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Ears-on with Sony Ericsson MH907 Motion Activated Headphones

by Richard Lai posted Nov 4th 2009 @ 3:57PM

What we have here today isn't just another pair of ordinary headphones: Sony Ericsson's MH907s are button-free, minimalistic headphones that activate upon the magical touch of your skin. Well, your ears to be precise. You must bear in mind that the MH907s are exclusive to Fast port-equipped Sony Ericsson phones thus excluding the forthcoming XPERIA X10 -- so chances are you're already not interested. That said, we shall see if Sony Ericsson is really going to change things forever with these gleaming buds featuring SE's SensMe Control technology, or by just stopping everyone from using their 3.5mm headphone jacks. Read on to find out how these €39 ($57) headphones fared.

Gallery: Ears-on with Sony Ericsson MH907 Motion Activated Headphones

Sony Ericsson's 8.1MP C905a and W518a Walkman on sale at AT&T

by Darren Murph posted Jul 19th 2009 @ 1:18PM

Don't act surprised -- AT&T already told you that these two would go on sale this fine Sunday in July, and lo and behold, the carrier looks to have kept its promise. Starting today (officially, anyway), customers looking for a camera that doubles as a cellphone or a Walkman that occasionally makes calls can bring home the C905a or W518a, respectively. As expected, the C905a (which is available in silver only) will run you $179.99 after rebate and two-year agreement, while the W518a (which arrives in any color you like, so long as it's black) goes for $49.99 under the same conditions. Any takers? Or are all you SE fanboys waiting to court Rachael?

[Thanks, Jazzdoc]

Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXVI: Soniphone C908 takes a little o' this, a little o' that

by Laura June posted Jul 16th 2009 @ 10:34AM

Well, what do we have here? The Soniphone C908 is just a confused mishmash of branded signals -- Sony Ericsson is plainly visible across the top of the LCD, but a little Walkman branding was thrown in under it just for added fun. And, just in case you needed another, completely different reason to have your interest piqued, they threw in a wheel that is suspiciously iPod-like. This classy baby is undoubtedly worth every penny (it'll run you about $117 to grab one), if you decide you can't live without one. One more shot after the break.

[Via PMP Today]

Sony Ericsson hand delivers 8.1MP C905a and W518a Walkman to AT&T

by Darren Murph posted Jul 15th 2009 @ 10:42AM

While one could argue that Sony Ericsson should really be focusing its efforts on getting a Rachael / Android-based handset out on the double, it's evidently content with digging up a year-old phone, slapping an "a" on the end of it and passing it along to AT&T. The 8.1 megapixel C905 that we were so jazzed about in June of 2008 has indeed been certified for AT&T as the C905a Cyber-shot (left and center), offering the same 8.1 megapixel sensor, face detection, AutoFocus, Xenon flash, GPS tagging and 3G support. In related news, SE is also offering up the 518a Walkman (shown right) on the same carrier, which features a 3.2 megapixel camera, an obsession with Facebook, Shake Control and OTA music downloads from Napster and eMusic via AT&T Music. Both sets will be available on July 19th for $179.99 and $49.99 (respectively) after mail-in rebate and a two-year agreement, which sounds "way too high" and "too high" to us (also respectively).

Sony Ericsson W995a hands-on

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 3rd 2009 @ 3:02AM

What exactly does $600 buy you these days? If you're looking at Sony Ericsson and you live in the States, the answer is now this, the Walkman-branded W995a, which we've had a chance to play with in advance of its July 6 date with destiny. Charging $600 for any phone -- much less a non-smartphone -- is a tough proposition to be making (particularly in a not-so-hot economy), but the company seems to be very cognizant of the fact that it's putting this out there strictly for the niche enthusiasts who like their hardware totally uncrippled and without a trace of carrier branding inside or out. We'd even go so far as to say that this'll be a loss leader for them -- it's not designed to make money so much as it's designed to keep Sony Ericsson in the hearts and minds of shoppers, keep folks aware that they've got hot hardware available, and take advantage of those who do buy it to evangelize the brand. Read on!

