Sony in Japan has announced the Walkman E-series [JP], which (technically) looks pale compared to the recently unveiled OLED touchscreen Walkman, but can score with some interesting designs. The USB stick-type player will be available with 2GB (NW-E042), 4GB (NW-E043), or 8GB (NW-E044) internal memory and in a total of 10 different colors.

The players feature an FM radio tuner and support MP3 (obviously), but they are being marketed as lifestyle products mainly. Users can not only buy additional front panels and caps (one set for $13) for their Walkman but also a bunch of straps and stylish cases (Sony calls this concept Style-Up).

The players are sized at 22.3×84.9×16.9mm and weigh 28g. They will hit Japanese stores on May 16 (price for the 2GB model: $80, 4GB: $100 and 8GB: $130). The players are Nippon-only at this point but as always, I suggest you contact Japan Trend Shop, Gizmine, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya in case you want to get them anyway.

Watch the Walkman E-series in action in the video [JP] below.

http://www.sony.co.jp/video2/player.swf