Sony Ericsson Debuts Five New Phones
Sony Ericsson announced its holiday mobile phone lineup on Thursday, including two new Walkman models, two new flip phones, and a phone that is capable of recognizing handwritten Chinese characters.
The mobile phone manufacturer has been releasing new models at a blistering pace. Last year, it introduced 30 phones, and already this year it has introduced close to two dozen new models. The joint venture has also begun to take advantage of Sony's well known brand names in the past year, like the "Walkman" and "Cybershot," in a play to increase the company's worldwide market share.
With today's new Walkman models, the number of Sony Ericsson phones carrying the name now stands at 10. The new W710 aims to please the fitness-minded consumer, with a motion sensor and various application to monitor workouts. Specially designed headphones would make the phone easier to use while exercising, the company says.
The EDGE-capable phone would be available in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and China for between $250 and $380 USD, before carrier subsidy and local taxes.
The Walkman mobile phone line will also gain its first slider model in the W850. It is Sony Ericsson's first GSM/UMTS slider, the company said. The W850 includes improved software to make music browsing easier, and can record from FM radio as well as support "over the air" music services.
The phone would be available in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for about $480 USD.
Two flip phones are also slated to be launched, including the Z550, which includes a 1.3-megapixel camera and 20MB of on board memory. The GPRS-enabled phone will be sold in the European, Middle East, African, and Asian markets for $190 to $250 USD.
A more expensive business-focused model, the Z710, will include a 2 megapixel camera and EDGE data. It also includes e-mail and RSS support, as well as integrated FM radio. It would be made available in Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and China for between $250 and $380 USD before subsidies.
Finally, the M608c is the Chinese version of the M600 e-mail capable phone that the company announced earlier this year. Its key feature is the capability to recognize handwritten Chinese characters, the company said. The M608c additionally includes GPRS support.
"China is the single largest market for Sony Ericsson and a strategic base for global business success," president of Sony Ericsson China Gunilla Nordstrom said in a statement. "M608c is another example that further demonstrates our strong commitment to the China market."
All phones are expected to be made available through the manufacturer's retail channels by the third quarter, the company said.