Skip to main content

Sony’s mylo Combines IM, Music, and Wi-Fi

SonyToday Sony drew a bead on the portion of the youth market which is hopelessly addicted to instance messaging by announcing the mylo personal communicator, a new handheld device which combines Wi-Fi capabilities with QWERTY-enabled instant messaging, VoIP capabilities, Web browsing, photo andvideo display, and (of course) a music player. The mylo—which stands for My Life Online—wants to be the new “must-have” device, unseating the famously-trendy Sidekick.

As a device, the mylo sports a 2.4-inch 320 by 240 LCD display, 1 GB of flash memory (supposedly upgradable to 4 GB), mini-USB connectivity, a Memory Stick Duo slot (after all, this is a Sony product!), 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 hour of video time, and up to 3.5 hour sof 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 your messages lickety-split, and a total weight of aout 5.3 ounces, including battery.

Recommended Videos

The mylo’s capabilities come from the bundled applications, and the trumpeted functionality all surrounds instant messaging and VoIP. On the IM front, the mylo handles Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and Skype messaging—sorry, no AIM or MSN, but it’s possible the new détente between Redmond and Yahoo might let Yahoo Messenger talk to MSN buddies. For VoIP, the mylo is a full-fledged Skype handset, supporting Skype In, Skype Out, and Skype-To-Skype VoIP calling.

For email, the mylo supports Yahoo Mail and Google’s Gmail, and surf’s the Web with the Opera Web browser. Also on board: a music player (MP3, WMA, and Sony’a ATRAC format), a video player (MPEG-4), a photo viewer, and a text editor.

If the name “My Life Online” sounds familiar, you may not be in Sony’s young target demographic: Sony launched a series of My Life Online devices back in 2001 which withered in the marketplace, in part because the products’ planned introduction date in the U.S. was (you guessed it) September 11, 2001. Of portions of the mylo look familiar, you might remember Sony’s Clie PDA devices, which tried to take on Palm and Blackberry PDAs.

The mylo is designed to take advantage of free Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity to provide Internet-based messaging and calling (JiWire’s hotspot directory is built in); as such, there are no monthly fees for carrying around a mylo, although (of course) users may have to pay for Wi-Fi access, Skype services. The mylo manages up to nine online identities per person, enabling used to quickly select preferred communication methods with specific buddies.

The mylo personal communicator will be available in black and white cases, and is due to ship in September for $350.

Geoff Duncan
Former Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
United speeds up plans to offer free Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi service
View of a United Airlines commercial plane.

United Airlines has today announced that it is speeding up the deployment of Starlink satellite infrastructure to offer in-flight Wi-Fi convenience. The company says testing will begin in February, and the first commercial flight with Starlink internet facility will roll off the tarmac this spring.

The United Embraer E-175 will be the first aircraft to get the perk, and it will be followed by the entire two-cabin regional fleet of aircraft by the end of 2025. The first commercial flyer with Starlink connectivity will also take off before the ongoing year comes to an end.

Read more
Give your brain a workout using music and this EEG wearable
A promotional image for the Alphabeats app and Muse headband.

Alphabeats, a company that uses music to give your brain a workout, has returned after its initial launch earlier this year with a new partnership that makes the technology more accessible to more people. It has teamed up with Muse to integrate its unusual training method into the brand’s high-tech headbands with built-in electroencephalogram (EEG) sensors.

Muse wearers will be able to use the Alphabeats app to play music, which is tuned to their brainwaves and then adapted to create a high-intensity interval training-style workout for the mind, training it to improve focus, promote relaxation, or to meditate. Your brainwaves are tracked by the Muse headband and visualized in the Alphabeats app, while the headband comes with a new feature called the Brain Recharge Score, which allows you to understand how your brain is reacting to stress and demanding tasks over time.

Read more
The iPhone 17 will reportedly get a new type of Wi-Fi chip
A person using the Apple iPhone 16 Plus.

By this time next year, Apple may have installed its own in-house Wi-Fi chips in all of its phones, or at least one of them.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known analyst with a trusted record, Apple is working on its own Wi-Fi chips to replace the current ones from Broadcom, but there's not a firm timeline on when they'll arrive (via MacRumors). He says the iPhone 17 Pro might come equipped with this new chip, but other sources suggest it won't get widespread adoption until the iPhone 18.

Read more