Sony Ericsson phones outside of Japan, while great-looking handsets, are falling a bit behind their competitors’ phones, particularly from the likes of Nokia and Samsung. Not so in Japan, though, where phones have traditionally been technologically superior to those released in other markets. As a result, Japanese Sony Ericsson phones also have to be tech-heavy if they’re to compete – and these videos of the Sony Ericsson W44S show just what we’re missing out on outside of Japan.

More videos and details of the Sony Ericsson W44S after the jump.


The Sony Ericsson W44S was first announced last November, and comes full loaded with mobile TV, EVDO, a full 16:9 widescreen display for watching your TV on, 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus and 16mm stereo speakers.

The most innovative feature of the W44S, though, is its double-hinged form factor. The phone flips open like a normal clamshell when using it to listen to your tunes or, well, use it as a phone, and then flips open sideways when you want to watch TV or video.

As you can see from the videos, although this double-hinge makes the phone look like it’s got a bullet clipped onto its side, it makes for an arresting form factor that would ahve your mates drooling with envy. Coupled with the great feature-set of this phone, it’s annoying to say the least that Sony Ericsson aren’t releasing it in Europe or the US, and instead are just churning out endless varieties of Walkman and CyberShot phones.

We can but hope, I guess.
[Source: JustAMP]