Digital World Tokyo | Sony adds bling to Walkman with Swarovski rhinestone topping

Sony adds bling to Walkman with Swarovski rhinestone topping

July 17th, 2007

Most so-called ‘designer’ gadgets for women are thinly veiled attempts to flog existing products at the end of their life-cycles, so it’s a pleasant surprise to see a decent-looking - albeit technologically old-hat - feminine flash Walkman from Sony in Japan.

The Walkman Abiste E010 models are available today to pre-order for September delivery in a choice of blue, gold, pink, violet and black from Sony and Japanese jeweler Abiste.

As rebadged versions of the E-series players that arrived in April, they all share a 30-hour battery life, three-line color LCD and that zippy three-minute quick-charge mode that supplies enough juice for three hours of audio playback.

The designer aspect of the new player is in the cap for the USB jack, which is liberally coated in Swarovski glass crystals. There’s also a lanyard and clip sporting the same rhinestones that can be attached to clothes or a bag, so at least the ensemble looks like something a 20- or 30-something Japanese woman might be into.

The memory capacities and pricing are more or less standard - 1GB for ¥15,800 ($128), 2GB for ¥18,800 ($150) and 4GB for ¥24,800 ($200) - which is a relief in a segment of the gadget business that usually charges a 50% mark up for packaging things in a pretty box with a ribbon on top.

(Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)