Review: Sony mylo personal communicator

When the Sony mylo was announced in early August, I wanted it immediately. I don't really know why, as I was neither interested in the mylo's biggest selling point (instant messaging) nor included in the target demographic (18-22 year olds). I do have a weakness for convergence devices, though, and I've always been a fool for Sony. Whatever the reason, as soon as it was possible, I preordered the mylo from Amazon. It shipped in late September and I've been immersed in it ever since.

And now, a month later, I've finally finished the review. My pal EnzoTen, who runs Anything But iPod (where I've been moonlighting for the past few months and where the review is posted), took all the pictures and shot the video included in the review because . . . well, you'll understand as soon as you see them. Quality like that is just something out of my reach.

Read the review here.

Comments

[Utew]

Great comprehensive review Jenn,

It's an interesting concept that I was excited about when it was first announced, but it seems that once again Sony has limited another neat gadget and over-priced it to boot.

1G memory just doesn't supply enough capacity and needing to by a lg cap. Memory Stick just drives the price up even higher. That kills it as a primary multi-media device.

802.11b is old now and cripples it's usefulness. Web surfing on such a small screen would be an exercise in frustration.. which leaves us with what? Skype.. nice but add cell functionality and it would be much better and perhaps worth the price of admission.

I'm afraid I'll pass on this one..

[Jenn]

A Utew debut! Thanks for all your comments (in all three places no less). Can a firmware upgrade take care of the 802.11b nonsense?

Off topic: I meant to tell you several weeks ago that I finally saw "V for Vendetta" and am now fairly convinced that you're Hugo Weaving. Your V avatar has infiltrated my brain!

Also off topic: I think the pink Samsung K5 should be available soon. I've finally seen a real life picture of it and it's a lot darker than I expected. Maybe it won't be a fingerprint magnet like the black one?

[Utew]

LOL on the Vendetta thing... ;-)

I think a firmware upgrade isn't a possibility for 802.11b > 802.11b/g.. the specs for both standards are different, it would take an actual replacement with a new LSI (large scale integrated circuit) chip..

..and I fear the K5, due to its plexiglas/acrylic front surface.. will be a smear attractant no matter the color of the player.. but I still love it's attributes. :-)

BTW, no debt incurred Jenn, I've been meaning to get back over here and see your really great work on this site.. it's so far away from my normal hangouts.. you know...lol

[Sharon]

I love the look of the Mylo, but why doesn't it have PIM functions??? I'd buy it in a hardbeat...

As for the pink K5, where did you see pics of it????

[Jenn]

Here's the pink K5:
http://chipchick.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/samsungcase_1.jpg

[Matthew]

Where do you get a sony mylo and what store and how much was it???

[Jenn]

The mylo is widely available at brick-and-mortar shops and a slew of online retailers. As mentioned in the post, I got mine from Amazon, which currently stocks both the black and white models. Prices range between $300 and $350.

[Dude]

I am a little hesitant with the 802.11b, but it still works fine, and it's not hard to find it supported.

The sony style outlet store has it for 135 shipped.

I just purchased it about an hour ago. It was soooo cheap, I had to try it. The ipod touch is 299, and doesn't seem to do much more. Although it does have more memory, but even the sony sticks aren't bad. And you don't even need an upgrade to surf. I'm basically just killing time at airports and lounges, so this is great without getting your laptop ripped off....

Be Well

[Jenn]

Enjoy your new toy, Dude! $135 is an amazing price. Is it refurbished?