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Sony Ericsson’s two new feature phones — the Mix Walkman and txt pro — are like mismatched twins in a perky teen comedy. One loves music and the other can’t get enough of texting and instant messaging!
Both handsets feature basic 3-inch scratch-resistant touchscreens — no multi-touch here — with 240×400-pixel resolution, plus a 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording, Wi-Fi, Web browser, Twitter and Facebook apps. They take microSD cards up to 32GB.
These twins aren’t quite identical though. Each phone has an on-screen 12-key keyboard, while the txt pro also features a slide-out Qwerty keyboard reminiscent of the Xperia mini pro.
Being Sony Ericsson handsets, it’s no surprise to see that both handle music admirably. That includes access to the PlayNow and TrackID music recognition services. The Mix Walkman features the Walkman player and Sony’s SensMe system, found on a number of its phones including the Xperia X10, which lays out your music library based on each track’s mood and tempo.
If that’s not hip, cool and down-with-the-kids enough, Sony has adorned the Mix Walkman with a Zappin key (no apostrophe, no ‘g’) to “make it easier and more fun to search for your favourite song”. In other words, a quick tap of the Zappin key lets you preview the chorus of the next track and then decide if you want to listen to it.
Yes, it’s true. Sony believes its users’ attention spans are so short they can’t listen to a 3-minute Glee track in its entirety without skipping to the next one.
Speaking of Glee, our joy was complete when we discovered the karaoke mode, which lowers the main vocal on any track so you can sing along.
Meanwhile, the txt pro has an integrated best friends application which lets you choose five BBFs for at-a-glance Facebook and Twitter updates. Just be careful who you pick.
Both handsets are expected to land in the autumn. There’s no word on pricing yet, but if Sony Ericsson is certain to pitch them at pay as you go, pocket-money prices.
