Customer Reviews

Sony mylo Personal Communicator COM-1 2.4" LCD-Black

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I hate the phone companies so much I puchased a Mylo in hopes to replace my cell phone. I guess WiFi is not as ubiquitous as I thought in LA. It works well once it's sync up with a WiFi connection but it takes effort to find a "hotspot", especially a free hotspot. Note that McDonalds and Starbucks charge an unreasonable fee to connect to the web and not worth the expense; borrowing signal from unsuspecting neighbors can be hit or miss, that is if they don't secure their WiFi modems. Some examples of free hotspots are Apple Stores, Whole Foods Grocery Markets and Panera Cafes. The phone comes with a hotspot data base which is easily updated with either a Mac or PC. When the USB is plugged in, it acts like a external drive and things are pretty straight foward. You just drag and drop files.

The unit itself is surprisingly small and easily fits in the palm of you hand, it's slightly larger than a typical cell phone, however the screen is large and clear enough to see video and pictures but is a little cumbersome to navagate around a web page. Another thing about the screen, it's nice and bright when viewing indoors but very difficult to see when you're out in the sun light. It should be good enough for IM and Chat functions. The keyboard, at least for me I have to use my index finger nails, hunt and peck method. I've used it with Skype and it works fine. The audio is bright and clear when using it like a phone. The earbuds/mic oddly comes in two separate cords and the audio is very acceptable. The first cord has a special plug for the Mylo and the second cord plugs into the first cord and is a typical earbud set-up.

Here are some suggestions for improvements. I know that size is personal matter but I think the optimal size would be the size and thinness of my HP Scientific Calculator. It think Sony gave up too much in screen size to navigate web pages easily. A larger unit means you can navigate the keyboard with you thumbs, like a Crackberry and you can use full sized USB plugs instead of expensive propritary equipment. Also, if they can make a unit with better WiFi reception, I noticed when I had a laptop, the reception was better.

I gave Mylo 4 stars because Sony gave a good effort and was to first to come out with a Skype Phone. Belkin claims to be the first but as of this date Belkin still hasn't released their phone yet. Besides the early reviews claim the audio quality of the Mylo is superior to the Belkin and the Netgear WiFi phones.

If you're looking for an Ipod Nano that can connect to the internet and send email, as well as watch video and view photos, then this is the device for you.

I decided to get one after loosing my Ipod to an accident. It has a nice picture, the sound quality is great, and the video quality is fantastic.

But it's not a cell phone replacement by any means. Without a WiFi connection, you can't communicate with anything but maybe someone with another Mylo. Plus, and this is very surprising, it will only connect to an 802.11B (or mixed) signal. It will show other networks (such as the faster "G" signaled WiFi networks), but if they're not the "B" type, then you won't connect. Also, it seems like the USB is only 1.0, not 2.0.

The way the menus are layed out is very similar to the PSP, another neat Sony product if you like gaming. That unit will also play video and audio, as well as cruise the web. But the Mylo has the advantage of a keyboard, so texting on it is much easier.

If only Sony could figure out how to bring this unit to market without having to spend an arm and a leg on it, then it might be a lot more popular. $349 is a tad bit steep for what it does offer. But the next time i'm stranded in an airport, it'll be much nicer passing the time watching a movie or surfing the web without using my cellular data minutes.

I wanted to like this device. Really. I spent a great deal of time looking at the reviews before I got it.

Whats good: battery life, cute, great screen and audio.

Whats bad: All functionality is essentially only halfway there...

You like IM? GREAT, I hope you like Yahoo or GoogleTalk, because AIM isnt there.

You like Skype? GREAT, the sound quality is there. Unfortunately, the "manage my account" button doesnt work and the Skype caller ID functionality doesnt work. Sony tech support is unhelpful.

You like the Web? Yup! Mylo's got a browser... At WiFi speeds it should be pretty zippy.... Unfortunately, it isnt. It also doesnt render most pages very well at all. Oh.... and if you go answer an IM while browsing, realize that you have to leave the browser app.... So, you will have to reload your page if you want to browse some more.

You like Open source? It is built on Linux, Sadly, it is incredibly closed.. There are some "hacks" but the community doesnt really seem to be trying to build anything for it and there certainly arent dev kits from sony...

It has a real pretty screen. The sound quality is good. It is quite possible that as a media player it isnt bad. So, if you want a media player with mediocre and limited skype/yahoo/web functionality -- this is your box. I wanted it to be the device for me. Now I will just be returning it :-(. The fact that nothing seemed to work as it should was a big deal to me.

