Sony Ericsson FM Music Transmitter MMR-60

The ability to use your mobile phone as an MP3 player has opened up a whole new way of listening to music on the move. This is especially the case for Sony Ericsson's range of Walkman branded handsets; pure multimedia devices with excellent MP3 player functionalities that have seen many people ditch their stand alone MP3 player in favor of these convergent units.

Listening to your MP3 tunes in your car is also a popular fad that has risen over the past couple of years, mainly thanks to the multitude of iPod FM Transmitters. Sony Ericsson has decided to take their Walkman phones one step further with the release of an FM Transmitter specifically for use with all Walkman branded Sony Ericsson handsets.

The MMR-60 is an ingeniously simple and small device which plugs into your mobile via the standard connection port at the bottom. Simply snap on the unit to the bottom of the phone just as you would your AC charger and you're away. There are no buttons or switches on the MMR-60; everything is operated by the Walkman interface on your mobile phone.

As soon as you plug the transmitter into your phone, a popup appears which directs you to select an FM frequency between 88.2 and 107.8. First you should select an unused frequency in your car or home radio with as least distortion as possible. Then simply select this frequency on your radio and whatever music you are playing through your phone will be transmitted via the FM frequency you've selected.

The MMR-60 also contains some useful light effects; evidenced by the orange "W" Walkman logo on the front of the unit. According to the mode of the unit, the lighting will change its tune; continual blinks means there is no connection, a few blinks at a rapid pace indicated the unit is connected and a pulsating light means that the MMR-60 is in normal operation. The orange light ensures this features looks extremely impressive and is a nice touch to an otherwise standard and plain looking device.

The MMR-60 has a range of up to 10 metres, which doesn't originally sound like much, but for use in the car and at home, it should be adequate. Conveniently, the unit remembers the last used frequency, so the next time you use your phone and plug in the MMR-60 it will automatically transmit to the previous used frequency; saving you time and hassle selecting in another signal.

When you receive a telephone call during FM transmission, the MMR-60 mutes the music automatically so you can answer the phone. This sounds like a very basic operation, but you'd be surprised how many manufacturers miss such crucial and important features in devices like this one, so it's good to see Sony Ericsson on the ball in this regard.

In terms of sound quality, the MMR-60 isn't going to blow you away; FM transmission isn't the most reliable ways of transmitting music, but for use in the car there's nothing we can complain about. The signal did drop out when we drove through areas with poor reception quality - such as through large areas of bush, but really, this is to be entirely expected. Overall though, the MMR-60 is an excellent, if simple device which many Walkman mobile phones users have been crying out for.