mylo (Sony)

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mylo Personal Communicator
Manufacturer Sony
Connectivity Infrastructure and Ad-hoc through 802.11b Wi-Fi
Retail availability Flag of the United States September 15, 2006
Media Memory Stick Pro Duo
Operating system Qtopia Linux
Camera None
CPU ARM
Display 2.4 inch TFT 320×240 pixel
Dimensions 123 x 23.9 x 63 mm
150 grams (5.3 oz)
Touchpad No

The mylo Personal Communicator is a device created and marketed by Sony for portable instant messaging and other internet-based communications, browsing internet web sites (using Opera) and playback and sharing of media files. The pocket-sized, tablet-shaped handheld device has a screen which slides up to reveal a QWERTY keyboard. The brand name 'mylo' stands for My Life Online. Using Wi-Fi instead of cellular networks the mylo is targeted to the 18-24 age group.[1]

By using WiFi networks for internet connectivity mylo provides users the possibility of reducing connectivity costs by avoiding the necessity of using GSM, CDMA or 3G cellular networks which would usually be used for devices of this size and functionality.[2]

Contents

The first version of the Sony mylo was launched on September 15, 2006 and includes 1 gigabyte of onboard flash memory and a Memory Stick Pro Duo expansion slot.

The mylo is 23.9 mm (31/32 in) thick, 123 mm (4 7/8 in) wide, 63 mm (2 1/2 in) tall, and sports a 6.1 cm (2.4 in) QBVGA (320 x 240) LCD screen. Its form factor is similar to the Sidekick in that it is held in landscape mode and has a slide out QWERTY keyboard. Its initial model colors were a glossy black and iPod like white.

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Please discuss this issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since January 2007.

The mylo's menu of software applications is grouped by function.

The applications in this menu group use the Wi-Fi connection.

  • Skype. Includes the features: Dial (Skype -> phone), Call (Skype -> Skype), Chat (instant messaging), and Send (and Receive) Files. Also can receive (phone -> Skype).
  • Google Talk. Features text chats (instant messaging) with Google Talk and Jabber contacts. Included is a link to Gmail (WAP version).
  • Yahoo! Messenger. The text messaging application also includes a link to Yahoo! Mail (WAP version).
  • Ad Hoc Application. This Peer-to-peer lets the mylo share playlists and stream songs directly to another mylo.[3]
  • Cannot be used natively for sending or receiving text (SMS) messages to or from cell phones; it is strictly for messenger and web only.

  • The Opera web browser allows a number of configurations to help minimize the limitations of the small screen (320x240) including Zoom (%), Text Size (Small, Normal, Large) and View Mode (Normal or Fit to Screen).

The player supports the MP3, WMA (secured and unsecured) and ATRAC audio formats. The image viewer supports JPG, PNG, and Bitmap formats. The video player supports the MPEG-4/AAC video format. The text application is a simple text editor.

  • The utilities in this menu group include the Connection Manager for managing the Wi-Fi configuration, a File Manager and a firmware System Update tool.

With the USB mode configuration set to the default (MSC) the mylo acts as a USB mass-storage device. Music and other files can then be transferred from a PC with the included SonicStage software or by dragging and dropping using a file manager. With the USB mode set to MTP you can synchronize audio files via WMP 10. While connected via USB, the mylo screen displays the USB mode currently in use and suspends whatever program previously was running.

The 802.11b Wi-Fi connection is started either with the Wireless LAN slider button or automatically when one of mylo's Internet applications (i.e., Skype, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, Opera) attempt to access the network and an infrastructure mode Wi-Fi connection has not yet been established. The Wi-Fi mode can be switched to Ad Hoc mode to enable use of the Ad Hoc Application. Although the device is marketed for persons on the go, the Mylo does not have any commonly used Bluetooth capabilities, to provide easy connection with other wireless carrier enabled mobile devices.

Access to any T-Mobile Hotspot for the 1st year.

Sony introduced the mylo with the COM-1 series, with white and black models.[4]

Model (and generation) Image Capacity Changes introduced Connection Original Release date Launch price (US$) Current Price (US$)
COM-1 1G Mylo Com-1 1 GB First release. Available in White or Black. USB, Wi-Fi September 2006 $349 $199

As a device, the mylo sports a 2.4-inch 320 by 240 LCD display, 1 GB for flash memory (upgradeable to 4 GB), mini-USB connectivity, a Memory Stick Duo slot, integrated 802.11b wireless networking (supporting WEP and WPA-PSK) security), and a lithium-ion battery offering up to 45 hours of music playback, 8 hours of video time, and up to 3.5 hours of VoIP talk time. Add to that a DC input for charging or running "wired" with the AC adapter, a 10-pin headphone/microphone interface (an adapter is included), a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for composing messages, and a total weight of about 157 grams (5.4 ounces), including the battery.

