August 9th, 2006
Sony Mylo: 5 Reasons Why the Sony Mylo is Doomed to Failure
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
Sony Mylo Update: Yesterday we covered the announcement of Sony’s new WiFi communicator – the Mylo (short for My Life Online.) 24 hours later after giving it a great deal of thought, we are convinced that this seemingly innovative piece of hardware is doomed to failure faster than you can say UMD. Here are five reasons why:
1. Expensive.
$350 is a lot of money for a device that isn’t a cell phone and doesn’t play games, especially when that product is targeted to younger buyers. After the PlayStation 3 pricing debacle, you’d think Sony would hire a pricing analyst and come back to earth.
2. Ever heard of AIM or MSN?
If you want to IM all the time, then why is the unit missing two of the biggest instant messaging platforms? AOL’s AIM and Microsoft’s MSN Messenger are simply too big 2 B 4gotten.
3. NO Games??
Sony botched the PSP by focusing on games, games, games and stranding users who wanted to use the PSP for its other built in features like viewing movies and listening to music. With all the hoops and hacks needed to enjoy the PSP, most people gave up and thus, Sony squandered another great shot at Walkman-level fame by crippling the PSP with a very limited focus. We mention this here because the Mylo is missing games all together. So now you can view movies and listen to music and so on, but a little Grand Theft Auto or Lemmings? No chance. Game over.
4. WiFI hotspots are No Picnic.
In the golden era when most hotspots were unsecured, hopping on and off all over town (heck, all over the country) was fun and easy. Now you need a T-mobile account or a credit card to access the many hotspots in popular public areas. A college may have free WiFi, but for a device to be truly useful, you have to be able to fire it up all over the place – airports and so on. And that means the annoying act of getting online. At that point it is just easier to text, and you can bet this demographic owns a cell phone.
5. No Adult Crossover.
As much as a handheld targeted to younger buyers sounds good on paper, adults actually make up a hidden demographic of users with very deep pockets. That means if you can get Mom and Dad to fire one up, the whole family is on board. (Think iPod and all the adults happily listening to music and watching video and so forth.) Even if adults choose not to IM all day, Sony is shooting the legs out from under that potential market by designing cartoony looking units that are missing that sleek design oomph that an adult will be proud to flaunt.
Bottom line: An old associate of mine, Preston Grallla said it best: “So let’s sum this up. It’s a device for people who are devoted to instant messaging, but won’t work with biggest IM networks in the world. It costs as much or more than handheld gaming devices, but won’t let you play games. And the Skype capabilities are nice, but the target audience already has cellphones.”
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Temple says:
Your reason misses the mark on several points.
First off, its not a game machine, thats what the PSP/DS are for. Secondly, you can use AIM and MSN through Google talk since it supports Jabber and you can config it to view other protocols. Third, Skype function is incredibly important, especially since it acts like a WiFi phone, great way to get around using your daytime minutes and making overseas phone calls. Also, having a Opera web browser makes it very useful for logging in on school networks or WiFi hotspots. Also the price isn’t unreasonable when considering other tech gadgets like the iPod, Nokia 770, etc are priced in that range.
August 9th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
critter42 says:
First off, its not a game machine, thats what the PSP/DS are for
OK, that means I’d practically need Batman’s utility belt to carry all the different hardware - PSP/DS, cell phone, Mylo, etc - not an incentive at all.
Secondly, you can use AIM and MSN through Google talk since it supports Jabber and you can config it to view other protocols
Doesn’t matter if GTalk can be configured - if it’s not ready to go out of the box, it will NOT get market penetration beyond the gadget freaks and the ubergeeks, and even then it would most likely only attract those that have more money than sense…
August 9th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Rick says:
temple:
These things may be true but the average consumer is an idiot and doesn’t know how to do them and, furthermore, would rather not have to go through abuttload of hassle to get around barriers that shouldn’t be in a 350 dollar device. Also, while it may not be a game machine, that doesn’t mean it cannot support them or should not. A phone is not a camera, a game machine, or a pda but it seems like the most appealing (or most widely sold) cell phones are.
August 9th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Robotosaurus says:
Sony Sucks.
August 9th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Alice says:
More reasons:
MiniDisc
UMD
Betamax
MemoryStick
PS3 pricing
and
ROOT KITS
August 9th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
d0nkss says:
So the main attraction of this “thing” is being able to get online. Ok, I got that. So why would they make it only support 802.11b? Again Sony, good job on this one.
