The Walkman phone range was originally named after the stand alone MP3 players manufactured and distributed by Sony before their merger with the mobile phone giant Ericsson. The Walkman brand represents the very best in music listening quality with options such as shuffle, random play, graphic equalizer and playlist creation to create a more indulgent music listening experience.

The early Walkman phones set the example for all those that followed with extra music features and technology not seen before in any other manufacturers handsets, they set the president for all MP3 playing handsets and are now considered the most advanced music playing mobile devices available.

The latest addition to the range is the new Sony Ericsosn W960i, a long awaited handset with a turbulent history. The Sony W960 was originally supposed to be launched around October/November of 2007 but delays meant that this new Walkman phone would not be available until 2008. The result was blogs and message boards full with mobile enthusiasts either predicting or spreading rumors of the handsets appearance.

Eventually the W960i was released two days ago on the O2 network by the CPW group, this is a normal route to market for the company and further network launches were expected very soon. This theory proved fruitful as the handset was then released on Vodafone the very next day and next came the all important launch onto Pay As You Go, important because 1 in 4 UK mobile phone users cannot pass the credit criteria in order to get a handset with a contract agreement. The pay as you go option is ideal for an outright purchase that means no network tie in and no minimum term contract period.

The Sony Ericsson W960i introduces finger touch navigation when accessing and playing music files with album art on a 2.6 inch touch sensitive display.

Users can create their own personalized playlists using the Walkman Player and identify that song that they know the name to but cannot quite put their finger on with TrackID music recognition software. They can also get detailed information on the artist. Users can also tore up to 8000 songs with an 8GB memory, synchronize podcasts with your PC or download music online with 3G network or WiFi access.

Boasting a 3.2 mega pixel camera with autofocus, 3x digital zoom and video capture & playback, the Sony Ericsson W960i Walkman phone is able to capture every passing moment and share them with friends and family whether it be by multimedia messaging, email or posting on users own personal blog sites. It’s perfect when traveling abroad when people need to keep abreast with their progress and share their adventures.

With a Stereo headset and media management software included in the package, the Sony W960i has everything needed to manage and update playlists. Users have everything they need to make the Sony Ericsson W960i an all round entertainment system.

Plus with handwriting recognition, document viewer, flight mode, built-in speakerphone and RSS feeds, the Sony Ericsson W960i makes a great business tool.

So it seems that this new Walkman phone offers the very latest in mobile phone music technology but with the added bonus of a high specification camera and some impressive features and functions to make communicating whilst out and about a more enjoyable experience.

By: Susan Hargreaves