A Walkman phone for less

Sony Ericcson's W350a

Most of Sony Ericsson's tend to be on the pricey side but every now and then the company gives us a more affordable model for the masses.

Last year it rolled out the W200a and at CES today the company announced the W350a. At 10mm thick it sports a design we haven't seen for a while. The keypad is covered by a flap that folds down when you're on a call. The flap not only protects the keypad when it's not in use but also it allows you to get the feel of the a flip phone. So in essence, it's a candy bar handset with flip phone elements.

But the W350a's design offers another quirk as well. When closed you can access convenient Walkman controls to play your music and shuffle tracks. You also get a choice of four colors: electric black, ice blue, hypnotic black and graphic white. Beyond the music player the feature set is pretty average. There's a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, messaging and e-mail, an FM radio, a 262,144-color display, a speakerphone and personal organizer applications. No word yet when the triband (GSM 850/1800/1900) W350a will be available in Australia.