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"With the announcement of two Walkman phones that are also about to launch - the W600i in the Americas and W550i in the rest of the world - Sony Ericsson now has Walkman phones meeting a broad spectrum of mobile music needs and price segments," noted Husni Al-Assi, General Manager of Sony Ericsson, Middle East and Africa.
As a music player, the W900i makes it easy to import, transfer, manage and play music from operators' over-the-air (OTA) music download services, allowing tracks to be downloaded directly to the phone while on the move and, from a PC when tracks have been copied from the owner's CD collection.
Music transfer and download
One of the most appealing features of the W900i is how easy it is to import, transfer, play and manage music files. Tracks can be imported from a variety of sources, either over-the-air direct to the phone if it supports an available operator music download service, or via a PC.
Transferring digital music files from a PC to the phone is a simple 'drag and drop' and the W900i is also fully compatible with user-copied content from all leading music management software packages. This is particularly useful for consumers already owning another type of digital music player who want to transfer tracks that originate from their CD collection on to the W900i.
The supplied Disc2Phone PC software allows the user to easily transfer music to the phone from audio CDs and a PC music collection. Disc2Phone can transfer music based on playlists and has a fun and easy-to-use shuffle functionality. The W900i's large internal 470MB user free memory provides space for between 120 and 240 songs. The storage capacity is easily increased however by inserting a Memory Stick PRO Duo, currently available in retail outlets at up to 2GB, giving space for up to 1,000 tracks. Music files can be stored in all the key formats: MP3, AAC or AAC+, MIDI, WAV and XMF.
Functionality and design
The versatile swivel design makes it easy to multitask between the W900's many functions, a feature that gives the phone an advantage over dedicated music players. The direct music buttons get the user swiftly into the Walkman player where it is possible to scroll through play lists, artists or individual songs. Users fed up with missing calls because they are listening to music will love the fact that the phone's ringtone cuts into the audio and pauses the track while the user takes the call.
The phone swivels open automatically with the lightest of touches, revealing a large keypad. Virtually all functions can be performed with the phone closed, and users can read messages or search through their music library without opening the phone.
Imaging and multimedia
More than a fully featured music player, the W900i is a highly advanced imaging and multimedia device with broadband-fast download speeds, smooth, responsive browse capabilities and a large, 2.2 inch QVGA 262K TFT screen, one of the brightest ever seen on a mobile phone.
The 2 Megapixel, autofocus camera with LED flash- or picture-light is perfect for capturing priceless moments and, thanks to the Sony Ericsson dual fronted design, is operated with both hands in a horizontal position for maximum stability. The camera also shoots video at up to 30fps (frames per second), double the speed of most conventional imaging phones and the playback quality threshold for television.
With the supplied Adobe PC software, pictures and videos can be easily imported to a PC as soon as the phone is connected using the fast USB connection. They can then be edited, printed and shared using the easy-to-use and powerful Adobe software, and videos can be played back using Apple QuickTime Player.
As an entertainment device the W900i exploits the UMTS-delivered capabilities to the fullest, delivering fast and smooth download and browsing of video, games, sound and graphics. The high performance 3D Java gaming engine is put to the test with the embedded Asphalt Urban GT 3D from Gameloft, where users can experience the thrills of extreme racing at the wheel of the ultimate sports cars.
Accessories
The W900i is the first Sony Ericsson phone to be supplied with a Stereo Portable Handsfree HPM-80 with remote control, that allows the user to operate the Walkman player without removing it from their pocket. A USB cable and Disc2Phone PC software for transfer and management of music files are also included in the box.
W900i Availability
The W900i UMTS Walkman phone is available in black or white and will be commercially available end Q4 2005. The variants will be:
• W900i Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa
• W900c Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Mainland China. Launch for mainland China dependant on availability of 3G services.
Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News Editor
