900 exploits the UMTS-delivered capabilities to the full, delivering
fast and smooth download and browsing of video, games, sound and graphics.
The high performance 3D Java gaming engine is put to the test with
the embedded Asphalt Urban GT 3D from Gameloft, where users can experience
the thrills of extreme racing at the wheel of the ultimate sports
cars.
Accessories
The W900 is the first Sony Ericsson phone to be supplied with a Stereo
Portable Handsfree HPM-80 with remote control, that allows the user
to operate the Walkman player without removing it from their pocket.
A USB cable and Disc2Phone PC software for transfer and management
of music files are also included in the box.
W900 Availability
The W900 UMTS Walkman phone is available in black or white and will
be commercially available end Q4 2005. The variants will be:
W900i - Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Europe,
Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa
W900c - Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Mainland
China. Launch for mainland China dependant on availability of 3G services.
Imaging and messaging
2.0 MegaPixel camera with Autofocus
Video call camera
Digital Still Camera user interface
8 x digital zoom
LED photo light
240 x 320 pixel QVGA TFT display
2.2” 262K color display
Video recording and full screen playback
Adobe Photoshop Starter Edition 2.0
Apple QuickTime Player for PC
SMS and MMS
Instant Messaging
Push e-mail
Entertainment
Video Call
PlayNow™ ringtones and games
Walkman® player (MP3/AAC/AAC+)
Stereo Portable Handsfree with remote control (3.5mm jack)
40 polyphonic tones
Java J2ME™ and hardware Accelerator
Embedded Java games: Asphalt Urban GT 3d from Gameloft, Power Ball
Arcade in 3D, QuadraPop in 2D
MegaBass™
Macromedia® Flash Lite™
VideoDJ™, PhotoDJ™, MusicDJ™
Disc2Phone PC Software
PlayNow™ ringtones and games
Horizontal full screen games
FM Radio
Connectivity
Sync ML.
HTML browser
BluetoothTM and Infrared
PC Suite
USB cable in the box
USB mass storage
Memory Stick™ PRO Duo slot
External antenna connector