Photos: Sony Ericsson W595 Walkman hands-on

If you didn't stand up to salute the solid black slabbiness that is the new Sony Ericsson W902, we've got something else that may excite you.

It's the new Sony Ericsson W595 -- another Walkman handset, only this time a slider, and a little less expensive (how cheap is still to be confirmed). We first discussed it last month when the sheets covering it were first pulled off, but now we've got a prototype model in-house to fondle. Courteously, of course.

Like the W902, the W595 has been given a solid build and a good keyboard, although the buttons are pretty stiff. Hopefully this will change before the final model is released.

Layout-wise, it mirrors the W760i -- a phone we're oh so fond of, despite its 'I can do everything to a reasonable standard' attitude towards phonemanship. As we see with every Sony Ericsson Walkman, there's no proper headphone socket. You've got to use a crappy, proprietary adaptor to fit your decent headphones into the crappy, proprietary headphone socket.

And don't forget there's no flash on the 3.2-megapixel camera -- this is only a music phone after all. On the other hand, stereo speakers are integrated onto the end of the handset. These always make music sound like a rodent being tortured in boiling fat, but the kids like them. Sadly.

Don't miss our previous coverage of the phone for all the specifications and interior details. The W595 will launch towards the end of the year, before which we'll have a full review.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, expect nothing short of a novel through the following gallery of hands-on snaps. -Nate Lanxon

The W595 is even cuter when closed up.

In the true sense of a 'hands-on' report, here is a hand, on.

We're hoping the slightly stiff keypad will loosen up before the phone is released.

As navigational keypads go, this one's a bit bland. But it'll do its job perfectly well.

Here's the part of the W595 we truly hate -- the proprietary headphone socket. No, 'hate' isn't the right word. 'Despise'? Yes, 'despise' is more suitable.

Here's a stereo speaker. You can use this to annoy people on public transport by playing your rubbish dance music through it. If you're older than 16, however, you'll probably never use this at all.

Dedicated Walkman buttons for one-touch access to music playback is a common feature on Walkman phones, and the W595 is no exception.

Around the back, things are fairly ordinary, fairly bland.

The lack of a flash will prevent you from using the phone as if it was part of the Cyber-shot range, but 3.2-megapixels is still an excellent resolution (as long as you're out in the sun).

You'll need to remove the battery cover to access the SIM card. This is acceptable. But sadly you'll also need to remove the battery cover to access the removable memory card. This, to us at least, is less acceptable.

The W595 between two popular models from the last year, the Nokia N95 and the iPhone 3G.

Beside Nokia's N95, the W595 is obviously smaller and more compact.

This compact stlying is even more apparent from the side.