Here is a gorgeous new mobile phone from Sony Ericsson: Walkman w960i. Successor to the w950i phone, the w960i boosts the onboard flash memory to a whopping 8 GB. If you are searching for a smartphone with good music playing capabilities, this is it. The w960i is a touchscreen phone with 3G and WLAN connectivity for faster data transfer. I like the new keypad design and the very useful Blackberry-like jog dial. The jog dial makes the navigation on this phone pretty easy.
Since it is run by Symbian UIQ, you will be able to add 3rd party applications or create your own (Unlike the 'other' smartphone). Browsing needs are taken care by the versatile Opera browser. For music afficianados, this is a very special package. TrackId will help you identify the songs that you are playing. An FM radio with RDS will help you catchup with the latest tunes. There is also this gimmicky "Shake Control" where you can randomly select a new song by just shaking the phone!
On the negative side, die hard music fans will not like the propreitary audio jack. Though it is a 3G phone, it still does not sport HSDPA. Some office applications may not be preloaded. Another negative is that, there is no additional memory expansion slot. But when you have 8GB in your pocket, do you really need more?
To me, this is the real 'media monster' phone. Motorola's Z8 is no match for the Sony Ericsson w960i. Start saving your money so that you are ready to pounce on this when it is released sometime in Q4 2007.
