[IP] mylo and me
Begin forwarded message:
From: Tim Onosko <tim@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 21, 2006 2:10:27 PM JST
To: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: mylo and me
Dave:
For IP if you see fit.
I couldn't have been more intrigued by Sony's announcement of a
pocket-sized communications device called mylo (no caps), during
Apple's developer conference, last month. With Wi-Fi connectivity, a
version of the Opera For Devices web browser, mail clients for Gmail
and Yahoo, as well as a version of Skype, it was right up my alley.
As a bonus, mylo was designed to play MP3 and WMA files, JPEGs and
MPEG4 video. As a Sony product that "gets it" (kind of), mylo was
reportedly developed (under the radar) in the US instead of Japan,
and embraces both open standards as well as cool strategic alliances
(with Google, Yahoo and Skype), I thought it reflected some new
thinking inside Sony, which has lost its sheen over the last decade
or so.
More info about mylo on a special Sony site:
http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/assets/itpd/mylo/prod/index.html
My mylo arrived from Sony (i bought it -- it was not furnished for
review) last Tuesday. The problem is that its design is deeply
flawed, the software is too buggy to be of practical value, and its
usefulness is minimal, at least in its present configuration. What
works best is the Skype client, and if mylo sold for $150 (or even
$200) instead of $350, this alone might justify the investment. What
works worst, disappointingly, is the web browser. The version of
Opera for Nintendo's DS Lite handheld LCD (a $35 game cartridge) is
much more usable. Too bad. Opera on the mylo just can't read many
web sites correctly, including the web version of Gmail, and makes
reading any site a major effort of jumpy, disjointed windows on the
larger page.
The industrial design is interesting, but not functional or in any
way groundbreaking. The screen (2.4 inches diagonally) is just way
too tiny for reading web text. It will not play the current version
of Flash, hence, no YouTube, the current "killer app" of the web.
Playing video and audio tracks works well, but any number of iPods,
Zunes or nameless Chinese (or Korean) players will do the same, and
for less money.
And, when you spend a little time with the thing, you just KNOW that
there's going to be an inexpensive Chinese knockoff in a year or so.
After all, it's not proprietary or based on closed protocols.
(Although Sony's strategic alliance with Skype and Google are
evident, as mylo includes non-web versions of clients for those
services. And they are very well done.)
Finally, it wasn't until I actually had it in my hands that I
realized mylo was aimed at a much, much younger audience -- maybe
high schoolers and university kids -- not baby boomer Internet
crazies and technologists. But at $350, does Sony really expect
there to be many kid buyers for this device?
Mylo, in my opinion, is a classic case of overpromising and
underdelivering. It has the hallmarks of having been rushed to
market. And, unfortunately, it's another example of how Sony can't
get it right, which is a real tragedy.
I'd love to hear others' opinions and observations of this thing, if
anyone in the group has any.
- Tim Onosko
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