According to the rumors floating around the Sony Ericsson blogs, a Sony Ericsson announcement is planned for Thursday November 6th. The highlight of the announcement is to be the formal launch of the Rika as the Walkman W705 – the Walkman version of the G705 which sports the following specs:

• 2.4″display (320×240)
• 3.2MP non-AF camera with LED flash
• Wi-Fi, aGPS, Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP)
• 4 Gb M2 and HPM-77
• Clear Audio Experience (similar to the W902/W980)
• YouTube application
• Chat view for messaging
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Available in Passionate Red and Luxury Silver

An Orange-branded version of the W705 is also expected to be confirmed. In addition to the Rika/W705, Sony Ericsson is expected to announce the MBS-900, a high end portable wireless speaker. The MBS-900 is a 2.1 wireless speaker that has Bluetooth, touch controls and an OLED display. A somewhat disappointing lineup for the final announcement of 2008 but considering the state of the global economy, a slowdown in handset releases is not entirely surprising.

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That stylish Sony Ericsson slider, the Rika, has been given a model name: the Walkman W705. The W705 will be the Walkman version (obviously) of the G705 and will share the same specifications:

• GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• 2.4″display (320×240)
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP)
• aGPS

The phone is expected to be announced later this month and available for sale in February 2009. With the G705 expected to head stateside sometime in Q1 2009, we hope this sleek and sexy slider will follow suit. Can’t you just wait to buy some overpriced Sony Ericcson phones from a Sony Style store?

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