Technology manufacturers are consistently managing to bundle more and more features into their new product launches which is exactly what Sony Ericsson have done with their latest music focussed mobile phone release.

Expending the ‘W’ series range of Walkman phones, the new Sony W980i is the latest flip design handset to be be launched in the UK and bears the distinctive Walkman branding now commonly associated with the manufacturers music devices.

Having released two new Smartphones, two Cyber-Shot phones and a PocketPC of late, its of no surprise that the manufacturer has also launched a new Walkman phone to add to their growing range.

The Sony Ericsson W980i Walkman music phone offers improved stereo quality and surround sound that has not been available in previous walkman models.

The Walkman Player comes complete with TrackID music recognition, PlayNow, Shake control and SensMe features, plus an FM Radio with full RDS support and FM transmitter for interfacing with your car stereo or home hi-fi system.

In addition to this there is a 3.2 mega pixel camera with photo fix and 3.2 x digital zoom, video player and picture blogging function.

3G HSDPA enabled, the Sony Ericsson W980i includes a secondary camera for video calling, dedicated music and camera keys, an internal 2.2 inch display screen and external TFT display. The internal memory is a massive 8GB and as such no expansion is available with the Sony Ericsson W980i, but we seriously doubt you’ll need it.

Not forgetting features such as the web browser, email, bluetooth with A2DP stereo support, flight mode functions and 3D games, the Sony Ericsson W980i Walkman in its Piano Black colour scheme is oddly very stylish and extremely seductive.

This new mobile phone will please many a Sony Ericsson fan as their range of flip phones is not as wide as their candy-bar format handsets, many consumers prefer a clamshell design simply because once the phone is closed the keys are protected making it almost impossible to make unwanted calls from a pocket or handbag.

The beauty of the new Sony Ericsson W980i is that the manufacturer has included external controls for the music player allowing users to access their music tracks whilst the phone is in the closed position, the buttons resemble a standard stand alone MP3 player format by being slightly raised making it easy to use in poor light conditions.

Thankfully, the W980i has not been launched as a network exclusive as seems to be the case with many new model launches of late, this means that consumers have the choice of networks when trying to match their usage requirements to find the best tariff combination.

The Sony Ericsson W980i is a sleek and compact handset with high specification music playing abilities, a good camera and the latest music features, this handset will appeal to music lovers aswell as gadget enthusiasts and Sony Ericsson fans.

Initially launched on the O2 network the Sony W980i is expected to be rolled out onto further networks in the very near future.

By: Susan Hargreaves