Rumour: Sony launching full touchscreen Walkman

Posted by Al Warmington on Mon 15 Dec 2008

Can't Touch this

According to internet tipsters, Sony is going to announce a brand new set of Walkmans (Walkmen?) at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The new range will be completely touchscreen much like a certain iPod Touch.

The new devices will boast 3” WQVGA OLED screens, WiFi, integrated search tools and YouTube, and FM radio. Format compatibility will include MP3, WMA, AAC and PCM audio, plus AVC (H.264), MPEG-4 and WMV video.

The OLED screen sounds like the best differentiator right now (assuming Apple isn’t planning a similar upgrade to its players at the MacWorld Expo) as it’ll offer some of the best image quality ever seen on a handheld. We wouldn’t be surprised to find a great number of similarly equipped players at the show. OLED is not only good at keeping power consumption to a minimum, but it’ll also provide stunning colour reproduction and contrast ratios. According to ‘sources’ the new Walkman players will offer a wide viewing angle and contrasts of around 10,000:1.

Using WiFi, you’ll also be able to instantly search for more information about the artists you’re listening to. This could be music videos from YouTube – a button will take you straight to appropriate results – or simple internet searches. Amazon customers will be able to access to the online shop and make purchases. The rest of the time, an ordinary internet browser and dedicated YouTube application will see you through.

Prices are yet to be confirmed, but we’ll be keeping a close out at the main event in January.

Link: Sony (via SonyInsider)

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