"Sony Corp. said on Thursday it is developing a video-capable Walkman, playing catch-up with Apple Computer Inc.'s market-leading iPod," Reuters reports.

Reuters reports, "Sony created the market for portable music players with its epoch-making Walkman more than a quarter of a century ago, but in recent years it has trailed far behind Apple, whose iPod holds more than half the global digital media player market."

Reuters reports, "'We are developing a product that handles images, but I cannot make any comment on specific plans,' Sony Senior Vice President Hiroshi Yoshioka told a news conference that unveiled upcoming Walkman models. Apple launched a video-enabled iPod last October."

"Sony also said it will start rolling out five new models of a flash-memory-based Walkman, shaped like a perfume bottle, toward the end of the year at home and abroad," Reuters reports. "A 4-gigabyte model with a noise-reduction function is expected to sell for around 29,000 yen ($240) in Japan, Sony said."