Sony + Skype = MyLo
MyLo (My Life Online) is making the rounds of tech blogs worldwide. This nifty little gadget is a joint undertaking of Sony and Skype and is dubbed as a “personal communicator” with sporting a 2.4 inch screen, a sliding keyboard and Wi-Fi enabled. The idea behind MyLo is to be able to place and receive Skype calls anywhere there’s a Wi-Fi hotspot. Through SkypeOut, MyLo can call cellphones and landline phones and through SkypeIn, incoming calls from cellphones and landline phones can be received.
Apart from doing Skype calls, Mylo is also capable of Instant Messaging (IM) using Skype, GoogleTalk, and Yahoo! Messenger plus it can also surf the ‘net using a built-in browser. It also has an Ad Hoc mode that lets it exchange music, videos and pictures with other nearby MyLo users.
As a music player, MyLo supports MP3, ATRAC3 (a given since this is a Sony product) and WMA (both secure and unsecure). Transferring music can be done three ways: dragging files into it through Windows Explorer, through Sonic Stage or through Windows Media Player 10. Pictures and videos can be uploaded to Mylo through the USB and through a Memory Stick Duo slot.
With its sliding keyboard, text can be composed and saved using the MyLo. The format of those texts will be in standard .txt format.
I sure hope Sony doesn’t botch this one up since so far, MyLo is a very promising device. With its communication and multi-media capabilities, this may become the “next iPod” (note that I’m not using the term “iPod Killer” here) if priced right for their target market.
More information from MyLo site (warning: their site is heavy on Flash animation)
i’m pretty intrigued/excited about this product. i like the idea of having a headset plugged in and walking around the house using skype. or doing some web-browsing from the bed or sofa. or reading recipes in the kitchen! i definitely think there is a market for something bigger than a PDA with a slide out qwerty keyboard.
here’s the worst thing sony could do: lock down the hardware, or software. i.e force you do install some some software on your PC to transfer files/songs to the mylo. or prevent homebrew apps on it. please don’t botch it sony!!!