Customise your look with the new Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman™ phone and MINE

New MINE website allows you to make your W508 Walkman™ phone truly unique by designing a personalised Style-up™ cover, giving you complete control over how you customise your phone both inside and out

London, UK – May 27, 2009 – Today Sony Ericsson launched the new customisable W508 Walkman™ phone that gives you the chance to truly express yourself like never before. The W508 has been created for people who want more control over how they express their own style, which is one of the many reasons why the W508 is being supported by renowned industry experts such as Rob Phillips, Creative Director for the world-famous and trend-setting London College of Fashion.

“Thebest designs over the next decade will come from elitism, diversity, individuality and personalisation. Good design will challenge and encourage individuality, but only with an acceptance of niche, of taking risks and by having the ability to be more tailored to individual needs, wants and desires. With the changeable cover element, the W508 is already there as youth love changeable facets to any of their products,” said Rob.

The Style-Up™ covers, available with the W508, let you choose your own look and style. You can take being unique even further and experience the ultimate in customisation with MINE, a new online tool that lets you take charge and create a tailored W508 Walkman™ cover that will really make you stand out from the crowd.

“The W508 Walkman™ phone really encourages end-user customisation and invites consumers to design their own front cover on MINE,” said Suyan Huang, designer of the W508. “Young people have these needs, because they want to be individual and express themselves. This is why they’ll like the interchangeable covers on the W508.”

MINE also allows you to submit your design into a global competition, the winner of which will see their cover design produced and sold worldwide, meaning that you’ll have left your stamp in design history.

The W508 Walkman™ phone also lets you experience your music however you want with the latest in interactive technology such as Shake control with visual effects, Gesture control, SensMe™ and TrackID™. Become your own DJ with just a flick of a wrist by using Gesture control; give your phone a quick shake and raise the volume or set the shuffle function with Shake control – you decide. The W508 enables young people to take control by truly reflecting their individual style and mood, plus it lets them browse YouTube™, download new tracks with a click and allows them to update their status on Facebook*.

“The W508 Walkman™ phone is not only adaptable and customisable, but it also comes with loads of other cool features as well. It’s a complete content control package.” said Yujue Bai, product planner for the W508 Walkman™ phone. “Standing out in a crowd and being able to express themselves are things that young people really value and the variety of covers that you get with this mobile phone helps to make them unique.”

“The W508 Walkman™ phone allows you to express yourself like never before” said Alexandre Cardon, Global marketing business manager at Sony Ericsson. “We listened to what the youth is telling us from Rio de Janeiro to Berlin and our research has shown that young people are always looking for innovative ways to express their individual style and mood. Having put some science behind the art of young living, it is clear that they want more control over how they express themselves. The W508 Walkman™ phone, together with MINE, does just that and is perfect for the versatile and energetic youth of today, who want to be their own brand and customise their own style.”

The W508 Walkman™ phone works with Media Go™, a Sony PC application, which automatically converts all your entertainment files to play on your mobile phone. Simply drag and drop any video, song or photo directly from your PC to your phone. Downloading content is as simple as pressing play, and Media Go™ also lets you organise files and create music playlists to suit how you are feeling.

For the full entertainment experience, why not share your music with your friends wherever you are, with Sony Ericsson’s first outdoor Bluetooth™ speaker, the MS500, the ideal accessory to the W508 Walkman™ phone.

The new W508 Walkman™ phone

Walkman™ my style

• One extra Style-Up™ cover in the box – change your mobile phone with your mood
• Walkman™ player
• HSDPA – download content quickly with a faster web experience
• Touch music keys on top – switch tracks the easy way
• TrackID™ with text search – find your favourite songs in seconds
• PlayNow™ arena – customise your mobile phone with unique ringtones and wallpapers
• Shake control – skip through your tracks with a flick of the hand
• Gesture control – move your hand above the W508 to mute an incoming call or put the alarm clock on snooze without touching it.

The W508 Walkman™ supports HSDPA 2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900. The W508a supports HSDPA 850/1900/2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900. The W508 Walkman™ will be available in selected markets in the colours Metal Grey and Poetic White.

The MINE website can be accessed by visiting: www.sonyericsson.com/mine

* The Facebook application is available in selected markets only.

Legal

1) Facts and features may vary depending on local variant.

2) Talk and standby times are affected by network preferences, type of SIM card, connected accessories and various activities e.g. games. Kit contents and colour options may differ from market to market. The full range of accessories may not be available in every market.

© Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, 2008.
The liquid identity, TrackID and PlayNow are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB. Sony is a trademark or registered trademark of Sony Corporation.
Ericsson is the trademark or registered trademark of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson.
TrackID is powered by Gracenote Mobile MusicID. Gracenote and Gracenote Mobile MusicID are trademarks of Gracenote, Inc.
Bluetooth is a trademark or registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG Inc.
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Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. Subject to change without prior notice.
Sony Ericsson is a top, global industry player with sales of around 97 million phones in 2008. Diversity is one of the core strengths of the company, with operations in over 80 countries including manufacturing in China and R&D sites in China, Europe, India, Japan and North America. Sony Ericsson was established as a 50:50 joint venture by Sony and Ericsson in October 2001, with global corporate functions located in London. For more information about Sony Ericsson please visit www.sonyericsson.com

FOR MEDIA INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Sony Ericsson Global Communications & PR
Lisa Canning: +44 208 762 6064
General Press: +44 208 762 5858
E-mail: press.global@sonyericsson.com
Product images: www.sonyericsson.com/press