Gallery: Sony Ericsson W995a hands-on

Continue reading Sony Ericsson W995a hands-on

Sony Ericsson W995a hits US stores July 6 for around $600

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 3rd 2009 @ 3:01AM

It's not every day that Sony Ericsson custom crafts a model just for North American store shelves, so it's pretty exciting to see that the W995a -- a phone mentioned in passing back in February alongside the announcement of its W995 brother -- is very, very real and imminently destined for SonyStyle shops across the colonies. Following the company's typical naming conventions (well, "typical" prior to the Satio / Aino / Yari, anyway), the W995a is simply a W995 that's had its 900 / 2100MHz HSDPA radio gutted and replaced with an 850 / 1900 / 2100MHz version, making it ripe for 3.5G use both in the States and abroad. Features include a 2.6-inch QVGA display, Bluetooth, Memory Stick Micro slot, 3.5mm audio jack, WiFi, FM radio, AGPS, and an 8.1 megapixel camera with face detection, image stabilization, and autofocus -- in other words, it's packed to the gills with pretty much every feature this side of a smartphone operating system. Sony Ericsson says that it's a perfect match for "unlocked purists and phone junkies" -- language we like to hear -- and will be available to all comers from SonyStyle on starting July 6 for "about $600."

Sony Ericsson's "Bruce" and "Tobey" C905a pictured with AT&T in mind

by Chris Ziegler posted May 26th 2009 @ 7:02PM

Here are a couple Sony Ericssons we've known AT&T is planning on releasing, but it's always good to see some more confirmation. The "Bruce" appears to be the W518a, which is a North American tweak of the W508a -- nothing mind-blowing, but it's got a 3.2 megapixel camera, QVGA display, external music controls, and HSDPA on board; maybe the coolest thing here (and something we didn't know before) is that AT&T intends to let buyers design their own custom covers for the phone online.

The Tobey is really where it's at, though. This is the C905a, the big shooter -- literally -- that should do battle with T-Mobile's CS8. It's got an 8.1 megapixel camera with xenon flash in a slider form factor, accompanied by a 2.4-inch QVGA display, Video Share, TV-out, and HTML browsing. Disturbingly, both of these devices have already missed their target availability dates -- and anyone still reeling from the K850 disaster has to be a little concerned that one or both of these could be delayed indefinitely or canceled.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson's "Bruce" and "Tobey" C905a pictured with AT&T in mind

Video: Sony Ericsson's S312 and W205 handsets for cruel, mocking teens

by Thomas Ricker posted Apr 7th 2009 @ 3:51AM

Judging by their reactions, these beautiful urban teens are not too impressed by our awkward, yet heart-felt love song to Nintendo's GameCube. That's ok, at least we're not stuck with these two entry-level, dual-band, non-3G handsets from Sony Ericsson. First up, the S312 (available in Q2) candy bar whose main feature is a 2 megapixel camera that "can be used horizontally" (wow, just wow) and a dedicated camcorder key for quick capture of all the things you love to mock on YouTube. Unfortunately, sharing those precious moments will be less than spontaneous on this HSPA-less handset -- dual-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE-only kids. Next is the W205 (available in Q3) GSM/GPRS slider meant for first time Walkman owners. It features a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, FM radio and TrackID music recognition with an integrated speaker to prove to others just how awesome your music tastes are. An optional, strap-on MS410 speaker stand that's powered by the phone will extend the range of your ego all the way to the front of the bus. No prices given, though we expect them to be free with contract when they land in and around Croydon. See what they're laughing at after the break.

Read -- S312
Read -- W205

Continue reading Video: Sony Ericsson's S312 and W205 handsets for cruel, mocking teens

Sony Ericsson W395 hands-on

by Sean Cooper posted Feb 17th 2009 @ 5:31PM

Sony Ericsson's W395 was one of the sets that was launched in the week leading up to, rather than at the show. Strange launch aside, this lower-end Walkman handset is pretty sharp in the -- admittedly basic -- look and feel department, with the housing's metal material lending it heft and a quality feel. The set we saw was Blush Titanium, but it is also being offered in Dusky Grey -- which looks sorta purple in our eyes. Pretty run-of-the-mill as far as the UI goes, if you've had an SE phone in the last few years, you'll definitely feel at home -- and we're not saying that's a bad thing. Follow on for a pile of pics of it in action.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson W395 hands-on

Sony Ericsson's W995 Walkman slips out ahead of schedule

by Darren Murph posted Feb 15th 2009 @ 12:36PM

Clearly, the flood gates have opened well before Sony Ericsson intended over in Barcelona, as the countdown is still on while we're watching handset after handset leak out. Next up is the W995 Walkman (can someone say Hikaru?), a multimedia-centric slider which boasts an 8.1 megapixel camera, A-GPS, Google Maps, WiFi, DLNA certification, 118MB of built-in memory, an 8GB M2 card and a 2.6-inch QVGA scratch-resistant display. The mobile should ship in a trio of colors -- Progressive Black, Cosmic Silver and Energetic Red -- and the inbuilt kickstand should make airplane-based movie watching a touch easier on the neck. No word on a price or release, but SE should be remedying that at any moment.