August 9th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
Another Mike says:
Okay here’s my problem with these “problems”. They don’t speak to the device as a whole.
1. The price - 350 is quite a chunk of change, I agree. But as marked as a communicator, I don’t see that it’s that bad considering the Treo’s, Sidekicks, and Crackberries of the world aren’t exactly cheap. The added abilities the mylo has might add incentive.
2. I got nothing. Aim and MSN are huge. I don’t use either but I’m not the rest of the world. It would work for me, but that’s it.
3. I’m glad they didn’t include gaming. They have the PSP and gaming would mean that they would have another thing to worry about developing. Focus on what it’s good at is a better strategy.
4. Wifi - this one is tough. I agree that making sure you have Wifi in your area can be unnerving. My city has plenty of free wifi spots though and getting on any of them has so far been mostly painless. This is where Sony dropped the ball totally. If they integrated bluetooth as well, and a little bit of functionality, then you could use your cellie to help out when your out of wifi range.
5. Adult crossover - Meh… This is very personal. I would consider myself an adult(sometimes more than others), but I really like the styling. The way it seems to fit in your hands seem really confortable. The sliding keyboard keeps the thing from looking to awkward and on the whole looks decent.
August 9th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
Another Mike says:
oh and let me take this time dispell some of the sony nasties(not all just the little ones)
- UMD. Horrible video media. But great video game media. Don’t diss the media just because you would never own a video on it. Putting lots of bits on a disk that size is hard work and works well for the psp (for video games only).
- Memory stick. Not bad actually. There are already what seems to be billions of tiny flash card formats. One more isn’t going to hurt. The only thing that would hurt Memory stick(tm) is pricing but they are on the level now. I can get a 2GB duo for 40-50$ and a 4GB for 100. I’d say that’s very decent.
- MiniDisc. I actually owned one of these players =P. It did very well over seas. They really didn’t see how it would pan out over here though. But the point is someone had to try something new. The players themselves were smaller than portable cd players and carried the same length of audio at the same quality. Mostly shake proof they were a great option before there were mp3 players. Now of course they wouldn’t compare as well but neither would cassette players. It was just good for it’s time.
August 9th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
Alice says:
Another Mike - I agree with much of what you are saying. I have a friend who swears by his MiniDisc, I actually love my PSP, I own a few memory sticks and use a Vaio (although it melted down and had to be repaired.) I guess my biggest problem with Sony is that they always get something wrong. They mess up the PSP and make it almost impossible to do anything on it when you simply want to add an emulator or try some cool stuff with video. The Mylo just needed a few more technical additions and AIM and MSN, and the root kit mess is not Sony hardware, but it’s the same company and it screwed a lot of people who are still angry.
If the hardware was just ugly crap it wouldn’t be an issue, but this could be a winner if someone pulled it all together.
August 9th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Eric N. says:
Sony… say hi to the Gizmondo for me? kthx
August 9th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Matt says:
The PSP was botched because its focus on games? What!? Its botched because it DOESNT focus on games. No way will this machine ever make it big.
August 9th, 2006 at 8:21 pm
MarcosV says:
This device makes little sense given its price point.
I lug around a Cingular 8125 (HTC Wizard) PDA phone. With calling plan, it comes up to less than the $350 Sony is asking for. It has a pop-out keyboard, wi-fi, Bluetooth, and Cingular’s (slow) data network. And it’s a fully functional PDA.
In the end, the lack of free WiFi hotspots is going to make this thing too much of a hastle to carry around.
August 9th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
Alice says:
Matt - The PSP is a great gaming device. What I mean was that Sony sold the gaming side so much, it left out the whole other side of the device. And all the DRM just crippled that side.
This should have been added to the PSP.
August 9th, 2006 at 10:04 pm
Bryan says:
So this does what now? I thought this was a replacement for the PSP, but another device? Sony why do you always shot yourself in the foot, and the hand, dick, face, etc. The problem with Sony is that nobody is left there that can see the big picture, and also explain and execute it.
I have a MiniDisc, and well I like it for the reason the IPod/Steve Job lovers hate it; removable storage, AA battery, small and just so thin. I mention this because Sony has three forms of media that it has almost so far wasted.
Minidisc; well its less than 1% of the market.
UMD; was not used in the right way or marketed or had other devices than PSP.
Memory Stick; not many other companies use this in their cameras.
