Sony Ericsson to Release Five New Mobile Phones

Sony Ericsson on Thursday said it will release five new mobile phones before this year’s holiday season, including two Walkman phones, two flip phones and one that will be able to recognize Chinese characters, Reuters reports.

The phones are expected to be available through retailers during the third quarter of 2006, according to Reuters.

Sony Ericsson, the world’s number-five mobile phone producer, has already shown off 20 new models this year, and it launched 30 phones throughout all of 2005, Reuters reports.

The company has offered high-end phones that feature MP3 players and cameras under Sony’s Walkman music and Cybershot photo brands for more than a year, and in February it debuted a similar low-end offering, according to Reuters.

The new W710 Walkman phone employs motion sensors and special workout software applications to track exercise as the user runs or walks, and it even has a special headset to keep it in place, Reuters reports. The W710 is expected to retail for between $250 and $380, according to Reuters.

Nokia announced last week that it will soon release a “sports phone” as well.  For more, read Nokia Unveils New ’Sports’ Mobile Phone.

The W850 Walkman slider phone can download music faster than the other offerings by linking to third-generation mobile phone networks, and it can also record tunes from the radio, Reuters reports. It is expected to sell for upward of $380, according to Reuters.

Sony Ericsson will release one high-end and one low-end flip phone as well.  The Z550 will cost somewhere between $190 and $250, and the Z710 business phone, which includes a 2 megapixel camera, will go for between $250 and $380, Reuters reports.

The phone with the ability to read Chinese handwriting characters on its touch screen is called the M608c, and it’s an upgrade of the M600 e-mail phone, to be released this quarter, according to Reuters. 

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