Sony
Ericsson has laid out its plans for the remainder of 2007 and early 2008,
unveiling three new handsets and offering a first glimpse of its
PlayNow
services platform.
The mobile phone giant will add two Walkman phones to its portfolio, the W890
and W380.
The W890 is a slim candybar-style design with 2GB of storage and a 3.2
megapixel camera as well as all the usual entertainment features found in Sony
Ericsson's Walkman-branded phones.
The W380 sees a departure from the standard by using a clamshell design with
an OLED external display to show the name of a music track or caller
information.
The handset also includes a gesture control feature which allows users to
mute calls with a wave of the hand.
Sony Ericsson also unveiled its K660 phone aimed at users who require access
to data and the internet while on the move.
The K660 is optimised for mobile web access with HSDPA support as well as
landscape browsing.
Several shortcut keys, including pan-and-zoom, home page, enter address and
bookmark, are designed to help improve the mobile web experience.
The phone's navigation key serves as a 'magnetic mouse pointer' when in web
mode, helping users to navigate web pages more easily.
All three phones are due in selected markets around the world from the first
quarter of 2008.
Sony Ericsson also announced its intention to further develop the PlayNow
arena in a bid to offer a range of new free and paid-for mobile entertainment
and content.
The platform was launched in February 2004 allowing users to listen to and
purchase polyphonic ring-tones directly on their phone.
The service was expanded over time and is now available in 32 countries
around the world, offering MP3 ring-tones, games, full music tracks, themes and
wallpapers.
Sony Ericsson has promised that the next generation of PlayNow will allow
consumers to access a greatly expanded range of content, and that relevant
material will be easier to find.
As part of this drive the company will combine its music catalogue with its
TrackID service which allows users to record a music clip from any source which
will then be identified.
By combining these features, users will be able to purchase the tracks or
albums directly from the PlayNow store.
Rollout of the enhanced PlayNow service will start in the second quarter of
2008.
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