Sony Ericsson W900 – not the video iPod killer
AS IT turned out, yesterday’s latest handset launch from Sony Ericsson was a 3G (W-CDMA) version of its Walkman handset, the W900. Not a portable video player with cellular capabilities as some had predicted.
The W900 can play back video but the crucial point about this particular Walkman phone is that with its support for faster download speeds, it will become viable for more mobile network operators to offer full MP3 music downloads using over the air (OTA) technology.
Such a move cuts out the middleman – which in this market is Apple’s iTunes service, of course. The handset boasts 470 MB of internal memory which puts it on par with Motorola’s Rokr. Sony Ericsson quotes a maximum Memory Stick Pro Duo capability of 2GB seeing as 4GB ain’t out yet.
What the W900 does give the company is a range of Walkman phones since it also has the original W800 and the W550 (which mutates into the W600 for the Americas). This is beginning to have a pronounced effect on its unit sales which increased to 13.8 million in Q3 2005. That gives it around 7 per cent of the market.
Like Nokia, these results have caused Sony Ericsson to raise its estimate for total global handset sales in 2005 to over 760 million units. So the market is looking increasingly healthy.
Buried away in the announcements was a Walkman branded accessory - the MMR-60. What’s this? Only the handset vendor’s answer to the iTrip for iPods. Basically it broadcasts music from the latest Sony Ericsson handsets via FM. As a result it will only become available in ‘limited markets’. It’s illegal over here in Blighty.
Another interesting move is the MDS-70 home audio system. Basically it’s a jumped up docking station with Hi-Fi speakers which incorporates Sony’s S-Master technology to provide a decent sound when you’re playing back from a Walkman handset. Intruigingly it has a different part number for sale through Sony branded outlets.
Sadly Sony Ericsson has missed the chance again to provide a decent set of stereo earphones for the W900. Instead there is just a plug-in set of stereo buds in the shape of the HPM-80. No Bluetooth headset. Well, at least the HPM-80 has a built in controller that provides the usual play, reverse,and stop functions so you can control the handset from the headset.µ