The phone will be in stores in late August

Aug 16, 2005 19:08 GMT  ·  By

Sony Ericsson Walkman phone W800 - the first Walkman-branded phone for North America - will be available in late August 2005 at Sony Style stores and SonyEricsson.com.

"We are incredibly excited to offer North American consumers the Sony Ericsson W800 Walkman phone. And, what better way to signify the importance of mobile music than through a first-of-its-kind search to uncover the world's top 100 songs," said Miles Flint president of Sony Ericsson. "The new W800 represents the first complete music phone available on store shelves and online, allowing music lovers around the globe to listen to their favorite songs on a high-quality mobile phone."

Music lovers can vote for their favorite song by visiting the Walkman phones 100 Web site: http://www.walkmanphones100.com/. After casting their votes online, participants will have the chance to win a new Sony Ericsson W800 that will come preloaded with the final Walkman phones 100 global soundtrack of songs, along with other Sony Ericsson Walkman phones. Powered by Lycos, the Web site will be live for six weeks. The global and North American chart results will be released on September 26, 2005.

The W800 ships with a 512 megabyte Memory Stick(TM) PRO Duo, allowing it to hold approximately 125 music tracks, or 10-12 full length CDs, from an existing music collection. The device is compatible with industry standard MP3 and AAC music file formats. The W800 also comes with Disk2Phone software, which enables quick, convenient transfer of music CDs onto the phone via a PC. And, the software makes updating the music collection simple, allowing people to browse, sort, find, transfer and delete music files easily.

The W800's intuitive interface makes moving between the functionality of phone, camera and music player very easy. The device includes a direct music button that plays, pauses and stops tracks. And, people won't miss calls when listening to music, as the phone ring is played through the stereo headphones. If the person chooses to take the call, the music is paused for the call's duration and resumed after the call is ended. You can also tune into FM radio on the device.

The W800 is equipped with a two-megapixel auto-focus camera with an active lens cover and digital still camera interface. The device's Bluetooth wireless technology enables wireless connectivity with a Bluetooth headset or car kit. And, the W800 comes with embedded games and the ability to download additional games.