You know how you have someone that thinks of different uses for different devices and storage media, well its too bad Sony doesn’t.
Life would be simplier if for music you had a minidisc peneration like CDS. Imagine that you can carry these unscratchable and unbreakable discs, they hold 1 GB or at most 45 hours of music, and you can record and rewrite on them. So you can take them from your PC to your car, you can record a radio show on songs onto it. You get to work and you can listen again to what you just listened to. You can give it to a co-worker or friend and they can listen to it in their car, at home, on their PC. They can add to the disk. I know that you can’t do some of this now, but this is easier than CDS and everything is smaller also.
UMD, you can kinda of see where I am going with this when you saw what I said for the MD. I am not as famaliar with UMD, but I hope that you can rewrite on these suckers. But I see a clip on Youtube, I download it to a UMD. I can watch it on a PSP or any other device; see this is how Sony manages to shoot themselves. This mylo can be like a video ipod. Make it smaller in size (not screen), and cheaper.
August 10th, 2006 at 12:03 am
Bryan says:
So this does what now? I thought this was a replacement for the PSP, but another device? Sony why do you always shot yourself in the foot, and the hand, dick, face, etc. The problem with Sony is that nobody is left there that can see the big picture, and also explain and execute it.
I have a MiniDisc, and well I like it for the reason the IPod/Steve Job lovers hate it; removable storage, AA battery, small and just so thin. I mention this because Sony has three forms of media that it has almost so far wasted.
MiniDisc; well its less than 1% of the market.
UMD; was not used in the right way or marketed or had other devices than PSP.
Memory Stick; not many other companies use this in their cameras.
You know how you have someone that thinks of different uses for different devices and storage media, well its too bad Sony doesn’t.
Life would be simpler if for music you had a MiniDisc penetration like CDS. Imagine that you can carry these unscratchable and unbreakable discs, they hold 1 GB or at most 45 hours of music, and you can record and rewrite on them. So you can take them from your PC to your car, you can record a radio show on songs onto it. You get to work and you can listen again to what you just listened to. You can give it to a co-worker or friend and they can listen to it in their car, at home, on their PC. They can add to the disk. I know that you can’t do some of this now, but this is easier than CDS and everything is smaller also.
UMD, you can kinda of see where I am going with this when you saw what I said for the MD. I am not as famaliar with UMD, but I hope that you can rewrite on these suckers. But I see a clip on Youtube, I download it to a UMD. I can watch it on a PSP or any other device; see this is how Sony manages to shoot themselves. This mylo can be like a video ipod. Make it smaller in size (not screen), and cheaper. But I can use a UMD to watch video, and also music. Yeah I know that may mean that the MD is dead, but when a MD player/recorder is under $100, the minimum for a UMD is going to be like $150 to 200. Also with functions of downloading video, the disk is going to have some form of DRM. It will suck that I won’t be able to download that clip from my bud’s disk to my PC, but when I get back to my PC I can just get it from Youtube or another video source. And the capacity of a UMD is 1.8 GB, which Sony could get up to at least 3GB.
The last is Memory Stick, MS. This is the only thing that has had some success, but only from the popularity of Sony Cameras. It is the smallest of all three and can hold the most. The reasons to not have this as the only format is this: it is flash memory, so it can be corrupted from magnetic forces. It is so small that it can be lost easier. And the last one is that media companies can not put a big enough image on it if they want to sell preloaded content; you need somehow to tell them apart. It is amazing when you can get all three of these device drives in the small space as a floppy disk drive. I would explain the highlights of MS in the future, but you get it.
So why did I ramble this much? Because if this was or is in place, our lives would be just a bit easier. Because is that not what every company is trying to do?
August 10th, 2006 at 12:29 am
slybri says:
@#8 “I can get a 2GB duo for 40-50$ and a 4GB for 100. I’d say that’s very decent.”
I’ve looked all over the web and the cheapest I can get a 2Gig stick is 72$. 4gig sticks are going for 180-200$.
Where the heck can you get memory pro duo sticks that cheap?
August 10th, 2006 at 10:52 am
Robin Good's Latest News says:
Mobile IM, Skype, Browsing And More: Sony Mylo Preview
Video Source: Gizmodo.com Sony’s Mylo, due to hit the streets in September, is a lightweight solution to wireless internet browsing, instant messaging and making Skype calls away from the shackles of the desktop. In a web video exclusive, our…
August 14th, 2006 at 2:29 am
rivera82falcon says:
[i]3. NO Games??
