I was recently asked to review the Sony mylo COM-2 Personal Communicator.  It is an interesting device.  It seems that Sony is trying to find a niche between the notebook computer and mobile devices like the RIM Blackberry.  The mylo is a handheld device that includes features like web browsing and instant messaging, but does not require a contract with a mobile carrier.  Instead the mylo depends on wi-fi hotspots for connectivity.  With the popularity and availability of hotspots growing, some may choose a device like this as a lower cost option.

Staying connected in today’s world is important.  Mobile devices are a popular way to get the most out of life by allowing freedom from physical location without falling out of touch.  I’m a little bit of a gadget geek and I’m always looking for ways to improve my life so, I agreed to take a look at the mylo and share my thoughts on it. 

Features of the Sony mylo

Like many mobile devices today, the mylo is a virtual swiss army knife of features.  Sony has packed several things into something that will fit in your pocket.  One nice thing is that the mylo has a 3.5″ color LCD touch screen.  Some of the other features include:

• E-mail capability through AOL Mail, Google GMail, and Yahoo Mail
• Instant messaging with AOL, Yahoo, Google, and Skype
• Web browsing
• 1.3 Megapixel digital camera
• Voice calling with Skype
• Listen to various music audio files including MP3, ATRAC, WMA, and AAC codecs
• Video MPEG4 and MPEG4 AVC playback
• Pre-installed widgets Google Search, Facebook, and YouTube

My thoughts about the mylo

As I stated above, the mylo is an interesting device.  I can see where someone that wanted to avoid paying the $40-$50 per month that wireless carriers are charging for unlimited data plans might opt for something like the mylo.  In an effort to make it convenient to connect, Sony has arranged for mylo users to have free wi-fi access at over 10,000 Wayport Hotspot locations including many wi-fi enabled McDonalds restaurants and hotels.  So, if you don’t need constant connectivity, then a device like the mylo might suit your needs.

Wireless networking and web browsing

I connected the mylo to my home wireless network without any trouble at all.  It supports WEP and WPA on its built-in 802.11 b/g wireless access so, those security-enabled wireless routers are no trouble.  The web browsing performance is pretty peppy since you are connected with full wi-fi access.  The mylo even includes support for Adobe Flash Lite so online games and sites that require Flash are accessible.  The mylo has a full QWERTY, slide-out keyboard.  Basic typing on the keyboard felt good, but using numbers or symbols was a bit more involved.  The mylo also provides the ability to subscribe to and read RSS feeds so it might be a good way to keep up with your favorite blogs!

Digital camera

I took a few pictures with the built-in digital camera and it seems adequate.  The 1.3 megapixels is comparable to the cameras built-in to many mobile phones, but I wonder why Sony didn’t give the mylo a little more in this area.  It seems that this is a way they could have made the mylo stand out from other handheld devices by at least giving it a high-end camera.  Another camera limitation is that the mylo camera lacks any kind of flash.  So, it is really only designed to take pictures in well lighted areas.  Sony builds some nice digital cameras so why not include some of that technology in the mylo?

Music and video playback

Music playback is available through a single, small built-in speaker or via a headphone jack.  The sound quality through the speaker isn’t much to get excited about, but listening via the included headphones is quite nice.   It supports MP3 music files as well as music downloaded from iTunes.  The music playback is pretty good, but video support seems to be limited.  I didn’t try a lot of video files, but the mylo seems to support some and not others.

Email support

I was able to log into my personal webmail account without any trouble.  Of course, finding a hotspot and logging into webmail is inferior to getting your email wirelessly via a mobile phone device, but again if you don’t want to pay the monthly data service charge, then the mylo provides an alternative way to get your email while out and about.  Also, it is definitely easier to carry than a notebook.

Instant messaging and voice calling with Skype

I didn’t test these features.  I don’t use instant messaging and I’ve never tried Skype.  For those of you with Skype experience I’d be interested to know your thoughts about making such calls via a handheld device like the mylo.  It intrigues me, but not enough to take the time to give it a try.

Overall impressions of the Sony Mylo

Overall, the mylo feels like it is built well.  In a world where everything is shrinking, the mylo seems a little big, but not really any larger than similar devices with slide out keyboards.  I’m not sure how it will compete given the popularity of mobile phone devices, but it is always great to have alternatives in the marketplace.  I definitely like the idea of taking advantage of free hotspots instead of relying on expensive wireless carriers. 

One place I think Sony has work to do is on the price.  The mylo retails for around $300.  It seems like if they want to build market share, they might consider a much lower price point.  The mylo would probably be a lot more attractive to a wider range of people at half the current price.  This would make it similar in price to devices like iPods and digital cameras.

I can see where the mylo has a niche to fill.  There are those that will be satisfied with its feature set and will like having the ability to periodically communicate with others from a handheld device without the need to pay high monthly fees.  In addition to its communication capability, the mylo has some other nice-to-have features like music playback and RSS support.  The 1 GB of RAM might be an issue for some and true to Sony products the mylo only supports their Memory Sticks.  I would prefer the more standard SD card, but if you already own other Sony products this might not be an issue.

Photo by Spiegel