Sony has announced several new Walkman music players, including the F800, an iPod Touch challenger running Android 4.0.
Can Sony triumph where both it and Samsung have failed in the past? We're talking about grabbing some of the Apple iPod Touch's market share, something it intends to do with its new Walkman F800 Series, an Android powered challenger.
Announced alongside several more basic Walkman music players, the F800 takes some of the Xperia smartphone range's style, throws out the phone functionality, and concentrates on audio prowess instead.
The screen measures 3.5-inches, but Sony hasn't provided details on its resolution, and the F800 is equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, plus direct access to the Google Play store. A maps app comes pre-installed, but there's no confirmation of GPS connectivity, along with a gallery and email app.
Sony has packed in its S-Master MX Digital amplifier, Clear Audio technology and the little device has an X-Loud speaker system too.
It's available in either an 8GB, 16GB or 32GB flavors and the battery should return 20 hours of music playback and just over 4 hours for video.
Sony has made the wise decision to use Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for the F800, meaning it gets one up on Samsung's mid-range Galaxy Player 3.6, which still uses Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
There are still many questions surrounding the F800, not least the resolution of the screen, but what processor it uses and whether it has a camera on the back too.
The price is a complete mystery, but the press release says the entire range of new Walkman products should be on sale in European stores today, July 18.
New Walkman Music Players
Sony has also introduced the E470 and E570 Walkman music players, which are available with either 8GB or 8GB/16GB of memory respectively, come in several different colors and have a 2-inch LCD screen.
More interesting is the S770BT, a Bluetooth-equipped Walkman that comes with a set of wireless in-ear headphones, but is sadly limited to just 8GB of internal memory.
All the new models are compatible with Sony's Music Unlimited service too.
Android 4.0 is a definite bonus for the F800 Walkman, and sound quality is traditionally excellent on Sony's Walkman range, but the price will probably dictate whether it's a hit or not.
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