Sony botched the PSP by focusing on games, games, games and stranding users who wanted to use the PSP for its other built in features like viewing movies and listening to music. With all the hoops and hacks needed to enjoy the PSP, most people gave up and thus, Sony squandered another great shot at Walkman-level fame by crippling the PSP with a very limited focus. We mention this here because the Mylo is missing games all together. So now you can view movies and listen to music and so on, but a little Grand Theft Auto or Lemmings? No chance. Game over.[/i]
This is my only complaint about this article. Sony concentrated on games, yes, however, when it comes to movies and music, there is SO much you can do. The author definitely did NOT do his homework when it came to the PSP. Not to mention there is a HUGE community when it comes to homebrew on the PSP. Google “psp hacks” and you’ll have lots of support there. So much is happening there….read a little before writing about what the PSP can and cannot do, IMO.
August 14th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 3 says:
Hey Alice Hill, your missing the point! Sony didn’t make this system for games, they made the Sony PSP for games…duh, do some research next time, dumbass. :-[
August 18th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Sveden says:
I agree that it is weird that there is only g-talk and Yahoo IM. But the biggest 3 IM services are MSN, Yahoo, and THEN AIM. So having the #2 on board is a pretty big coup. Plus do you think Sony and Microsoft are going to be playing nice anytime in the near future? I didn’t think so.
Also there is Meebo for using Aim. Plus in all the negative things you mentioned you forgot that this has a FULL featured web browser. No handicaps at all.
And about the mylo only having 1 gig of storage. How many craptastic Dave Matthew’s band mp3s do you think the average retarded college student is going to put on this thing? I’d say about 300 megs worth. A gig is still a whole bunch when it comes to mp3s.
August 23rd, 2006 at 5:10 am
chronoman says:
I think the biggest mistake SONY’s making is to release mylo ONLY in the US. Europe, for example, has plenty of tech savvy and passionate geeks. Many of universities and bigger cities have free hotspots. I aggree that us$350 is too much and should be lowered but when you see what kind of mobile phones european “kids” carry around, you’ll find that price is not allways the issue…
Another point: mylo runs on linux (Trolltech’s Qtopia platform) so a lot of apps and functionalities missing can be added later. Nobody said that Sony will *keep* mylo closed…
Look also at what happened to the PSP once new firmwares were released: the 2.0 version *added* a Web browser, MPEG-4 audio support, support of TIFF, GIF, PNG and BMP images …
This can happen to mylo as well.
August 25th, 2006 at 3:43 am
neo says:
what about wifi steaming? that dosnt appeal to any of you? sharing your music? meh i liked that feature =]
mylo only in us, testing the waters?
September 1st, 2006 at 5:18 pm
Cheno! says:
Hmm…you made a well thought out point Alice?? The reason I would like a Sony Mylo would not be for gaming, but for the features of being portable enough as a cell phone, mp3, AIM, and also video/photos. Obviously a good buyer would look up specs. before buying. You did point out some hard to-come-by evidence about the Wi-Fi. I have not been able to figure out how it works, but now i do. If it works its good…right?!? I believe for me it works because i don’t go out of town much knowing Wi-Fi will work well thoughout my day. Now i have heard that AIM is not programed in the Mylo. If its not it will still be able to be programed anyways. i think theres the fun in that…trying to put/ configure how it works. For games…forget about it. i have a PSP and most of the time i just up a video and watch.
September 12th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
Sharry says:
Well, the Mylo was released in the US today. There are already problems coming into the MyloForums.
Doesn’t handle Flash or Java.
No Meebo/MSN Webmessenger sites work.
No https support.
No 16:9 video playback.
Can’t load songs into new playlists on the Mylo
No regular headphone jack! Have to carry around an adapter.
Very slow browser on high speed connections
To connect to WIFI connection need to do it twice EVERY TIME.
http://www.myloforums.net
September 15th, 2006 at 2:47 pm
Phi says:
“1. Expensive.
$350 is a lot of money for a device that isn’t a cell phone and doesn’t play games, especially when that product is targeted to younger buyers. After the PlayStation 3 pricing debacle, you’d think Sony would hire a pricing analyst and come back to earth.”
Sounds like an Ipod to me, but hey its Apple so its ok to pay $350.
“2. Ever heard of AIM or MSN?
If you want to IM all the time, then why is the unit missing two of the biggest instant messaging platforms? AOL’s AIM and Microsoft’s MSN Messenger are simply too big 2 B 4gotten.”
