( Mobile ) - There are a couple of buttons on the Sony Walkman NW-A919 MP3 player, but the main point of contact for the user will be through the huge 2.4-inch touchscreen display. In this way, you could say that this is Sony's answer to the iPod Touch, but I doubt that this portable media player boasts any sort of multi-touch technology. It's also unfortunate the resolution is a mere QVGA or 320x240.
Instead of opting for the spinning platter of a hard drive, this Sony Walkman will get equipped with up to 16GB of flash memory. Format support includes Sony's favorite ATRAC, as well as DRM-free WMA, AAC, MP3, and linear PCM audio. Other features include a 1Seg tuner, FM tuner, direct audio encoding, noise canceling earphones, and a very healthy 36 hour battery life for audio. If you take the 1Seg TV route, battery life gets reduced to six hours.
The higher end Sony Walkman NW-A919/BI (pictured) will retail for about $415 when it ships to Japan in November. The cheaper 4GB NW-A916 will sell for about $260.