The Sony Mylo Review
UNEASYsilence is proud to welcome guest reviewer, David Woodral, who burned the midnight oil to write this very comprehensive review. Thanks David!
I have had my new Mylo in black and gray for a couple of days now. Overall, I am pleased.
It is hard to tell from pictures (especially marketing photos) how large or small a device will feel in the hand. When the Mylo arrived my first thought was that they have the size about right. I don’t know that you would want to carry it in your pocket, but in a briefcase or backpack you would hardly know you were carrying it. If it were any smaller it probably wouldn’t be comfortable to use. The Mylo is a handsome looking device out of the box.
The screen is bright and viewable in most lighting conditions and from most angles (two people can watch videos or view photos without bumping heads). The black version is very glossy in appearance and shows fingerprints right away. However, the screen is bright enough that this is not a usability problem. The screen slides open easily to reveal the qwerty keyboard. When open, the joint between keyboard and screen has a slight amount of play in it. It’s not like the thing wobbles around uncontrollably but it would be more reassuring if it were completely taught. The keyboard struck me as being on the small side the first day I had the Mylo, but by the second day I had adjusted easily. The buttons are the appropriate size given the overall size of the keyboard. They respond positively when pressed and I have had very few incorrect presses. I have what are probably average-sized hands for a guy and I haven’t had any problem with the top or bottom row of keys as I have read in other reviews.
The applications provided all seem to work well. The web browser does a decent job of handling sites that are otherwise formatted for very large screens. You can pan around in full size view or the Opera browser will try to scale the page down for you. This works better on some pages than with others. I have heard some conflicting reports on this but the browser will definitely handle _java script and https (I was even able to log into some commercial banking sites). Java and Flash are not supported.
Yahoo mail and Gmail are browser-based through dedicated bookmarks. Both of these work as advertised. However, I was not able to view embedded images in either program. I could view jpeg attachments in Gmail but not in Yahoo mail.
Google talk and Yahoo messenger are both also great. No AIM or MSN but I understand these can be accessed through third party websites that the Mylo can handle.
Skype is incredible on this thing. Whether you are using the Mylo to make calls, or receiving a call from a Mylo (I had my wife call me with it) the sound is great. You can either use the included headphones and microphone, or hold the device like a phone using its built in speaker and mic. Either way it’s great.
The MP3 player seems average. I have to admit in this regard though that I am an iPod devotee. This is no iPod but you can certainly carry some tunes to listen to on the thing and they will sound good. You can play music while you operate most other applications. This slows down the second operation but that is to be expected. No skipping or problems with the music while doing other things though. There is a combination button/slider for controlling the music without going through the menus. Dedicated volume keys are also provided. You can listen to music on the external speaker but this sounds less than impressive. You can also use your own headphones with the Mylo but only using the included microphone that acts as an adapter.
Videos play well but I was not able to encode anything that would play on the Mylo with any of the free programs out there for PSP. Sony’s image converter program (around $20) did the trick though.
Since I don’t know anyone close by with another Mylo, I can’t really say anything about the ad hoc mode. You are supposed to be able to set a profile that other Mylos can see and to stream music to one another. It also looks as if you might be able to share photos but I don’t know that for sure.
Battery life seems good – it will probably get close to its published rating.
The WiFi is 802.11b. I have used the Mylo on three networks running the gamut from totally locked down to open for all. No problems here. With the settings correct, I have connected on the first try each time so far. A cool pulsating blue light let’s you know you are connected.
For me, this device is not a laptop replacement. I bought it primarily for traveling when I need to check email or IM but don’t plan to be preparing presentations or writing any lengthy documents (note that Writely is not currently compatible with Opera, and therefore not compatible with the Mylo either). I could use my cell phone to check email or IM in a pinch but the high data costs and limited interface have always kept me away from that. Since I can’t imagine paring my music collection down from several gigs to a few gigs to fit on memory sticks, I will probably continue to travel with a cell phone, an iPod, and either a laptop or Mylo depending on my needs for the trip. Something to consider is that Skypeout will usually be cheaper than international cell phone calls and as easy as the Mylo makes Skype, I could definitely see myself Skyping instead.
I have to admit that I think the price is high. I have been waiting for just such a device as the Mylo for years though so I had to bite the bullet. I know the Nokia 770 is comparable but it’s bigger, heavier, and doesn’t have the built-in keyboard. I would really like to see some additional applications for the Mylo. The device is upgradeable so there is always a chance that this will happen. I think Sony will have a real winner here if they can get the price down another hundred bucks or so.I have had my new Mylo in black and gray for a couple of days now. Overall, I am pleased.
