Sony Ericsson W800 Walkman phone plays MP3s and AACs

We note a strange omission from Sony's planned Walkman phone. Tucked away in the third paragraph of the W800 press release is the surprising news that it supports the "proven, industry standard MP3 and AAC music file formats". What, no ATRAC? We quizzed the W800 product manager, who assured us that MP3 and AAC are the business, but Sony's beleaguered ATRAC format won't be crossing over to the mobile world.

Die-hard Sony supporters who've filled their hard drives with ATRAC music won't be rewarded for drinking the Kool-Aid. Seems a bit harsh to us. Still, they can console themselves with Sony's candy-coloured flash players, which support MP3 and ATRAC3plus. The new Network Walkman range should be in the shops in April, while its Walkman phone won't appear until July or August.

And no, we don't think support for "industry standard AAC' is the same thing as support for the DRM-protected AACs that you've downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. -ML