So, what do you get for all that compromise? For starters, the phone's got that Sony Ericsson OS I love so much. But really, this phone is all about design. A smaller body, measured by width and length, which stands to be as pocketable as the Samsung Upstage. (they both remind me of the gen-1 iPod Nano in proportion.) Now that I've spent time with the W880, I'm not sure if I like the W580 or this one more.–Brian Lam

Sony Ericsson adds two new stars to its music phone line-up: The stunning W880/W888 & the multi-talented W610 Walkman® phones 06 February 2007

Sony Ericsson adds two new stars to its music phone line-up: The stunning W880/W888 & the multi-talented W610 Walkman® phones

London, UK - 6th February 2007 - Sony Ericsson today announces two new Walkman® phones; the W880/W888 and W610 build on the success of hit-models such as the W810 and to broaden the appeal of the Walkman® phone. 20 million Walkman® phones have been sold to date. Sony Ericsson also announces a suite of music accessories designed to enhance the Walkman® phone listening experience.

At just 9.4mm thin, the W880/W888 is the slimmest Sony Ericsson phone yet and combines the full Walkman® phone experience with a device that fits easily into your pocket. The 1GB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) provided in-box gives you room to store up to 900 full length tracks*, whilst the host of innovative music applications (such as Walkman® Player 2.0 & Disc2Phone) make it easy to get music onto your phone in the first place & search through play lists once its there. All of this, plus a 2.0 megapixel camera, is packed into a UMTS phone that's as slim as a standard CD case.

The W610 Walkman® phone is all about the detail, whether this is detail in design that builds on the look of earlier Walkman® phones or the detailed combination of mobile music with a credible digital camera. The W610 stores up to 470 full-length music tracks* on the 512MB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2) provided, and offers the inventive TrackID™ music recognition application; a feature that lets the user record a clip of an unknown music track onto their phone and immediately receive a notification of the track name, artist and album. Add to this a 2.0 megapixel camera with auto focus and the W610 is a credible fusion of phone, music player & digital camera.

"Our Walkman phones have proven to be phenomenally attractive to our consumers - we have sold 20 million Walkman® phones since launch - and we are continuously developing the portfolio to extend their appeal," says Steve Walker, Head of Product Marketing at Sony Ericsson. "The W880/W888 and W610 prove how the Walkman® phone can appeal to different lifestyles - the W880/W888 is a hi-specification device that looks every bit as good as it sounds. And the W610 Walkman® phone combines the best in both music player & digital camera, whilst first & foremost remaining a phone that's intuitive and pleasurable to use."

The W880/W888 represents a milestone in the Walkman® phone portfolio. Although without doubt one of the slimmest music phones available with a 1GB capacity, the true beauty of its design is seen in the brushed stainless steel finish and the stand-out colour variants; either Steel Silver or Flame Black.

Of course, the W880/W888 is about more than just good looks. The Disc2Phone music management software allows the user to transfer their tracks easily and with no fuss from PC straight onto the phone. With Bluetooth Audio Streaming, all of that music can be enjoyed wirelessly on a Stereo Bluetooth Headset such as the HBH-DS970, or by streaming music directly to a home or car stereo (via the new Music Bluetooth™ Receiver MBR-100). Importantly for a music phone, all of this functionality has been introduced without having to compromise on battery life. The W880/W888 delivers up to 18 hours music listening time & features a Flight Mode which allows the phone to be switched-off in mobile-prohibited environments.

The W880 Walkman® phone is a UMTS 2100 GPRS 900/1800/1900 music phone and will be available in selected markets from Q1 2007. The W888 Walkman® phone is a GSM variant, minus the video telephony functionality, intended specifically for China where 3G services are not established.

The W610 Walkman® phone is a fully specified music phone that does not compromise on its digital camera offering. As well as the 2.0 megapixel camera with auto focus, video recording and playback, the W610 provides a horizontal camera menu - so that the user holds it as they would a regular camera when taking a picture - and a Picture blogging facility for uploading photo's direct to a user's online blog site. Switching back to the music credentials, the W610 includes an RDS FM Radio to brighten up the daily commute or trip to the gym. In fact, the only compromise with the W610 Walkman® phone is choosing between the two colour options; will it be Plush Orange or Satin Black?

The W610 Walkman® phone is an EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 music camera phone and will be available in selected markets from Q2 2007.

The Perfect Musical Accompaniments

Sony Ericsson also announces 2 new music accessories that make your Walkman® phone a complete music listening centre. Users can listen to the music on their phone in hi-fi sound quality with the Bluetooth™ Music Receiver MBR-100. This discreet accessory streams music via Bluetooth™ from the user's phone straight to a home or car stereo, using the phone as a remote control to alter the volume or skip through tracks. The 3.5mm input or RCA cable provided fits most home or car hi-fi systems. The MBR-100 was announced in January 2007 and will be available from Q1 2007.

