After releasing its fourth Walkman mobile phone, the Sony half of Sony Ericsson is really starting to flex its muscles in an effort to differentiate its products from those of Nokia, Motorola et al., with the launch of the new MDS70 Home Audio System.  This beast is a mobile phone cradle (for the Walkman phones, naturally) that connects to a set of high performance Sony speakers.  The device also charges your phone whilst it sits in the cradle.

This is a neat solution by Sony, providing users with the chance to hear their music in glorious hi-fidelity sound without having to rely on the usually suspect headphones that come with mobile phones.  It also reinforces the image of the Walkman phones as serious music devices in their own right, and not just mobile phones with gimmicky MP3 players tacked on as a ‘feature’.  In addition, the device provides Sony with new ammo against its competitors, as Sony has a great reputation in the hi-fi world, something the likes of Motorola and Nokia can’t compete against. And the speakers come complete with Neodymium magnets (no, I don’t make these things up), which are capable of moving a Galaxy-class ship at Warp-factor 10 (OK, I made this bit up!)

Full details after the jump.

Sony Ericsson Press Release

 London, 17th October 2005, – Sony Corporation and Sony Ericsson today announced a new jointly developed Home Audio System that enables owners of Sony Ericsson Walkman music phones to enjoy their mobile music collections in full Hi-Fi sound quality. The Home Audio System MDS-70 is a stylish phone cradle which connects to a set of high performance speakers, so all the user need do is nest the phone in the cradle, press Play and enjoy the full, rich sound that is synonymous with Sony home Hi-Fi products.

“As you build up your favourite music collection on your Walkman phone, it’s good to be able to enjoy those tracks in great quality when you reach home or the workspace,” says Steve Walker, Head of Product Marketing. “Now you can enjoy your mobile music directly from the phone without the need to transfer files or build duplicate collections. The sound performance is just as you’d expect from a fully featured Hi-Fi, because the Sony technology inside has the power to deliver very high quality audio from a very small system.”

The high quality audio of the Home Audio System MDS-70 is made possible by Sony S-Master, a digital audio technology that is embedded in Sony products ranging from home Hi-Fi, home theatre systems to car audio, TV and Vaio PC’s. It is the S-Master technology that gives these products, even the smallest micro-Hi-Fi, a full, rich sound quality that is unique to Sony.

Stylish, contemporary design and ease of use gives the Home Audio System great appeal for any home or office environment. The speaker stand can be controlled from the remote control and the system conveniently charges the phone while it’s nestled in the cradle. Users can enjoy their music on the move then come home, place the phone onto the cradle and enjoy the same music in their home or office, knowing the phone is being charged for the next time they leave the building.

The Home Audio System is the perfect companion to the growing range of Sony Ericsson Walkman phones, including the latest UMTS version, the W900, which is also announced today. The speaker stand will be available globally from Q1 2006 from both Sony Ericsson (Home Audio System MDS-70) and Sony (Cradle Audio CPA-001) and will be distributed through consumer electronics as well as mobile telecoms outlets.

Home Audio System MDS-70 / Cradle Audio CPA-001 – Technical Summary

Main Unit comprises:

• Amplifier plus left/right speakers

Features:

• Total RMS25W
• S-Master Digital Amplifier
• Neodymium magnet speaker units
• Shielded speakers
• Surround Mode by Digital Signal Processor
• Handset Battery Charging
• Tone Control (Bass, Treble)
• Line In x 1
• Remote control