Sony Ericsson unwraps Walkman duo

With the summer festival season upon us, Sony Ericsson hopes that rockers, moshers and all music lovers will start dancing to the beat of its two latest Walkman phones. When they finally go on sale...

Sony Ericsson's W90:2 gig-proof, scratch-resistant screen

Headlining the duo is the W902, which sports supposedly “retro” style music navigation keys, such as for play and pause. It also has a five-megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom, and users can view their snaps on a scratch-resistant 2.2in, 240 x 320 screen.

A 5Mp camera is included

The new W595 slider also has a 2.2in display, but there’s no mention of scratch protection. Photography fans will also be disappointed by the lower quality, 3.2-megapixel camera, which is accompanied by a 2.5x digital zoom.

However, music’s at the heart of both phones and each supports MP3- and AAC-format audio tracks. A function dubbed SensMe helps users create playlists according to their musical mood, while tracks and audio volume can be adjusted by just by shaking either handset.

The W595 has a 3.2Mp camera

Songs can be stored to the 8GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) memory card that’s thrown in with the W905. The W595 comes with a smaller, 2GB M2 card.

Both phones are identical in their connectivity qualities and support quad-band GSM/GPRS/Edge plus 3G connections over HSDPA. Bluetooth is also pres for short-range data transfers and streaming music to wireless stereo headphones.

The two phones will be available later this year and in a range of body colours. W905 fans can choose between “Volcanic Black”, “Wine Red” and “Earth Green” body colours. Anyone opting for the W595 will have the choice of “Active Blue”, “Cosmopolitan White”, “Jungle Grey” or “Lava Black”. Prices haven’t been set yet.