Of course, if a user wishes to share their tunes, no matter where they are, they can do this with the Portable Speakers MPS-70. Light on power as well as weight, these compact speakers plug into the phone, contain an FM antenna for improved radio reception and will also run off the phone's battery. Tuned for Sony Ericsson phones, the MPS-70 delivers great sound and, with a design that's a true match for Walkman® phones, no one will want to leave home without them. Available from Q2 2007.

Shiny Product Launch: Sony Ericsson W880 [Shiny Shiny]

But enough blabbering. Click on through for the closeups.

Press release after the jump.

London, UK - 6th February 2007 - Sony Ericsson today announces two new Walkman® phones; the W880 and the W610 building on the success of hit-models such as the W810 and further broadens the phenomenally successful Walkman® phone line. Sony Ericsson also announces a suite of music accessories designed to further enhance the Walkman® phone listening experience. At just 9.4mm thin, the W880 is the slimmest Sony Ericsson phone yet and combines the full Walkman® phone experience with a device that fits easily into your pocket. The 1GB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) provided in-box gives you room to store up to 900 full length tracks*, while the host of innovative music applications (such as Walkman® Player 2.0 & Disc2Phone) make it easy to transfer and search play lists for your favorite music tracks. All of this, plus a 2.0 megapixel camera, is packed into a UMTS phone that's as slim as a standard CD case.

The W610 Walkman® phone is all about the detail, whether in design that builds on the look of earlier Walkman® phones or the detailed combination of mobile music with a digital camera. The W610 stores up to 470 full-length music tracks* on the 512MB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2) provided in the box. It also offers the inventive TrackID™ music recognition application; a feature that lets you record a clip from the FM Radio and quickly receive a notification of the track name, artist and album±. Additionally a 2.0 megapixel camera with auto focus makes the W610 a wonderful fusion of phone, music player & digital camera.

"Our Walkman® phones have proven to be phenomenally attractive to our consumers - we have sold 20 million Walkman® phones since launch, and we are continuously developing our product portfolio to extend their appeal," says Steve Walker, head of global product marketing at Sony Ericsson. "The W880 and W610 show that the Walkman® phone can appeal to different lifestyles - the W880 is a hi-specification device that looks every bit as good as it sounds. And the W610 Walkman® phone combines the best in both music player and digital camera, while first and foremost remaining a phone that's intuitive and pleasurable to use."

The W880 represents a milestone in the Walkman® phone portfolio. Although without doubt one of the slimmest music phones, the true beauty of its design is seen in the brushed stainless steel finish and the stand-out color variants; either Steel Silver or Flame Black.

Of course, the W880 is about more than just good looks. The Disc2Phone music management software allows you to transfer your tracks easily and with no fuss from a PC straight to the phone. With Bluetooth™ Audio Streaming, all of that music can be enjoyed wirelessly on a Stereo Bluetooth™ Headset such as the HBH-DS970, or by streaming music directly to a home or car stereo (via the new Music Bluetooth™ Receiver MBR-100). Importantly for a music phone, all of this functionality has been introduced without having to compromise on battery life. The W880 delivers up to 18 hours music listening time & features a special flight mode for switching off your phone in mobile-prohibited environments.

The W880 Walkman® phone is a UMTS 2100 GPRS 900/1800/1900 music phone and will be available in selected markets from Q1 2007.

The W610 Walkman® phone is a fully specified music phone that does not compromise on its digital camera offering. As well as the 2.0 megapixel camera with auto focus, video recording and playback, the W610 provides a horizontal camera menu - so you can hold it as you would a regular camera when taking a picture - and a picture blogging facility for uploading photos directly to an online blog site. Switching back to the music credentials, the W610 includes an RDS FM Radio to brighten up the daily commute or trip to the gym. In fact, the only compromise with the W610 Walkman® phone is choosing between the two color options; will it be Plush Orange or Satin Black?

The W610 Walkman® phone is an EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 music camera phone and will be available in selected markets from Q2 2007.

The Perfect Musical Accompaniments

Sony Ericsson also announces 2 new music accessories that make your Walkman® phone a complete music listening center. Sony Ericsson's Bluetooth™ Music Receiver MBR-100 enables you to easily listen to the music on your phone in hi-fi sound quality. This discreet accessory streams music via Bluetooth™ from your phone straight to a home or car stereo, using the phone as a remote control to alter the volume or skip through tracks. The 3.5mm input or RCA cable provided fits most home or car hi-fi systems. The MBR-100 was announced in January 2007 and will be available from Q1 2007.

Of course, if you wish to share your tunes you can do this easily with Sony Ericsson's newest set of portable speakers, the MPS-70. Light on power as well as weight, these compact speakers plug into the phone, contain an FM antenna for improved radio reception and will also run off the phone's battery. Available from Q2 2007.