Regardless of your thoughts on the Sony Walkman brand, it looks like there is now a new model available. And one that comes as a smartphone running Android at that. The model is the Sony Ericsson W8 Walkman.
Sadly though, while those who are feeling nostalgic for the Walkman brand may be happy, it seems like there are more points we can complain about. To begin with, the W8 Walkman looks rather similar to a handset that was unveiled last year, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8. And funny, similar looks and a similar name. But that aside, the W8 Walkman does change things up a bit in that it is available in a variety of colors including Iconic Orange, Metallic Red and Azure Blue.
Otherwise, that is probably where the fun stops, with the colors. In terms of specs, this is all entry level. Not to mention an outdated version of Android with a questionable user interface on top. The W8 Walkman is shipping with Android 2.1 Eclair and will have the Timescape user interface. Yup, you read that correctly, while many phones are shipping with Froyo and/or Gingerbread, the W8 will have Eclair.
Moving past the software though and you will find a 3 inch (320 x 480) capacitive touchscreen display, single-core 600 MHz processor, 128MB RAM, FM Radio with RDS, microSD card slot, aGPS, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a 3.2 megapixel camera. In addition, W8 Walkman will measure in at 3.9 x 2.1 x 0.6 inches and weigh in at 3.7 ounces.
In terms of availability, so far nothing in terms of the US. Instead it looks like the W8 Walkman will show up in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam sometime starting in Q2 of this year. With that, while we poke fun at the fact that the W8 is shipping with an older version of Android and that the specs are entry level, we do realize that not everyone wants, needs or can afford a super phone.
