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SAN
DIEGO, Aug. 8,
2006 –Sony is
launching its first WiFi broadband
communication and entertainment
device to capitalize on the growth
of wireless Internet access. The new
mylo™ personal communicator is
capable of operating in any open
802.11b wireless network, often
found on college campuses, in public
spaces and within private homes
around the country.
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Sony
Mylo
This is a
real cool device. We played
with one at the DemoFall2006
conference and were very
impressed. This could be the
hottest thing for the
upcoming holidays.
This
product is designed for
people who use instant
messaging as a primary form
of communication and
networking for their social
life. The name mylo stands
for “my life online” and the
communicator lets you use
instant messaging, browse
the Internet, listen to
music, send emails and view
photos concurrently. |
Small enough for a
pocket or purse, the slim,
oblong-shaped device features a 2.4
inch color LCD (measured diagonally)
with a slide out QWERTY keyboard for
comfortable and quick thumb typing.
The device, available
in black or white, comes embedded
with popular instant messaging
services: the Google Talk™ instant
messaging service, Skype and Yahoo!
Messenger™. These services are free
and the product does not require
initial computer setup or a monthly
service contract.
“The
mylo personal communicator puts the
fun parts of a computer in the palm
of your hand,” said John Kodera,
director of product marketing for
personal communication devices at
Sony Electronics. “It’s ideal for
people who want
to stay connected to their online
friends and family, but not be
weighed down by a PC or buffeted by
charges for IM and texting on cell
phones.”
Get Up, Get
Out and Get Online
The pocketable design encourages
users to get up and away from their
desks and roam available wireless
networks. The product includes
JiWire’s hotspot directory listing
more than 20,000 WiFi networks in
the United States. so you can find a
hotspot near you.
The mylo personal communicator boots
up in seconds and can scan for
available wireless networks right
away.
The “What’s Up”
screen serves as the hub, storing up
to 90 of your friends’ avatars so
you can quickly see who’s online.
You can store up to nine online
identities per person which allows
you to first choose who you want to
chat with then easily initiate
conversations using your preferred
application.
The embedded HTML browser lets you
quickly connect to full Web pages on
the Internet. You can also send and
receive text emails with web mail
services like Yahoo!® Mail and the
Gmail™ web mail service.
The communicator
comes with
Skype™
software built into it, allowing
registered
Skype
users to
make free Internet calls with the
113 million other
Skype
users
worldwide. For a limited time,
Skype
is
offering free
SkypeOut™
calls from
United
States
and
Canada
to most
phone numbers in the
United
States
or
Canada.
.
Stop, Look and Listen
While you
chat or browse the Internet, the 1GB
of the flash memory on the mylo
personal communicator lets you enjoy
your music too. It supports the
playback of MP3, ATRAC® or WMA
(secure and unsecure) files. The
mylo communicator has a built-in
speaker for listening to music so
you can share your music with those
around you. You can also view MPEG-4
personal videos by transferring
files via
USB
cable or with Memory
Stick Duo™ media. You can also store
JPEG pictures from the Internet or
your digital camera.
Providing networking possibilities
without a wireless network, the mylo
personal communicator detects when
it comes into the presence of other
mylo units. With the ad-hoc
application, you can share play
lists and stream music between mylo
communicators one at a time.
Gotta Keep Up
To
support all of this functionality,
the mylo device uses a lithium-ion
battery that offers up to 45 hours
of music playback, around seven
hours of chatting and web surfing
and more than three hours of
continuous Skype talk time. It comes
with a microphone, stereo
headphones, a
USB
cable and a neoprene
case.
The mylo personal communicator will
be available in September for about
$350 online at sonystyle.com, at
Sony Style® retail stores
(www.sonystyle.com/retail) and at
authorized dealers nationwide. For
more information about the product,
go to http://www.sony.com/mylo.
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