Sony Planning Android Walkman And PND For 2010?

According to the latest "open secret" in Japan, Sony are working on a Walkman and a satnav PND that would each use Google's Android OS.  Expected to hit the market in 2010, full details about each device are unknown, beyond that Sony seem to be hoping to use the open-source platform for a range of future products.

One such device could, it's tipped, be an Android version of the recent Sony Walkman X, the company's flagship PMP with an OLED touchscreen that we reviewed last month.  That currently runs an in-house OS, though analysts believe Sony would like to harmonise all such mobile devices – including PND and messaging devices like the Mylo – on the same platform.

Doing so would reduce duplication of development and reduce costs, a topic of particular interest to Sony who have suffered heavy losses as a result of the ongoing economic situation.  Part of that strategy has been to push Sony's previously distinct teams closer together, something a common groundwork in the shape of Android would certainly facilitate.