Sony announces first Android-based Walkman

Sony has taken the wraps off its first Android-based Walkman media player - the Z-1000. Running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), Sony's would-be iPod touch rival comes well spec'd with its 4.3-inch WVGA (480x800) touchscreen, NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core CPU platform and 512MB of RAM.

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The NW-Z1000 is equipped with "S-Master MX" sound processing, digital noise-cancellation and a dedicated "W" button for the music player app. Installing additional apps via Android Market is also possible.

File support includes MPEG-4, AVC, WMV (Full HD 1080p video playback at 30fps available), as well as MP3, ATRAC, ATRAC Advanced lossless, AAC, HE-AAC and WMA music files formats.

Connectivity comes courtesy of WiFi 802.11b/g/n, GPS, DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1 (with EDR, AVRCP, A2DP, OPP profiles supported) and HDMI output. The unit also features digital compass, G-sensor, built-in mono speaker, FM radio and its lithium ion battery promises up to 20 hours of music and 5 hours of video playback.

The NW-Z1000's dimensions are 134.4 × 70.9 × 11.1mm (5.29 x 2.79 x 0.4in) and it weighs 156 g (5.5 oz).

Sony Walkman NW-Z1000 will be offered in three versions - 16, 32 and 64GB - priced at JPY28,000 (US$365), JPY33,000 (US$430) and JPY43,000 (US$561) respectively. It's set to be released on December 10 in Japan but availability in other countries hasn't been confirmed at this point.

Source: Electronista