Maybe just maybe this will balance the lopsided IM market and perhaps we could get fewer Ads popping up from AIM once they realize they don’t have us by the balls anymore eh?
“3. NO Games??
Sony botched the PSP by focusing on games, games, games and stranding users who wanted to use the PSP for its other built in features like viewing movies and listening to music. With all the hoops and hacks needed to enjoy the PSP, most people gave up and thus, Sony squandered another great shot at Walkman-level fame by crippling the PSP with a very limited focus. We mention this here because the Mylo is missing games all together. So now you can view movies and listen to music and so on, but a little Grand Theft Auto or Lemmings? No chance. Game over.”
I find it funny how you say its missing, since when did multimedia devices require games? Perhaps in another universe we could cram as much technology into a device as we wished and still keep it compact. Problem is we live in reality and companies need to select KEY features to keep the size of the device compact, which I’m glad sony did rather than take your advice. Secondly, why would any company shoot themselves in the foot by releasing a product that competes with product they are already offering, it just doesn’t make business sense. Oh you bought a PSP for 300 dollars, hey hey why don’t we stick it to you by releasing another gaming system, how does that feel early adopters? A nice fuck you. LOL, obviously its not that blunt, but it would be very stupid on their part to make such a move you get the point.
September 17th, 2006 at 12:46 am
JC says:
I have owned the SONY Mylo since Sept. 18, 2006. So far, my wife and I have loved it. The device has a pleasing appeal, well built unit “Made in Japan.” The screen is so bright and clear. The video and music are excellent. Wifi connection is very good. Skyping is easier and better than I expected. Here’s the advantage this device has over IPOD that many people have not mentioned — the built in speaker sounds great!!
Through my observation, most of the negative opions seemed to come from people who have not yet owned, nor tested the MyLo.
Can you find a comparable small device, for $350, with built-in keyboard “Made in Japan” that can do skype, Yahoo IM and Google Talk, plays video, music with built-in speaker with 9 hours of battery life, browses the web using Opera browser, creates document and accepts portable storage like MS Pro Duo?
By the way, I have a PDA phone with all of these features and more, but it can’t deliver the tasks half well. The build quality, video and sound output can’t compare to the MyLo. The Mylo never locks up like any PDAs running Microsoft software. I am waiting for a new firmware update that allow the device to stream music via the web. I know a new firmware will be coming.
September 27th, 2006 at 11:38 am
jb says:
The mylo is a nice little gadget but it has been under thought and under developed.
The Problems with the device include:
1) Incomplete support of web pages esp. using for encrypted pages like banking etc…
2) wifi connection is b type only and it would be far better to have g as well in oder to have greater strength and speed of connection
3) Where is the back lighting for the keyboard? Sony have gone retro to the NR70V clie which has exactly the same type of unlit keyboard. Sony did away with that inferior technology by backlighting the Sony Clie NX73 and NX80 (both which I have) but now several years on these have gone for the cheap route and re-introduced a keyboard you can use in the dark.
4)Although the Mylo has a MS Duo slot there is incomplete coverage for all utilities on the device such as not being able to assign mp3 to a playlist unless it is in the internal memory, inability to ‘drop’ files into Skype from the memory card– very frustrating.
5)I agree with other comments that MSN and AIM have been left out, so this cuts out some of the market population. If this were a true communicatiions device, it would include all major communication packages.
6)Not bluetooth and no infrared– no ability to communicate with non-Mylo devices.
7)Bad mistake by Sony for release to just the USA. What happened to Japan itself and the rest of the World. They too have Wifi and as Sony states, the wifi is made to international specifications and i know it works in Japan.
8)Aiming the device at the adolescent/student market is fine but as has also been mentioned, there are many gadget adults out there who love Sony devices for their ingenuity and to cut them out of the market is really a bit of an insult.
All in all, Sony have made a nice device but there are significant downsides to buying this product.
No doubt this will be Sony’s only Mylo device and it too like the PDA market will die its death in a short time whilst other international manufacturers actually refine the product and make it into the product it should have been.
All the best….
