Mylo (Sony)-Cedar Herald Index

My Life Online (Mylo) was a device created and marketed by Sony for portable instant messaging and other Internet-based communications, browsing Internet web sites using the Opera web browser and playback and sharing of media files. The pocket-sized, tablet-shaped handheld device, which debuted in 2006, had a screen which slid up to reveal a QWERTY keyboard. The brand name 'Mylo' means My Life Online. Using Wi-Fi instead of cellular networks, the Mylo was targeted to the 18–24 age group.

By using WiFi networks for Internet connectivity, Mylo provided users with 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.

Mylo (Sony)

History and design

Mylo COM–1

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

Mylo (Sony)

The mylo is thick, wide, tall, and sports a QVGA (320 × 240) LCD screen. Its form factor is similar to the T-Mobile 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 white.

Mylo (Sony)

Mylo COM–2

On January 6, 2008, the second edition of the Sony mylo was announced at CES 2008 in Las Vegas. This version was based on PSP technology and included AIM, a touchscreen, and a camera. The Internet Browser was changed from Opera to NetFront. It supported Adobe Flash for viewing Flash content such as YouTube videos and for playing Flash-based games. The mylo COM–2 had 1 GB flash memory that could be used for music and video playback. Two colors were available: black and white. The mylo COM–2 featured wireless G connectivity. The keyboard was backlit as well. System software version 1.201 added support for video recording. The mylo COM–2 was released on SonyStyle.com on January 25, 2008, for $299. It was reduced to $199 before the holiday season and was quickly drawn from production due to its poor sales.

Software

The mylo's menu of software applications is grouped by function. Communication The following applications in the main menu group use the Wi-Fi connection: AIM. AOL Instant Messenger (COM–2 only) Skype. Includes the features: Dial (Skype to phone), Call (Skype to Skype), Chat (instant messaging), and Send (and Receive) Files. Also can receive (phone to Skype). Google Talk. Features text chats (instant messaging) with Google Talk and XMPP 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. Cannot be used natively for sending or receiving text (SMS) messages to or from cell phones; it is strictly for messenger and web only.

Web

COM–1. 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).

COM–2. NetFront with support for Flash Lite is the web browser that is supplied with the mylo COM–2.

Media

COM–1. The player supports the MP3, WMA (secured and unsecured) and ATRAC 3 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.

COM–2. The player supports the MP3, WMA (secured and unsecured), AAC (no DRM) and ATRAC3 formats. The image viewers supports JPEG, PNG and BMP formats. The video player supports the MPEG-4/AAC Simple Profile and MPEG-4/AAC AVC H.264 baseline profile. It also supports WMV starting with firmware version 1.101, which was released in April 2008.

On both models DRM content in Windows Media Audio and Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding 3 is limited to the internal 1GB memory. DRM playback is not possible via Memory Stick as Magic Gate is not available and Windows Media DRM is not currently possible on Memory Sticks.