Sony Ericsson W995a joins W995, passes FCC labs

Last time it was the international version that got the FCC's coveted gold seal, but now we're seeing something a little close to home. Meet the W995a, which -- like most Sony Ericssons that end in "a" -- features radios custom-tuned to North America's annoying unique needs. In the final analysis, what you're getting here is nothing more than a standard-issue W995 retooled to support quadband EDGE plus WCDMA bands II and V, which are the coveted 850 and 1900MHz frequencies used in the US and Canada. Interestingly, we have absolutely no idea what carriers might be looking at picking this thing up -- but if both AT&T and Rogers pass, this might end up being little more than a pricey, unlocked, unbranded souvenir ordered out of the SonyStyle catalog after you've put down a few too many cold ones and your better judgment starts to go south. Way south.