October 15th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
JQ says:
ok peoples. enough about the aim. just go on this website for it..doih
http://denver.ebuddy.com/webaim/mobile/index.jsp
u can use that website to login to aim or msn and the wifi thing, just subscribe 2 that wifi thingy on the mylo site and its 25 bucks a year. thats pretty good. soo pplz stop stressing
November 8th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Caco Potoso says:
Another thing that kills it: yet another non-standard voltage required. Six volts!! Why six, if it were just five then one could hope to recharge it from a USB port. Now this is yet another wall-wart (transformer) that is needed to carry around. Sony engineers suck for not figuring this one out…
November 18th, 2006 at 6:53 am
Unimportant says:
All the arguing and complaining everyone has failed to mention a very practical use for an item such as this. So, I skimmed over the articles and may have missed a thing or two, but to my understanding this item has only been released in the US recently?
Wrong, or right it’s irrelavent. So the skype wi-fi is targeted at a younger crowd. Let’s face it the majority of the younger crowd are college students that really don’t have a lot of money to spare. true…
The main thing that you left out is people that are in the US military, or work abroad. For an individual who is constantly traveling or any active duty personnel stationed overseas, say, Japan. This item is a goldmine. What would normally cost hundreds of dollars in phone bills or calling cards to phone home and stay in touch with friends, families, and loved ones could easily be done at 2 cents a minute! 2 CENTS a minute, and being stationed overseas and seeing this remarkable device I had to jump on the opportunity, and while the price tag is rather hefty, the amount of money that I will save over time will be well worth it. Plus, the country of japan is loaded with wi-fi areas. Hell, I get wireless communication while I’m on the damn train. Yahoo broadband out here is wireless and it’s everywhere! so this is as convenient as it gets.
So gripe, complain, ridicule, and point fingers at sony for creating engineering nightmares, but most of these problems like software support and things like that can easily be changed with software upgrades to the Mylo.
This item is not only practical, but I love it so much I’ve got half the damn USS Kitty Hawk asking me where they can buy one because it’s that pratical. It may not be ideal for you in your situations, but with 40 dollar cell phone plans back home where you can call anywhere in the country for free after 9 p.m. I can’t blame you for complaining. Being me, and hundreds of thousands of other forward deployed military members this is the greatest thing we’ve seen in a long time. People pay between 300 and 1300 dollars a month on phone bills out here, I’ve seen it multiple times over, one in particular was up to 2100 dollars in ONE month! Thinking about that makes this little baby seem down right affordable.
If you don’t like it, Ebay it, or better yet shoot me an email and I’ll find someone to take it off your hands for you, I got almost an entire department just itching to get their hands on one!
December 12th, 2006 at 10:09 am
Z says:
I just got one this weekend. Here’s my first impression.
Just as “Unimportant” said, it’s saving alot of money on long-distant calling. Skype worked great. $80 a year for Skype Unlimited, Skypein (comes with Skype voicemail). It’s not bad!
Since I don’t use AIM. Most of my friends are on GTalk so I don’t mind not having AIM or MSN.
The unit charges off with the USB cable. The 6 volt block is weird. Why not 3 volts?
File transfer is not too bad. Even on a Mac. If you know what you doing it’s very easy. (deleting files with .ds and ._)
I’m not big on portable gaming system so I didn’t mind MYLO being the opposite of PSP.
I do have some gripes not able to make a playlist on the MS Duo Pro. However, the sound is incredible. A lot better then my W800i.
The video is great also but limited on how the file’s encoded.
The WiFi connection is just a bit slow.
And once again, Sony has a really poor support page. Took me a while to figure out where the MP3 or the video files go on the MS Duo Pro.
So the bottom line. MYLO is great for:
Anyone who’s a gadget freak.
Like to try something new and move away from iPod.
Have friends overseas with Skype.
Have the cash.
Not recommended to:
Anyone who’s not living in a major city.
Anyone expecting portable gaming.
Anyone who would rather wait for $600 iPhone and hand over $60-$80 to Cingular.
Just one more thing…I still can’t believe Apple has the statement that iphone has no moving parts. It clearly has a motor for the hard drive.
Only if Sony can merge with Apple….ahhhh…SONApple.
I would definately not recommand MYLO to anyone who’s not living in a major city.
