Sony Walkman Z1000 media player coming this spring: Tegra 2 and Android 2.3 for $249.99

After teasing its Walkman prototype at IFA and then releasing it just in Japan, Sony's finally coming clean with all the US release details. While the Walkman NWZ-Z1000 is very clearly an iPod Touch and Galaxy Player 4.0 competitor, it has the specs of a high end smartphone, including a Tegra 2 processor, 4.3-inch, WVGA display, and Android 2.3 And we're not talking a crippled version of Gingerbread: it has access to the Market and all of Google's services. While it's definitely an Android phone sans the phone parts, Sony's also touting its audio capabilities with its S-Master MX sound tech, xLoud compact integrated speaker, access to its Music Unlimited service, FM radio, and a W.Control key for "instant music playback." It sounds like a decent little player, but in typical Sony style it seems a bit too aggressively priced: the 8GB version will be $250 — $50 more than the iPod Touch and $100 more than the Galaxy Player. The 16GB model will be sold for $280 and the 32GB for $330. All will be hitting the US sometime in the spring, but stay tuned for some hands-on impressions and photos much sooner.