The audio quality using SKYPE is very, very good. Battery life is so far exceptional, particularly with regard to the Mylo as an mp3 player. But what is troublesome so far has been my inability to make video that plays acceptably by the device. I have used PSP Video 9 and InterVideo to Go to produce mp4 video which the player invariably plays, but the end result is a pixellated catastrophe. Playing the same mp4 files with QuickTime causes no such problems. I have downloaded mp4 files made by Sony's proprietary Image Converter 2 Software; these work well in the Mylo.

This device has a lot going for it. It has internet which allows for messaging, e-mail, and multimedia functionality all at the palms of your hand and easily accessable with a full QWERTY keyboard. Here are really the pros and cons of the device.

PROS:
-Bright screen
-Very portable
-Great looking device
-Good menu system
-Expansion slot
-Durable
-Great battery life
-Wi-Fi/E-mail
-Build-in microphone (also come with external mic in box)

CONS:
-Not a phone - don't be fooled by Skype, it's not as galmorous as it sounds and you NEED an internet connection to use it (for a little more you can get a Sidekick 3)
-Expansion is limited to Sony's propietary Memory Stick DUO
-Screen could be higher res (more colors too)
-Attracts fingerprints too easily
-No built-in camera
-No productivity programs (Word, Excel, etc.)

My biggest beef really was that it really isn't fully functional in any way, except maybe a multimedia player. The good battery life makes a pretty good MP3/video player replacement, especially with the cost of flash memory going down. But as an internet device, only at hot spots. As a phone, only at hotspots. As a PDA, no productivity pack or Windows Mobile 5.

BOTTOM LINE: Get a Sidekick 3, or wait until the next generation comes out.

This device gets a lot of critism for limited feature, and that is true. HOWEVER, this is the best Skype phone on the market. I bought it and then lowered by cell phone bill. Since it cost as much and any other Skype wi-fi portable phone, just think of more as a high-featured skype phone than a low-featured communicator. Definatly worth the purchase.

P.S. The Opera-based web browser on the Mylo is about 2x faster than my Sprint PPC-6700 and 3x faster than my PSP

The Sony MyLo is a great idea, but poorly executed. The hardware itself is beautiful! The slide out QWERTY keyboard feels solid and well designed. It's screen is bright and clear; and it's battery life is fantastic. The only complaint I have regarding the hardware itself is the complete lack of Bluetooth...and it needs to be added. As to the software...

The IM is limited to only Yahoo and Google Talk -- there's no AIM, no MSN, no ICQ, and no way of adding them.

The e-mail support is via web browser only, which could be okay if the browser was any good. The web browser has numerous issues: it doesn't support SSL encryption, which means anytime you enter your user ID and password, you're doing it in clear text (oops!). It doesn't render pages very well; it's slow; there's no Flash Player (or means to add it)...meaning no online videos (youtube = no); and if you trying going to eBay or to Amazon, you get this large warning that the browser is out of date and needs to be updated to support the latest web features.

Moving on to Multimedia, the Videos are clear, but only support 4:3 resolution...there is no support for 16:9 widescreen vids...they just won't play.

The Audio Player is okay and the device even has external controls for play/stop/next/previous. However, there's no equilizer and the sound is a tad flat. Also, you have to use a proprietary connector to attach headphones...which is one more thing to lug around.

As to Skype, it works very good (IMHO). The calls are crisp and clear. The Mic is a little off, so you sound "distant" on the other end, and you can't edit your contacts...it only imports them from the Skype account you setup on your desktop. No big deal, since that's how I manage them anyway. All told, I do Like this feature. Best of the bunch.

As for productivity apps...there isn't any. No Word, No Excel, not even OpenOffice (since it is a Linux Device). There's no Telnet, SSH, or VNC option so the device could be used to manage servers or remote desktop, and there's no development kit to add any new functionality via third party.

All told, the hardware itself is sweet (minus Bluetooth), but the software it comes with leaves alot to be desired. Maybe Version 2.

The sony mylo really surprised me. I saw it in a random ad for ski gear, and just liked the asthetics of it. I tracked it down and played with it for about 10 min in store before buying. I figured, if I didn't like it I could just just ebay it.


