Sony intros touchscreen, WiFi MP3 player

Sony officially introduced two new Walkman MP3 players the Japanese company hopes will help steal market share away from the dominant Apple iPod juggernaut.

The most interesting Walkman, the X-Series, has a 3.5-inch OLED touchscreen display, WiFi Internet, and integrated noise cancellation.  It may not have the initial wow factor as the iPod Touch or similar devices, but it X Series appears to be a solid device, and the WiFi connection direct to YouTube is a very nice touch.

The MP3 player will be available this spring with 16GB and 32GB storage capacities, though pricing is still unknown.

When first leaked on to the Internet, consumers were concerned about possible DRM and what kind of music and videos the MP3 player would support.  The Sony press release indicates "open support" for all popular music and video formats — MP3/WMA/AAC audio formats and MPEG-4/WMV DRM video formats will be supported.

Sony also introduced the Walkman W Walkman, designed as a "wearable" MP3 player for hands-free use for athletes.  The player itself is physically integrated into the headset, with 12 hours of battery life — and it only charges in 30 minutes — using the "ZAPPIN" control mechanism.

ZAPPIN is interesting, as it’s a small wheel located near the right ear bud.  Users turn the knob forward to skip a song, turn the knob backward to go to the previous song, or click the button to play or pause. 

Despite the fact that it’s small and obviously very light, it’ll be interesting to see if consumers are willing to give up their small iPod Shuffle or SanDisk Sansa MP3 players in favor of this one.

Sony plans to launch the 2GB Walkman W this spring for $69.