Sony announces Japanese Telecom partnership

[Bob Russell]

Looks like Sony will be coming out with new phone models as early as this summer together with KDDI, Japan's second largets telecoms operator, according to an AFP news article.

The article also reminds us that "Internet and telecoms firm Softbank Corp. is reportedly in talks with Apple Computer Inc. to develop an iPod phone."

Sony Walkman phones are not completely new, and you can see that Sony Ericsson is working to bring some new features to the phone market. One example is the W710 WALKMAN® phone <direct link may not work, so you may have to navigate the site yourself>, which "includes a motion sensor plus new fitness applications that measure your running speed, distance and time, or simply count your steps when walking."

And don't forget that they have the K790a Cyber-shot™ digital still camera and mobile phone.

Could it be that instead of a fight between single-purpose handheld devices and convergent devices, we are going to see various levels of devices fighting it out? Single-purpose, dual-purpose, "gently combined", and "all-in-one" might each have their own niche in the market.

Via Yahoo.