Sony Ericsson Unveils Live With Walkman Handset For Music-Loving Android Users

It is been four months since Sony Ericsson revealed the W8 Walkman handset, now Sony Ericsson has unleashed a new Walkman phone. The new Sony Ericsson Live (yes, it is the phone’s name) is an Android Walkman phone, powered by a 1GHz processor and features a 3.2 inch, capacitive touchscreen (with somewhat disappointing HVGA resolution), a five mega-pixel AF shooter with 8x digital zoom, and a front-facing VGA camera capable of capturing HD video in 720p. This Android Gingerbread device also packs a lackluster 320MB of RAM, provides up to 32GB of micro-SD storage, and offers either tri-band 3G support (HSPA+) at 850, 1900 and 2100MHz, or dual-band 3G at 900 and 2100MHz, depending on the model.

Like all Walkman phones, Sony Ericsson has placed a special emphasis on the phone’s media capabilities, beefing it up with enhanced audio and Qriocity integration. The specs may not sound earth shattering, but we’ll wait until we get pricing information before casting judgment. The Live with Walkman is slated to hit “selected markets” by Q4 of this year.

Press Release

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman delivers unique social music experience for smartphones

22 August 2011

Smartphone with Walkman on the latest Android platform (Gingerbread 2.3)
Unique Facebook integration enables instant music and media sharing
Content services from Sony provide access to the latest music and video titles

22 August 2011, London, UK Sony Ericsson today announced Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman, an Android smartphone that delivers a unique social music experience. A dedicated Walkman hardware button provides instant access to the music player and consumers can also like, share and discover content through a deep Facebook integration. The infinite button lets the consumer explore even more and the *Qriocity service from Sony provides music and video content for the consumer to enjoy.

With attractive curved design, a glossy finish and a mineral glass display, the phone has a 3.2″ screen and a powerful 1Ghz processor. A front facing camera is enabled for Skype video calling, while a 5MP AF camera can capture 720p HD video recording. *Sony’s xLOUD enhances audio output, while the latest Android platform for smartphones (Gingerbread 2.3) provides access to over 250,000 applications on the Android Market.

Nikolaus Scheurer, Head of Product Marketing, Sony Ericsson said: “Consumers want smartphones to deliver a rich and social entertainment experience. Rather than a one dimensional music experience, they want instant and seamless access to new content, combined with the ability to share and connect with their friends. The Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman provides exactly this, in a powerful package with great style.”

A perfect combination of social networking and music entertainment:

Deep Facebook integration: Allows users to instantly access Facebook through the most used areas of the phone such as the picture gallery, music player, phonebook and calendar.
Media Discovery Application: A dynamic application placing the world of music and videos at consumer’s fingertips including Facebook recommendations from their friends.
Infinite button: Tapping it within the media player enables consumers to have instant access to new content about their favourite artist, such as music videos, artist information and lyrics search.
Qriocity music and video content services from Sony: Consumers can access millions of songs from all major labels and watch thousands of movies from all major studios. Only Sony Ericsson Android smartphones provide consumers with unique access to the entertainment services from *Sony.
*Sony’s xLOUD technology: Enhances audio output of the inbuilt speakers at high levels.
TrackID: Identifies the music track you are listening to within the FM radio and music player. The track can then instantly be shared or downloaded.

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman will be available globally in selected markets from Q4 2011.
For full details all products news, please visit the press room and the product blog:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/press/pressreleases/latestnews
http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/products/

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman at a glance.
*Please note that all services mentioned may not be available in every market.

Colours

Black and White

Facts

Size: 56.5 x 106 x 14.2 mm
Weight: 115 g

Camera

5 megapixel camera
8x digital zoom
Auto focus
Face detection
Flash/Photo light
Flash/Photo flash
Flash/LED
Front-facing camera (VGA)
Geo tagging
HD video recording (720p)
Image stabiliser
Red-eye reduction
Scene detection
Self-timer
Send to web
Smile detection
Touch capture
Touch focus
Video light
Video recording

Music

Album art
Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
Music tones (MP3/AAC)
PlayNow service
Stereo speakers
TrackID music recognition
Walkman player
xLOUD

Internet

Android Market
Bookmarks
Google search
Google Voice Search
NeoReader barcode scanner
Pan & zoom
Web browser (WebKit)

Communication

Call list
Conference calls
Facebook application
Google Talk
Polyphonic ringtones
Skype
Sony Ericsson Timescape
Speakerphone
Twitter (Timescape integration)
Vibrating alert
Video chat ready

Messaging

Conversations
Email
Google Mail
Handwriting recognition
Instant messaging
Multimedia messaging (MMS)
Predictive text input
Sound recorder
Text messaging (SMS)
Type & Send widget

Design

Auto rotation
Four-corner Home screen
Keyboard (on-screen, 12-key)
Keyboard (on-screen, QWERTY)
Live wallpaper
Picture wallpaper
Touch screen

Entertainment

3D games
Media browser
Radio (FM radio with RDS)
Video streaming
Video viewing
YouTube

Organiser

Alarm clock
Calculator
Calendar
Document readers
Emanual
Flight mode
Google Calendar
Google Gallery 3D
Infinite button
Phonebook
Setup guide
Event
Timer
Widget manager

Connectivity

3.5 mm audio jack
aGPS
Bluetooth technology
DLNA Certified
Google Latitude
Google Maps for Mobile
Google Maps with Street View
Media Transfer Protocol support
Micro USB support
Modem
Native USB tethering
Synchronisation via Facebook
Synchronisation via Google Sync
Synchronisation via Sony Ericsson Sync
Synchronisation with computer
Synchronisation via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
Synchronisation: Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync via Moxier client
USB mass storage
USB High speed 2.0 support
USB support
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi Hotspot functionality
Wisepilot turn-by-turn navigation

Display

3.2 inches
16,777,216 colour TFT
480 x 320 pixels
Capacitive touchscreen (multi-touch)
Scratch-resistant

Memory

Phone memory (user-free): Up to 320MB
Memory card support: microSD, up to 32GB

Battery life

Talk time GSM/GPRS: Up to 14 hrs 15 min*
Standby time GSM/GPRS: Up to 600 hrs*

Talk time UMTS: Up to 6 hrs 42 min*
Standby time UMTS: Up to 850 hrs*

Music listening time: Up to 17 hrs 30 min
Video listening time: Up to 6 hrs 30 min

*According to GSM Association Battery Life Measurement Technique. Battery performance may vary depending on network conditions and configurations, and phone usage.

Networks

UMTS HSPA 850 (Band V), 1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I)
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900

UMTS HSPA 900 (Band VIII), 2100 (Band I)
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900

In the kit

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman
1200 mAh battery
Stereo headset
2GB microSD memory card
Charger
Micro USB cable for charging
Synchronization and file transfer
User documentation