AT&T's got a history with SE, what with the former Cingular having carried the w810i and currently featuring the w580i Walkman handset.  And then there's the supposed leaked data sheet that showed up on EngadgetMobile the other day, showing the k850a alongside of the z750a clamshell amidst AT&T's forthcoming offerings.

Then again, the k850i is already a T-Mobile product in the UK (you can even enter to win one over at Shiny Shiny), and that T-Mobile 3G network is due to rollout any day now ... so it's not like a T-Mobile branded k850a is entirely out of the question.  Though it'd really be sad to see such a state of the art phone hamstrung by an EDGE-only network.

Either way, it's about time a serious cameraphone got picked up by a carrier here in the states.  Sure the Nokia N95 now comes in a US-spec 3G model, but it's only available direct from the manufacturer.  I'm not saying that carrier-locked handsets are a good thing in and of themselves, but when you're talking about such high-end gadgetry, that discount you get for signing a service contract sure does help.

Read more from EngadgetMobile. 

Since the launch of the W800 in August 2005, sales of Walkman® phones have reached 45 million units. The first Cyber-shot™ phone launched in June 2006 and volumes are now reaching 13 million units. The W910 and the K850 build on these successes and continue to deliver the best mobile music and camera phone experiences. Both new phones boast Turbo-3G speeds (HSDPA) for fast download of music and other content and come packed with unique features.

Slide to a new Walkman® beat
The W910 Walkman® phone is designed for entertainment; whether music, 3D games, video, or high-speed Web access. It's also geared to let you choose your music, your way. Select Shake control and just flick the phone to control games or skip and shuffle between music tracks. Or opt for SensMe™ and discover music to match your mood and tempo. The W910 can hold over 900 of your favourite songs* on the 1GB Memory Stick Micro™ that is provided out of the box, with room for plenty more thanks to the expandable memory.

You can now even colour-match your W910 with some of Sony Ericsson's bestselling accessories. The Portable Speakers MPS-70 and the Stereo Bluetooth ™ Headset HBH DS-220 now come in the same Hearty Red colour so you can enjoy your music in complete style.

"Our users tell us how important it is to have their music always with them and to be able to get it on to their phone with a minimum of fuss. This is why we have great expectations for the W910", says Ben Padley, Head of Music Marketing at Sony Ericsson. "The W910 makes it quicker and easier than ever before to transfer or download music so that it is always available at your fingertips. The ‘slider' design is also something that resonates well with our customers; the W580 Walkman® phone was the best selling Sony Ericsson mobile phone globally in Q3 of this year".

Your camera always with you
The K850 Cyber-shot™ phone is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus, Xenon flash and Video Light that together help produce true digital camera results. Even if you are not an expert photographer, the K850 does everything to help you get the best possible shots on your phone. Photo Fix automatically improves light balance in one click to make your picture as good as it can get. When taking a picture of a moving object, for example at a sports event, you can select BestPic™ and take nine pictures in one burst. Then simply choose the best and delete the rest.

"Sony Ericsson is first and foremost about offering the best phone for you, but with the K850 we also give consumers a 100% credible alternative to a digital camera", says Sven Totté, Head of Imaging Marketing at Sony Ericsson. "With unique features such as BestPic™, Photo Fix and Auto Rotate combined in an easy to use and intuitive phone, the K850 delivers the best picture quality of any camera phone currently on the market"

The Sony Ericsson W910 Walkman® phone will be available in either Hearty Red or Noble Black. The K850 Cyber-shot™ phone has a colour choice of either Velvet Blue or Luminous Green. Both will be available in-store across selected markets from October 2007.

With 3G speeds users will be able to take advantage of the video calling feature found on both models along with video blogging, push email, full HTML web browsing and other streaming media (carrier dependant).

The K770 and K850i are scheduled to be released in the fall and Q4 of 07 respectively. Although no pricing information has been released, I would expect to pay between $400 and $500 for the K850i making it an interesting toss up for those considering the iPhone.

Handset-wise, speculations and hopes center on SE's new flagship CyberShot cameraphone, long rumored to be packing a 5 megapixel camera - the better to compete against Nokia's N95 with.  Additionally, there's buzz around two possible new Walkman phones: a flagship model featuring motion-sensitive controls for skipping tracks (including a shake-to-acitvate shuffle mode), and a w950 successor featuring 8GB of onboard flash memory.  Both models are also rumored to feature HSDPA 850 compatibility.

What's really behind that red curtain?  We'll know tomorrow.

Official SE countdown page: sonyericsson.com/timemasters3/

Read: esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=133292&start=6360

See the invite: justamp.blogspot.com/2007/06/sony-ericsson-invitation-for-june-14th.html