The sound is fantastic
February 12th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
jitesh patel says:
I BHOUGHT ONE 5 MONTHS AGO JUST SOLD IT I BHOUGHT THE BLACK ONE I ENJOYED USING IT AT FIRST BUT THEN IT HIT ME THIS DAMM THING IS TOO SMALL THE SCREEN SIZE IS NOT ADEQUATE FOR SATISFACTORY WEBBROWSING THE KEYBOARD IS TOO SMALL NO BACKLIGHT EITHER IF SONY WAKES UP AND MAKES A SECOND VERSION OF THE MYLO THEY BETTER MAKE THIS STUPID THING A WHOLE LOT BIGGER THE SCREEN SIZE HAS TO BE 5 TO 6 INCHS BIGGER BACKLIT KEYBOARD STREAMING VIDEO’S CAPABLE
May 9th, 2007 at 8:14 am
chaoscreater says:
wat a bunch of critics……if u dont fucking like it don’t fucking buy it then, wat’s the big deal??? Yes Sony Mylo has its bad points and downsides but rich people don’t fucking give a shit, if it looks cool then they buy it for no reason and at least it can go online and actually use it as a communicating device, it’s not made to play games……..and btw, no matter how awesome a electronic device is it can not combine all those things into one, that’s y some people have fones and ipods along with psp or watever, see even i have a Sony Ericsson W900 which is a walkman fone that can take pictures and play videos and musics but i still have a mp4 as well, it doesn’t matter if it’s not “ALL-IN-ONE” cuz nobody fucking cares, u try design a fucking good device and sell it and try to compete with Sony u motherfuckers so shut the fuck up u fucking critics, just enjoy or don’t enjoy the product but don’t fucking post and spam the website.
May 12th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
chaoscreater says:
forgot to add this, just so u know u fucking critics not all the device combined into one will make it superior, if u concentrate on making one good device then it’s better than having a lot of random crap combined together, e.g. fones now days have up to 2.0 megapixel cameras, if u wanna buy a 5 megapixel camera fone u might as well buy a 10 megapixel camera that acutally takes better photos and better video recording qualities, so simply say each device has its own good and concentrated technology made into it, that’s y IPODS are good for music cuz its quality and all that is good, if u want a fucking device combined with all those things just to fill ur fucking desire and needs well it’s gonna create one hell of a problem, so fuck urself and stop criticising unless u can design an even better product fuckers.
May 12th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
dec says:
tease are £150 they are cheap and well good im getting one
May 26th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
allen says:
this device is good if you do not want to carry around a laptop to get on skype from a coffee shop. Very easy to get on and start to play. It really sucks to have a cell phone that makes you fill like you have a chain around your neck. My mylo is good just to pull out and make free calls without have a big laptop to tote. I wish intel would hurry on the classmate pc so I can have this device.
June 14th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
John says:
i think that this sony mylo product wont make it far but it will make it somewhere and jimmy timmy powers is right the sony psp was made for games not the mylo. But i have a couple reasons that i like about the mylo that the psp can/can not do. First if u are in a WiFi conpatable area then u can use skype witch everyone knows what skype is, i would use it so i dont waste up my cell phone mins. Second u can use google talk and yahoo messenger on it psp cant, psp dosent have the speed or the softwhere to launch it. Third the psp cant go on web sites without the proper memmory if u have the stick that sony gives u (32mb) u cant go anywhere. but with a high memmory card (512mb) u can go on most web sites but not the ones people mostley use for example Myspace, Yotube, Google Video, and anything else that uses flash player. But the mylo already has flash player 9,0,47,0 alrady installed on it.
July 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
5 Reasons Sony Mylo is Doomed to Failure « agrotime says:
[…] Link to Story: http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3355#more-3355 […]
August 18th, 2007 at 7:47 am
Tiffany Ngo says:
Heyyyy so are you saying that umm theres no way you can use AIM(aol instant messeaging ) on the mylo ?
September 13th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Ella says:
Alice what are you saying!! The price has come Down to $270 plus 1 year free T-Mo hotspot and a $50 gift cert. So for those who just want the free T-Mo hotspot you buy the Mylo register for the Free Hopspot and sell your Mylo on Ebay.
For those of us that use Skype a great deal it is awesome. My family are in Europe and we Skype constantly. I can put all of my Music on a memory stick and carry it with me in one Unit. I also use Gmail and Yahoo so I am very happy.
However I think Sony could have done better. I would have liked more memory and for it to have had cellphone capability ( unlocked prefereably). But it is still a great gadget.
October 14th, 2007 at 11:27 am
joe says:
you can download aim and msn
October 15th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
josh says:
I was stupid enough to buy one. wanna know how much a spare adapter will run ya for the headphones? 70 FUCKIN DOLLARS!!!! what in the hell were they smoking? I went to the sony parts site and bitched em out about it. ……….
