The new W31S is a sort of cross between audio player and mobile phone, yet it still manages to pack a lot of punch in the design department.

I think this is the new flagship phone for au's "Chaku Uta Full" service.

KDDI and Okinawa Cellular have announced the "W31S," a 3G handset supporting "CDMA 1X WIN," from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications. It supports the playback of audio data from "Chaku Uta Full" or acquired from CDs, as well as FM radio. It will be released some time in April for the price of about 25,000 yen.

The biggest feature of this "W31S" is found in the music playback area; it supports "Chaku Uta Full," au's audio distribution service, as well as music ripped from CDs or purchased from ?Mora," the o­nline EMD service. The latter files are transferred to multimedia cards either using a host PC or some sort of terminal at a convenience store. It also has an FM tuner which allows for radio playback and it cooperates with the radio to allow downloading of o­n-air tracks.

Included in the package is a "Music Controller with Mic & Stereo Headphone," a remote that provides play/stop/volume adjustment settings and also acts as an earphone mic. Another feature of the phone is to provide audio playback while reading/composing mail or looking at EZWeb contents. o­n the body of the unit are two 16mm diameter speakers providing stereo surround audio.

Saving audio data can be done o­n a Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick PRO Duo. The phone also supports the USB Mass Storage class, so when connected to a PC, downloading tracks from this PC is as simple as drag-and-drop.

On the main body of the unit is a 2.01MP CMOS camera with autofocus. When the phone is held horiztonally, it can be used much like a digital camera. The maximum recording resolution is 1600 x 1200 (UXGA). A "Flash LED" provides flash functionality when recording images in dark rooms, and the "Luminance Engine" also allows certain dark parts of pictures to be adjusted accordingly. =

The "W31S" uses a "slide body" style, and actually omits o­ne of the chief features of Sony Ericsson handsets -- the jog dial. Its design is completely different from the current "W21S." Instead of the jog dial there is a controller called the "cross controller" which acts similarly to d-pads provided o­n most other companies' handsets. To go with this controller is the "Cross Menu." Furthermore, the phone body doesn't show its rails; when opening the phone, push the "open" key o­n the side of the body, and it will automatically open.

The display is a 2.4" 240 x 320 dot display capable of displaying 260,000 colors with a maximum brightness of 250 candela. The back of the phone is resistant to damage with its "ultra hard coat."

Other functions include an infrared transmission function ("Applicon EZ" is included to control most TVs, VHS, DVD players), EZ Navi Walker, EZ Appli with BREW support, EZ Movie, QR code reading, Flash support, and so o­n.

The data folder size is 18MB (up to 1000 messages), and within this is a 5MB BREW folder. Up to 250 sent messages can be saved, as well as 500 received messages. Text input services are provided by POBox and Advanced Wnn.

The continuous talk time is about 190 minutes, and the continuous idle time 250 hours. The size of the phone is 50 x 26 x 107mm (W x D x H), and it weighs roughly 136g. Two colors will be available: "Remix Orange" and "Acoustic White."

arrrg ftp isn't working, no pics yet

Inspired by:
http://k-tai.ascii24.com/k-tai/news/2005/03/14/654819-000.html

Press Release:
http://www.kddi.com/corporate/news_release/2005/0314/index.html