Sony Ericsson MPS-60

Sony Ericsson's Walkman range of phones has brought a whole new range of music developments to mobile handsets. With the iPod phenomenon exploding over the past few years, the accessories market has benefited most. From speaker systems to docks, to FM transmitters; whatever it is, you can be sure that if you've got an iPod it's available.

Sony Ericsson has obviously done their homework and has dived into the accessory market themselves. And why not? With the Walkman range of phones providing a true quality alternative to stand alone MP3 players, the telecommunications giant has decided to release the MPS-60; a portable speaker system which is designed to work with all recent Sony Ericsson handsets with a port connector.

The MPS-60 is an extremely small pair of speakers which come packaged in a convenient plastic carry case, which makes them especially ideal for travellers. The speakers themselves are finished in the same colours as the original Walkman phone, the W800i; white on the front, orange trim and dark grey at the rear. This sounds fine, but if you don't own the W800i;, obviously the MPS-60 isn't going to match your decor (whatever model it may be). Perhaps Sony Ericsson might be wise to release this unit in multiple colour combinations to suit a variety of handsets.

The MPS-60 attach to your mobile phone via a port connector that clips onto the bottom of the handset, with orange wires connecting the speakers to this port. Our only complaint with this connector is that it is a little bulky and adds to the size of your mobile phone considerably, but this is a minor issue and certainly not one that is going to detract from the actual performance of the product.

Conveniently, the speakers don't require any batteries to run; they simply use the battery of your mobile phone. Obviously while this is an advantage, be wary of a shorter battery life than usual. We didn't have too many complaints, but you'll have to keep an eye on the battery indicator; you don't want to be stuck on a long trip without any power on your phone.

We tested the MPS-60 with the Sony Ericsson W910i; and the results were fairly average. Obviously, we weren't expecting much in terms of sound quality at this size or price point and our initial assumptions were proven correct. The speakers lack any sort of bass and with no bass or treble adjustments, you'll have to use the Equaliser on your mobile; which isn't particularly ideal. At the highest volume setting on our mobile, the MPS-60 sounded a little distorted, so the optimal level is about three-quarters of the volume meter. Overall though, for the $53 RRP (and you certainly should be able to pick them up cheaper than this price) the MPS-60 is a fairly nifty unit. Its sound quality won't blow you away, but for frequent travellers who would like to listen to a bit of music while they relax on a trip, the MPS-60 has pulling power.