Being a college kid I am always at a coffee house, on campus, or at home. It is very rare that I am anywhere without wi-fi. (not to mention my entire county is supposed to go wi fi in the next year or so) Therefore I am always reachable by skype (the phone), SMS, and email. I find it all easy to use. I am always logged onto Yahoo! Messenger, and can chat up my classmates on there or by SMS. I paid $30 for my skype account. I can call anywhere in the USA or Canada for free for the next year. Also, as long as I call another skype phone (world wide) its free free free.
I also like that I can call almost anywhere in the world for pennies. The phone is wonderful. Its clear, no dropped calls, and 1000Xs better than my verizon cell service. (and you get to choose your phone numbers from around the world)


The web browser is great! I find it easy to use. I can easily access large pages like MySpace, as well as Yahoo!News. I personally have never had a problem connecting to any wifi services. I like that you get 1 year free t-mobile hotspot with your purchase as well. So at almost all starbucks I have wifi for free there too.



The buttons are kind of small, but my hands are smaller so its okay- think the treo 700w. The video is crisp and clear, and it holds a lot of mp3s. Neither of which really matter if you have an iPod, although I can't really compare the two.


bottom line, if you spend a lot of time in wifi zones and need a cheap phone, and want to browse the internet, this product is for you. There are a lot of features I could live without, but they are nice to have.

I travel a lot, and I'm getting ready to move overseas, so I was looking for an something that would allow me to stay in contact with my friends and family back in the states. I was interested in something portable--that didn't have to be tied down to a phone line, neither to a laptop. There are several wi-fi phones out there that look great, but they don't have web browsing capabilities, so if I was in an area that had wi-fi, but you had to authenticate in order to use the internet, you were out of luck. The Mylo is great because it does have web browsing capabilities. With that I can always get online, whether I have to authenticate or not. The only thing that the mylo browser cannot do is view flash based web pages, and you cannot download anything...and you can't stream media. But that's not to say that Sony won't have an update sooner or later to fix those things. The PSP at first didn't allow one to view flash, and they've fixed that problem. Sony, please update the firmware!

The Mylo comes with Skype, Google talk, and Yahoo messenger already pre-installed. I have used each and they have all worked perfectly--I had crystal clear phone calls with skype. These programs are not fully loaded as their computer based versions. They do have the necessary functions, though. With Skype, you have most of the functions. You can make skype calls, skype-out, and skype-in. Google Talk is strictly text messages..as it Yahoo M. Both the Google T. and Yahoo Messengers have links to your inbox, which is nice. Another nice feature is the "What's up" feature. The What's up feature allows you to view all of your contacts from each of the communications programs at once. You can easily see who's online, and you can customize each of your contact's ID.

This product will never take the place of your cell phone, because most of the cell providers already give free long distance, etc. and your cell phone is always in service wherever you travel. The mylo's communications abilities are only available when you are within wireless internet range. This would be a great replacement for your home phone, though...Skype has really great calling plans that local phone companies cannot match.

The mylo also has the abilities to play music, view photos, and even play video. Sony knows how to make money, and they give you all of the necessary programs to upload your music and photos, but you have to purchase the video program if you want to watch your favorite videos on your mylo. Thanks Sony.

The Mylo does come with 1 Gig of internal memory, with an memory card slot for additional memory. I've been able to put plenty of music and photos alone on the internal memory.

The Mylo even has the ability to produce, store, and view text documents. You can transfer your text to and from your Mylo. Nice if you have a to-do list or want to create your own address book...

The Mylo is compact enough to fit in your pocket.

This device has a lot going for it. It has internet which allows for messaging, e-mail, and multimedia functionality all at the palms of your hand and easily accessable with a full QWERTY keyboard. Here are really the pros and cons of the device.

PROS:
-Bright screen
-Very portable
-Great looking device
-Good menu system
-Expansion slot
-Durable
-Great battery life
-Wi-Fi/E-mail
-Build-in microphone (also come with external mic in box)

CONS:
-Not a phone - don't be fooled by Skype, it's not as galmorous as it sounds and you NEED an internet connection to use it (for a little more you can get a Sidekick 3)
-Expansion is limited to Sony's propietary Memory Stick DUO
-Screen could be higher res (more colors too)
-Attracts fingerprints too easily
-No built-in camera
-No productivity programs (Word, Excel, etc.)

My biggest beef really was that it really isn't fully functional in any way, except maybe a multimedia player. The good battery life makes a pretty good MP3/video player replacement, especially with the cost of flash memory going down. But as an internet device, only at hot spots. As a phone, only at hotspots. As a PDA, no productivity pack or Windows Mobile 5.

BOTTOM LINE: Get a Sidekick 3, or wait until the next generation comes out.