Not everyone needs the “phone” part of a smartphone and that’s why devices like the iPod touch exist. What if you’d prefer to align yourself with the Google side? Sony is doing just that by releasing the company’s first ever Android-powered Walkman media player. Here is the Sony NW-Z1000.

This new Walkman is pretty much the Android take on the iPod touch with some Sony Walkman aesthetics in tow. You get a 4.3-inch WVGA touchscreen, NVIDIA Tegra2 1GHz dual core processor, and 512MB of RAM. The flavor of the week is Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

For nearly all intents and purposes, this is a full-blown Android smartphone, just without the phone part. The kicker, which is a big one, is that it reportedly has full access to Android Market too, quite unlike some other off-brand Android devices that don’t do that. Rounding off the spec sheet are 802.11b/g/n WiFi, GPS, DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI-out, digital compass, G-sensor, mono speaker, FM radio, and a battery that lasts through 20 hours of music. The audio side also include S-Master MX sound processor and a dedicated “W” button for quick access to the media player.

Alas, this sounds like it could be a Japan-only toy though. The 16GB ($365), 32GB ($430), and 64GB ($561) variants should ship on December 10. You might have to hit up a buddy in Akihabara to get one for you if you’re not out Tokyo Way yourself.

I still remember when I had that big, chunky yellow “Sports” Walkman tape player that just about everyone else seemed to have. That was one rugged beast and it was easily the best way to take my mixtapes on the go. It, of course, was not the first Walkman.

Here are some fun Sony Walkman facts for you to ponder. In the first ten years, Sony released no fewer than 170 different models of Walkman music player. Along the way, Sony also considered calling its devices the Soundabout, Freestyle, Stowaway, and Stereo Walky.

In the first ten years of its existence, the Sony Walkman sold 50 million units around the world. Over the same time period, 150 million “alternative” Walkman personal stereos were sold by other companies. Cloning came about way before the iPod ever existed.

Since then, we’ve seen the Discman, Sony Walkman MP3 players, Sony Ericsson Walkman music phones… and let’s not forget about those Mini-Disc players. Here’s to 30 more years, Sony.

Source: Gizmodo