———————————-
It should be common knowledge that with any media device, headphones and adapters will need to be replaced for one of several possible reasons. To this end, it is the obligation of the manufacturer to make the replacement parts at a reasonable price.
Yet, the replacement headphone adapter for the mylo costs nearly a third of the entire package.
Thats like paying $7,000 to replace the tires on a $21,000 vehicle. It’s absurd!
I have had numerous problems with all products Sony, from the PS2 laser to the vaio laptop I am typing this message on.
(the laptop has a whopping 128mb of RAM)
The replacement mylo headphones are the officially last straw.
Sony, you have lost my business.
———————————
Here’s the best part, they couldn’t find the model number! i.e. It doesn’t even exist. Sony knows they screwed up with this one.
October 16th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
conor says:
remember when cell phones were $3000… stop conplaining
October 29th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
gollybype says:
i think..it’s a NICE product….you were complaining you can’t afford it..lol…but it’s really really good…
and another thing that you don’t like because you don’t know how to operate this Cool product….^.^… well i’ll teach you guys the secrets about MYLO i’m sure just some of mylo users knew it…IF YOU JUST KNEW THE MAIN SECRET FOR SURE YOU’LL LOVE IT!~..i’m not kiddin…hekhek..
^.^..muaahugzz every1~~~
November 11th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
ashby nernbull says:
The article doesn’t cover the biggest irony of all: Mylo runs linux, but it is completely locked down!
Yes it is an arm platform, for which loads of software is available. But only the first version of the firmware had even one port that could be ftp’ed into. If you read the forums, each new firmware “update” is only more locked-down than the last, and nobody has yet found a way to install user-selected software.
These forced-obsolescence devices that manufacturers keep coming out with these days demonstrate no intention of even having a future. Luckily I bought mine for a hundred bucks on eBay, and didn’t give a cent to the IP Nazis at Sony.
November 20th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
nick says:
looks ugly
if ppl wants internet from their cellphone carrier, they’d use their existing cellphone
if ppl wants wifi,most already have laptops, DS, PSP to wifi it.
seriouly flawed product
January 28th, 2008 at 1:53 am
lonewoilf says:
my mylo was 299.99$ ok it has lokt up ones on me I got a 4 gig stck for 75$ and hoow knows how much more Icood hof goten the thing I hate is that you wood think soney wood hove stopt and wocht a spiy move ar at least skt a kid what they thot of not bein abool to comunicat whith a lap top as ecwools that suck to have to yous it as a de tachibol drive that bites hard if you know a way to fix thi problome ples tell me ow yes by the way the cey pad is lit you dum fuck and yes it has a camer to
March 1st, 2008 at 2:17 am
Themagicalrock says:
ok, my turn. 5 reasons the sony MYLO 2 is headed for success.
1. The Camera. The addition of a digital camera to the COM2 was a great idea. In addition to just storing photos, now, you can take them also. Being able to draw on photos is also a funny feature.
2. Addition to AIM. This addition now comes with AIM, so you can talk to all your friends via that.
3. Flash Games. For the lack of console games, the Mylo com-2 has been given the ability to play flash movies, and flash games. there are a couple you can download from the site directly from you mylo, but you are not limited to only that. you can download any flash game to your computer, then transfer it to you mylo
4. Skype phone service. Skype, like most mobile devices, is considered their service. and believe me, the service is so much cheaper, being only 2 cents a minuet, or just free for skype to skype calls, making travelers want to buy this more.
5. ipod killer! the major feature that made me finally buy this device, was the mp3 player. i udderly hate ipods, and wanted a soulution. i wanted something that could do stuff like the iphone could, and my options were either the nokia n810, or the sony mylo 2. the mylo 2 was 150 dolars cheaper, and that finaly made me buy it. since then, i have moved all of my itunes songs to my mylo, and use it more than ever.
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:19 am
Cooper says:
I just got the second version of the MyLO. Honestly, bitching about the lack of games? How’s about you all translate MyLO= My Life Online. This device is great, I immediately was able to connect to the internet, thanks to Comcast. There are plenty of hotspots around my house. Think of Starbucks, Panera, etc. I’m sure that EVERY town has some major branch of a big shot corporation. It was 300$, about the same as a good iPod, and half the cost of the iPhone. The loss of MSN irks me, but there’s Skype. I have plenty of friends and family overseas so I’m pleased with this. Overall, this device is pretty damn good.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:50 am