The Sony Ericsson W950i is a feature packed 3G mobile music phone, the current top of Sony Ericsson's Walkman line up. W950i reviews are thin on the ground at the moment, as the W950i's release date isn't until Q3 2006. That said, some are emerging, and we can infer a few details about this superb looking mobile phone.

The Sony Ericsson W950i features the Symbian v9.1 operating system, making it a smartphone in its own right, but one designed specifically for music and entertainment. For example, it comes with 4GB of onboard storage (enough for 4,000 tunes), FM radio with RDS, graphic equalizer with megabass, and completely open music playback software, enabling it to play tunes from a variety of formats. Can't imagine Apple being able to say that if they ever get round to releasing an iPhone!

In addition, the W950i comes with a variety of connectivity options, including 3G, tri-band GSM, MMS, SMS, USB, Bluetooth, infra-red, email, instant messaging, and smoke signals (well it might as well!). Both music files and playlists can be transferred using some of these methods.

Because it's a smartphone, the W950i comes with some seriously useful applications, including Opera 8.0 web browser, RSS news feed reader, Quick Office (which features Microsoft Word- and Excel-compatible office apps, plus a PDF reader) and organizer. Combine this with a touchscreen pen-driven user interface, large QVGA screen, great looks and 3G, and you have a great performing, great looking music phone. Indeed, the only omission (and a surprising one at that) is the lack of a camera. Yes, that's right, this mobile phone has no camera! Almost a headline in its own right!

Mobile-Review have been the first to review the Sony Ericsson W950i (and provide these pics), writing that "As a music solution, this device has some prospects, as it provides fair price/quality ratio. Many compare this handset with Nokia N91, dispute over which of these models is better, but as to me, they can’t be compared as equals, since these phones differ in weight categories and therefore have slightly different functionality. What is more, audiences of these two solutions don’t directly cross each other, because Nokia is mostly aimed at those, who seek a stylish solution, while the product by Sony Ericsson is for those, who need a music device. No doubt, there are no strictly limited audiences, thus you shouldn’t literally interpret the aforesaid statement. Simply there are more people who deliberately choose their future handset in Sony Ericsson audience, than in Nokia’s one." - which I think means if you want a music-specific device, go for the W950i, otherwise stick with the Nokia N91!

More Sony Ericsson W950i reviews covered as they come in - watch this space.