Register Hardware

Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/11/08/sony_walkman_w890_w380/

Sony rolls out Walkman handset duo

By James Sherwood
Published Thursday 8th November 2007 15:07 GMT

Sony has announced the latest pair of phones to be offered under its Walkman brand, the W890 and W380, one a slimline 3G device, the other a 2.5G clamshell.

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W890: updated W880?

The W890 has built-in stereo speakers and ships with a 2GB Memory Stick Micro - aka M2 - card. They both have an FM radio with RDS. They also support a wide range of audio formats, such as WMAs and MP3s, and offer video streaming. Although, the W890 comes with slightly more media management applications included.

The W890 also has a more powerful 3.2-megapixel camera than its rival, which has a 1.3-megapixel snapper. Photos from both phones can be shared over Bluetooth or USB.

Less than one-tenth of an inch differentiates the two handsets’ display sizes, with the W890’s measuring 2in and the W380’s 1.9in. However, the W890 trumps the W380 with its 240 x 320 resolution, compared to the W380’s 176 x 220 pixels.

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Sony's Walkman W380: purple pleaser?

Each handset is available with a selection of letters after their model number, which corresponds to their connectivity options. The W890 ships as a quad-band GSM/GRPS phone with Edge and HSDPA 3G capabilities. However, a quad-band option minus the UMTS is also available, dubbed the W898c

The W380 is a tri-band GSM/GPRS/Edge handset. However, separate models ship according to region, for example the W380a is tuned to 850/1800/1900MHz bands, while the W380c and W380i works on the 900/1800/1900MHz frequencies.

All handsets are identical on one fact though,: they’re available from Q1 2008. Sony Ericsson did not announce pricing.

More pictures of both phones follow on the next page...

Walkman W890

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Sony_Walkman_W890_side

Walkman W380

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W380_side

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