Mobile Technology

Sony Ericsson’s W380 Walkman phone

Sony Ericsson’s W380 Walkman phone
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November 9, 2007 Sony Ericsson has unveiled the latest addition to its Walkman phone portfolio, the W380. Featuring gesture control functionality, which allows users to mute calls or silence the alarm with a wave of their hand, the clamshell design W380 features a 512MB Memory Stick, FM radio with TrackID, plus an external display with customizable light effects and one-touch control buttons on the top of the phone so users can see who’s calling or manage their music without having to flip the top.

For those that find a wave of their hand too energy draining, the one-touch Walkman control buttons that are placed on the top of the phone give skip forward/backward and pause functionality and light up when the Walkman player is switched on. The hidden display also comes to life, providing track information at a glance. The lights on the phone can also be set to ‘dance’ by pulsing to the beat of the currently selected track and different light effects can be customized for different callers. The W380 Walkman phone comes complete with Media Manager PC software that lets users easily transfer music, photos and videos between a computer and the phone. Music files are simply clicked and dragged from the computer to the phone and the included software automatically converts the music to the right format. The included 512MB Memory Stick Micro provides storage for up to 271 songs.

The in-built FM radio has Radio Data System (RDS) functionality, which allows the unit to include TrackID. With it there’s no need to wait around for a back announce from the DJ as users can tag a clip from the phone’s radio (or any external source) and find out instantly who sings it, what it’s called, and what album it’s from. Sony Ericsson claims this is such a popular feature in other devices that every second, someone, somewhere, is using TrackID to identify a song.

As well as their own internal stereo speakers, the W380 is also fully compatible with a range of Bluetooth accessories. The phone can wirelessly stream music to the currently available MBS-100 Portable Bluetooth Speaker or the HBH-DS220 Stereo Bluetooth Headset, but to make the most of the W380’s Bluetooth technology you’ll need to wait for the release of the HBH-PV703 Bluetooth Headset.

The HBH-PV703 will automatically connect to the W380 and other select phones using Sony Ericsson’s Auto Pairing feature. With it there’s no need to remember pin codes as the Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR provides the security. Weighing a mere 14 g/ 0.49 oz., Sony Ericsson says the HBH-PV703 is light enough to wear comfortably all day and it allows users to manage their calls from your headset with its built-in answer/end call, last number redial, and volume buttons. The headset offers a talk time of up to 10 hours and a standby time of up to 350 hours. The HBH-PV703 will come in grey or black and will be available in selected markets from Q1 2008.

The W380 is a GSM/EDGE/GPRS 850/1800/1900 phone and comes with many of the features people have come to expect from a phone including 1.3 megapixel camera, games, Java and video streaming and viewing. It should be available in Q1 2008.

For further info visit Sony Ericsson.

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