A major U.K. retailer has exposed pictures and previously unannounced details of Sony's next-generation Walkman.
Play.com set up a placeholder for the upcoming NWZ-A860 series, revealing a device that appears to differ greatly in design than its predecessors. This Walkman looks wider and curvier, and the circular button arrangement of yesteryear is replaced by a single half-moon-shaped Home button.
Related link
Sony prepping for Walkman refresh
A large bezel surrounds the 3.4-inch OLED touch screen, as confirmed by a CNET source familiar with the device who asked not to be named.
Technical specifications on Play.com note that the device has "wireless file sharing" and "wireless music streaming;" both features have never before been seen in a Sony Walkman. Since we've already confirmed that the NWZ-A860 series will not have Wi-Fi (according to the FCC) and only Bluetooth, this means both wireless features will most likely require a partner device, such as a cell phone, to stream and transfer music.
Other Walkman specs outed by Play include an FM radio, karaoke mode, Lyric display, iTunes sync, and an aluminum build. A source has also confirmed that the right side of the device include navigation buttons, hold and volume control.
Play.com puts the release date of the NWZ-A860 series series at July 31. CNET previously confirmed pricing and some specs of the high-end PMP, which includes the NWZ-A864 (8GB), NWZ-A865 (16GB), NWZ-A866 (32GB), and NWZ-A867 (64GB).
Thanks to Przemek Lis of The Walkman Blog for contributing to this report.