First look: Sony's new mylo handheld.

mylo (for "my life online") is Sony's new competitor against the Nokia 770 in the Linux-based handheld computer category. It's a bit smaller (1 x 4.8 x 2.5 inches), has a 2.4-inch QBVGA (320 x 240) LCD screen, and a retractable keyboard. Where the 770 is a rectangular tablet (with a much larger screen), the mylo has rounded corners and looks more like a mobile phone.

Like the 770 however, the mylo is not a phone, but rather supports IP telephony systems such as Skype, which is also listed by Sony as one of its four mylo "partners". As of August, 2006, the others are JiWire (for finding 802.11b Wi-Fi hotspots), Yahoo and Google (both for instant messaging and email).

Perhaps most significant, from a historical perspective is that Sony is supporting audio formats other than its own. The mylo comes with support for .mp3 audio, as well as Sony's own ATRAC3 and Microsoft's WMA. It also has a built-in MPEG-4 video player. Until now Sony has avoided making .mp3 players, a category now dominated by Apple's iPod.

Files can be transferred to and from the mylo either by USB2 connections or Sony's proprietary (but common) Memory Stick removable flash media.

Sony hasn't released any hardware specs (e.g. processor or speed), but among the specs it shares are: 1 GB internal flash RAM, a rechargeable 3.7 volt battery (and external 6 V DC power adapter), video playing time of up to 8 hours and talk time of up to 3.5 hours.

In general, the mylo is designed to work immediately as a consumer electronics device. But it's still a Linux-based computer. And, like the 770, it is open to application development, through the Qtopia platform, from Trolltech.

We will be taking a closer look the mylo in the next few months. In the meantime, feel free to share your own experiences with the device. Write to [email protected].

- Doc Searls

Links:

http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/assets/itpd/mylo/prod/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony

http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS8202297251.html