WebProNews

The Japanese company, under its new CEO, has been trying to claw its way back into relevance in the portable media player market.

The design team at technology giant Sony appears to be channeling the thoughts of the folks who make Jelly Belly treats. The latest hi-tech toy released by Sony, the Walkman Bean, seeks to retake some of the buzz from Apple's iPod Shuffle.

Sony has been branching out in the color department for some of their other media players, and will offer the Bean in four colors too: Tropical Ice, Cotton Candy, Licorice, and Coconut, also known as blue, pink, black, and white. While it isn't a massive breadth of color, at least it's a choice beyond Apple's default white or the gunmetal grey of many earlier Sony products.

Bean will be available in 512MB and 1GB versions; they will contain a built-in FM tuner as well. The Bean can play MP3 files or Sony's proprietary ATRAC format content. Sony claims a 50-hour playback time with the included lithium-ion battery, and a 3 minute recharge will provide 3 hours of playback for those in a hurry.

The Walkman Bean prices at 129.95 and 179.95 on the SonyStyle web site. At press time, the Bean was available only as a pre-order item.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.