Sony Renames Mylo

Sony has renamed their misunderstood Mylo on the SonyStyle website. When the product debuted several years ago, it was dubbed the Mylo Personal Communicator, which was supposed to be Sony’s ace card gadget that would have it all. Unfortunately, as the Apple iPhone and cell phones grew in power, the Mylo was overshadowed. The second version of the Mylo arrived and it was more successful than the first, but its hard for consumers to bite on such an expensive device. It’s a shame that Sony Ericsson didn’t make this a cellphone, as we aren’t really in the era of VOIP handsets – yet. Nonetheless, the Mylo Personal Communicator is now known as the Mylo Internet Device.

Information courtesy of Pocketables.

Mylo COM-2 1.201 Firmware Update

Sony has released a firmware update to the sleek Mylo COM-2, enabling a few new features while improving the removable storage capacity. Seems like Sony has truly favored the second iteration of this device as the first was rather limited in functionality and had underwhelming firmware updates. Should Sony build a more scalable Mylo or should we be expecting a COM-3 in a couple of quarters? Perhaps the device isn’t popular enough yet to have a true financial investment in functionality. The nearly 60MB update includes the following:

• Adds support for video recording
• Adds a new menu option for easier photo and video uploading
• Provides a “Optimize” option in Task Manager for system memory
• Adds a function to format Memory Stick Duo™ media
• Adds the ability to display thumbnail images in the Game menu
• Adds support for 16GB Memory Stick Duo™ media
• Improves Flash playback of YouTube® videos

Official US Download Link for COM-2 1.201 Update.

Is Mylo a Stepping Stone to the PSP2?

Sony has surprisingly released an odd-looking device that is reminscent of the PSP in many ways, and has functionality that many PSP users desire. Perhaps when the PSP gets a VOIP upgrade in a few months (as planned by Sony), it will have similiar abilities to what we’re seeing here with Mylo (MyLife Online). The skype integration is choice, as you can employ Skype’s free SkypeOut service until the end of the year and make any phone calls for free. Mylo also plays ATRAC. Here’s the official Sony Press Release.

Here’s the word from the Wall Street Journal:

Hoping to tap into the growth of wireless networks across college campuses, other public spaces and within homes, Sony Corp. unveiled a new pocket-size gadget for instant messaging and other Internet-based communications.

The Sony Mylo, slated for availability in September at a retail price of about $350, is a first-of-its-kind product that uses Wi-Fi networks. It will be sold only in the U.S.

The slim, oblong gizmo, which has a 2.4-inch display and slides open to expose a thumb keyboard, is geared toward young, mainstream consumers for messaging and Internet-based calls, commonly known as VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) calls. As long as a Wi-Fi network is accessible, a Mylo user could chat or browse the Web.

It isn’t a cellphone and thus doesn’t carry monthly service fees, and though it could handle Web-based email services, it doesn’t support corporate email programs.

Mylo, which stands for “my life online,” will be marketed toward 18- to 24-year-olds who rely heavily on instant messaging and already view email as passé, Sony said. The new gadget will be available through Sony’s online store and at select retailers in college towns.

Sony has partnered with Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. to integrate their instant-messaging services, and is looking to expand Mylo’s support to other services as well, most notably the leading messaging provider, Time Warner Inc.’s America Online. Sony has also teamed with eBay Inc.’s Skype VOIP service, which offers free voice chats for its registered users.

The so-called personal communicator doubles as a portable media player. It can play music and videos and display photos that are stored on its internal one gigabyte of flash memory or optional Memory Stick card. It also can stream songs between Mylo users within the same network, as long as the users grant permission to share their music files.

Danielle Levitas, an industry analyst at market researcher IDC, called the Mylo a “unique, compelling” product, but said it might fare better at a price of $299 and with added partners such as AOL.

In addition, though Wi-Fi is spreading across colleges, coffee houses, airports and even entire cities, Ms. Levitas said the wireless technology isn’t ubiquitous enough yet to help Sony break Mylo out of a niche market. “You need enough Wi-Fi out there to make this a compelling product to reach a wider audience,” she said.

Sony is betting Mylo will draw great interest not just among college students, but also in households where youngsters might be fighting over the use of a computer for chatting or Web surfing. “Our Mylo personal communicator lets you have the fun parts of a computer in the palm of your hand,” said John Kodera, a director of product marketing at Sony.

[via WSJ]