Update: As you may have caught in our liveblog, the W995 is now very much official, and just as described in its not-quite-official form. SE did have a few small surprises up its sleeve, however, in the form Sony's MediaGo software, which will let you share media with your PS3 over WiFi, and take advantage of Sony's PlayNow services, including downloaded movies purchased on your PC. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson W995 Walkman Official Pics

Sony Ericsson's W395 Walkman and C903 Cybershot bring more of the same

by Thomas Ricker posted Feb 10th 2009 @ 3:47AM

In the run-up to Mobile World Congress we've been treated to a windfall of hot new phones and technologies. Then there's Sony Ericsson's W395 Walkman and C903 Cyber-shot. The W395 is a new Walkman slider with built-in stereo speakers meant for the "youth" market, a market that seemingly hates 3G or storage since the quad-band GSM/EDGE device ships with a measly 1GB memory card. It will, however, be affordable and feature a 2 megapixel camera when it ships in Q1. The C903 Cyber-shot slider already spotted around here a few times brings a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with sliding lens cover as we've seen -- give the cover a slide and this cameraphone's ready for duty. The camera features face detection and a Smile Shutter mode that automatically snaps the shutter when a happy face is detected. It also packs a 2.4-inch display, Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot and, get this... it'll even make phone calls. This worldphone rides quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE for 10 hours of talk or 400 hours of standby with UMTS/HSPA 900/2100 (or 850/1900/2100 in the C903a configuration) frequencies bringing the 3G sometime in Q2. Beautiful devices for what they are -- guess we're just spoiled by all the MWC goods expected in Barcelona from RIM, LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Acer, Android, Palm, Microsoft... you get the idea.

Update: Details on a 5 megapixel C901 candybar were also released sans the Cyber-shot branding and any fanfare even though it's similarly spec'd to the C903.

[Via Phone Arena]

Read -- W395 Walkman
Read -- C903 Cyber-shot

Sony Ericsson's W715 Walkman is all -- and only -- about Vodafone

by Sean Cooper posted Jan 9th 2009 @ 10:02AM

Sony Ericsson and Vodafone's W715 Walkman arrived a bit late to the CES party, but we're always happy to talk about a new Sony Ericsson set. The W715 looks to be the twin of the previously announced W705, but with a color change, and a bit of frequency shuffling. Lifting up the hood we see that this new and exclusive to Vodafone slider boasts a 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, aGPS, WiFi, DLNA certified, 120MB memory, quad-band GSM, and 900 / 2100 HSDPA. Shipping seems set for Q1 2009 and we expect we'll hear something on pricing real soon now.

Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman hands-on

by Sean Cooper posted Jan 8th 2009 @ 2:26AM

Also on-hand -- and in -- tonight was Sony Ericsson's newest Walkman set, the W508. This clamshell, which is a bit of a departure for Walkman devices, features quad-band GSM and single-band HSDPA, and a W508a variant that has quad-band GSM and triple-band HSDPA for our shores. Other notables include a 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, video calling, and Exchange Activesync for some enterprise mail access. The W508 is shipping in both Metal Grey and Poetic White with 4 sets of Style-up covers per color choice some time in Q2 2009. The handset itself is a pretty standard flip, the keys are definitely not our favorite, but the screen is pure glory, job well done SE.

Gallery: Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's W508 Walkman handset

Sony Ericsson's Walkman Xmini for Japan is awesome, but not for the usual reasons

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 8th 2008 @ 4:02AM

In most parts of the world, the cute little device you're looking at here would pass as a perfectly acceptable Walkman. In Japan, though, it's more than just a Walkman -- it's a Walkman phone, people. The Sony Ericsson Xmini has been added to KDDI au's CDMA-based lineup, measuring just 75 x 44 x 18mm and tossing aside the usual barrage of 8-megapixel cameras and wide VGA displays for a mere 320 x 240 screen and 4GB of on-board memory. When closed, its colorful chin reveals music controls; opened, the whole thing morphs into a tiny handset -- and a refreshing change of pace from the giant clamshells those poor souls on KDDI are usually subject to, may we add.

[Thanks, Desaine]

Sony Ericsson's W595 toyed with on video

by Darren Murph posted Nov 13th 2008 @ 11:15PM

Looking for a bit of video on Sony Ericsson's W595, are you? If so, you've come to the right place, as Megawhat has hosted up a hands-on clip toying with the fanciful slider. Far and away the reviewer's favorite feature is the easy upload to YouTube once the handset logs a video clip, and admittedly, it does seem to work well. Hit the read link for 3 minutes (and 3 seconds) in SE heaven.