Sony Walkman grows up with Wi-Fi and touchscreen

With the annual CES electronics show just four weeks away, it's time for the rumour mill to get started in earnest, with one of the first 'leaks' being a revamped Sony Walkman that looks a lot like an iPod touch.

The new player will sport a 3" OLED touchscreen

that is bound to draw comparisons with the Apple device, particularly as it will also have a strong emphasis on video playback with a YouTube icon prominent on the home screen.

Direct music sales
Throw in Wi-Fi and a choice of 16GB or 32GB models and it's easy to see what Sony is getting at here. New online features include web browsing, music search and the ability to download podcasts over the air. Finally, the killer app that Sony has long needed to make the Walkman a contender again has arrived in the form of direct music sales to the device through Amazon.

There's no word on pricing or a release date, but we'd be surprised if it was much under £200 and later than springtime.