In an unusual move for Sony Ericsson, or indeed any mobile phone manufacturer for that matter, the company has released two photographs of a new Walkman phone called the W880. Weirdly, that's it: just two photographs of the top corner and side of the mysterious handset.
There isn't even a spec sheet or any of the normal razzmatazz associated with a mobile phone launch. All we have to go on is the news that it will be released into the wild some time "in the first half of this year". There have been some unofficial pictures of the W880 leaked on the Internet that claim to show the whole phone, but for now, that's it.
Specs vary wildly depending on which site you go to, but it looks like it will have a camera on the back and front, which means you can take photos and make video calls with it. That suggests the possibility that it will also feature 3G connectivity, which would make it one of Sony Ericsson's thinnest 3G handsets to date.
The keypad layout looks like a standard Walkman phone, although we're slightly worried by the painfully thin buttons. Since these are leaked photographs, however, we'll reserve our final judgment until we get a hands-on with the real thing.
We're pleased to see Sony Ericsson may be slimming down its Walkman range, as most of its music-playing handsets are a little on the chunky side. The question remains though: will thin handsets be enough to stave off the incoming iPhone? Perhaps Sony Ericsson is feeding us a light snack while it quietly prepares an iPhone killer -- we can't wait. -AL