Sony-Ericsson intros K660i, W380 and W890 Walkman

Sony-Ericsson today confirmed speculation by releasing three media-heavy new phones. The releases are headlined by the W890i, the company's successor to the popular W880; the extra-thin (0.39-inch) bar phone upgrades the camera to 3.2 megapixels and is the first W800 model to natively support HSPA access for 3G-grade downloads on European networks. It also comes with a 2GB Memory Stick Micro card out of the box -- the most external storage included for a Sony-Ericsson phone, the company says -- and an improved keypad layout. It should be available in early 2008 and should include a North American release given the addition of quad-band GSM for calling and EDGE data in the region.

The company also released its anticipated K660i, a mid-range phone with an emphasis on web browsing. Users can rotate the phone on its side for browsing in landscape view and a directional pad that turns into a virtual mouse in web browsing mode. The phone also supports HSPA on European networks and trims costs with a 2-megapixel camera. It ships bundled with Google Maps and a 256MB memory card and will be available in early 2008.

The Japan/Sweden partnership has also launched its new-look W380, a budget Walkman clamshell phone with an uncharacteristic squarish appearance and semi-hidden external music controls for skipping tracks without opening the handset. A 1.3-megapixel camera and 512MB of Memory Stick Micro storage supply photography and media storage respectively. It too supports quad-band GSM and EDGE, and should be available at the same time as the K660i and W890i, including in an Americas-specific W380a model.