Marketing materials reference the optional Sony Image Converter 2 software for converting video to an MPEG-4 format however the Sony Style online store shows that product, MSSW-IC2, as being no longer available.

The Photo application has no zoom capability. Further, pictures transferred using the mylo Image Transfer utility are resized to a resolution of 320x240.

The Skype telephone over internet application does not support Caller ID.

There is no Calendar.

PlayForSure Parters & Windows Media Player:
Currently, Windows Media Audio playback is limited to the mylo's internal memory. DRM WMA playback from Memory Stick is not supported. Memory Sticks do not support the Windows Media DRM encryption scheme, which is why it is limited to internal memory.

Sony CONNECT & SonicStage:
Currently, encrypted (Sony CONNECT) ATRAC3 playback is limited to the Mylo's internal 1GB of memory. MagicGate is not supported at this time, nor do Memory Sticks appear in SonicStage via the Mylo's internal card reader/writer. Memory Sticks currently only appear as an external Mass Storage Device when connected to a PC. Recent inqueries to Mylo customer care have indicated that the Mylo does have the hardware required for MagicGate functionality, however a firmware update has not yet been released, enabling it.

However unencrypted ATRAC3 (from CD or conversion) playback is possible via the Memory Stick's "Music" file folder. You can either "drag-&-drop" unencrypted ATRAC3 files to the "Music" folder via explorer with any Memory Stick compatible reader. Or, if you have a VAIO, PSP or MSAC-US40, SonicStage will display the Memory Stick. Upon switching SonicStage to "PSP-compatible transfer" it too will allow transfer of unencrypted ATRAC3 files. Upon insertion into the Mylo and navigating to Mylo's MS DUO folder, your ATRAC3 tracks should appear and playback.

The Mylo has also been criticized for not including the instant messaging services of Windows Live Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger as configuration options.

In late 2006 a merger between AIM and Google Talk networks was announced.[5]

Google Talk for PC and for the Mylo have not yet been updated to communicate on the AIM network. However, it has always been possible to communicate with AIM buddies by configuring Google Talk to utilize a Jabber server supporting the AIM network, thus providing a workaround for the Mylo's lack of AOL Instant Messenger.[6]

  1. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/phones--pdas/sony-unveils-webinyourpocket-gadget/2006/08/08/1154802879270.html
  2. ^ http://geek.com/news/geeknews/2006Aug/gee20060808037883.htm
  3. ^ http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/consumer/computer_peripheral/release/24061.html
  4. ^ Identifying different mylo models — Official site from Sony
  5. ^ Time Warner's AOL and Google to Expand Strategic Alliance. Google Press Center. Retrieved on November 11, 2006.
  6. ^ Get your AIM/MSN/YAHOO IM buddies on google talk. www.myloforums.net. Retrieved on December 15, 2007.
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Sony Corporation
Technologies and brands α · Betacam · Blu-ray · BRAVIA · CD · Cyber-shot · DAT · DVD · LocationFree · Memory Stick · MiniDisc · MiniDV · mylo · PlayStation · PSP · VAIO · Video8/Hi8/Digital8 · Walkman · Walkman Phones · XDCAM
Historical products AIBO · Betamax · Sony CLIÉ · Lissa · Mavica · NEWS · Qualia · TR-55 · Trinitron · U-matic · WEGA
Operating segments Sony Corp. (Sony Electronics in the US) · Sony Pictures · Sony Computer Entertainment · Sony BMG Music · Sony Financial Holdings
Acquisitions Columbia Records · Columbia Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures & TriStar Pictures) · Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (20%) · Aiwa
Joint Ventures Sony Ericsson · Sony BMG Music · Sony/ATV · S-LCD · STLCD · Sony NEC Optiarc · FeliCa Networks
Key personnel Phil Harrison · Kazuo Hirai · Masaru Ibuka · Nobuyuki Idei · Yasuo Kuroki · Ken Kutaragi · Michael Lynton · Akio Morita · Norio Ohga · Amy Pascal · Howard Stringer

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylo_%28Sony%29"
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