Filed under: Handhelds

A kind employee reports that the CompUSA in Clearwater, Florida is stocking the $350 Sony mylo (only in black, apparently), and he’s got a set of pics to prove it. The store’s SKU spotted in the photographs assures us that these are the real McCoy indeed, and not just some pre-production model. Of course, just because mylos have been sighted in one CompUSA (and on various online retailers, including Amazon and SonyStyle.com) doesn’t mean they’re necessarily available everywhere yet — so as always, your mileage may vary. That said, be sure to click through for one more mylo close-up before we send you on your merry way to your local gadgeteria.

[Thanks, Dan the Man]

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Filed under: Handhelds

While the Sony mylo isn’t really meant for your lap (we envision it as more of a dual-handed device — or, erm, “dual-core,” if you will), Laptop nonetheless decided to take ‘er for a spin — one of the first in-the-wild reviews that we’ve seen since our recent unboxing. The verdict? It’s a cute little curvacious piece of hardware that does what it advertises — you can surf the web, Skype, IM, and play back media from it all with ease (they even claim it plays back WMA “secure”, i.e. PlaysForSure, which we somehow highly doubt). But the mylo isn’t the be-all Sidekick killer that Sony would surely like it to be. The magazine described the keyboard as too small and cramped for their liking and added that the mylo didn’t handle all web pages perfectly (specifically the image-heavy MySpace, whose denizens Sony is aiming at) on its 2.4-inch display. This led us to wonder if we’ll start seeing mylo-friendly webpages in the near future, but nevertheless, we still think Engadget looks best on the biggest screen in your house.

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Filed under: Desktops, Features, Handhelds, Podcasts

We’re back! Again! Yes, we’re quite sorry for the delayed program (listen in to find out a bit why), but there’s no dearth of news to discuss. Fresh from Apple’s big WWDC 2006 kickoff event we’ve got the long predicted and somewhat jejune Mac Pro, the Cinema Display bumps, and some interesting tidbits on Leopard, including Time Machine — which Ryan sorely needed this week. Sony also pulled a fast one on us with the mylo, an intriguing and beguiling new WiFi handheld that seems to compete more with the PSP than anything else. Also hot off the presses is Engadget Mobile’s scoop on the BlackBerry Pearl, RIM’s new mobile consumer foray, and their first with a camera, removable media, and media playback capabilities. Thanks for welcoming us back, and enjoy!

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Hosts: Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer: Trent Wolbe

Music: Solvent – Instructograph (Ghostly International)

Format: 1:00:15, 27.6 MB, MP3

Program:
6:05 – Apple WWDC 2006
6:48 – Mac Pro hands-on
7:03 – Apple OS X 10.5 “Leopard” officially debuts
15:56 – Sony launches mylo
27:51 – The BlackBerry Pearl
44:00 – Listener emails

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

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Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Now that we’ve recovered from the initial surprise of Sony’s mylo announcement, we’re starting to get a few more details on its functionality. Turns out the teeny device is powered by an unspecified version of embedded Linux (possibly from Wind River), with a graphics and application framework provided by Trolltech’s Qtopia platform. There’s also Java Virtual Machine support, which seems to give homebrewers plenty of options for creating apps for the device — if Sony hasn’t locked things down too tightly. As for that QVGA 2.4-inch screen, Sony is packing in MP4 video support, so ready-to-go videos shouldn’t be hard to find. There’s also MP3, ATRAC and WMA to round out format support. While the mylo dodges that main Nokia 770 bullet by packing a QWERTY keyboard, Sony’s device suffers from a hefty pricetag for its younger target audience, a notable omission of AIM and Windows Live Messenger, and a lack of explicit gaming or 3rd party support. Still, those WiFi and Linux specs hint at a lot of potential, so we’re sure that this thing can manage to be a bit more than another Skype handset.

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Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Speaking of unholy abominations, Sony decided to take some design tips from their own PSP, functionality from the OQO, usage scenarios from Nokia’s 770 (and a wee dash dash of inspiration from Ixi’s OGO), and mash it up all together into a single device: the mylo. The name refers to “my life online,” ahem, which we assume probably has a little something to do with the Sony’s old school MYLO / My Life Online, a wireless service Sony launched launched at PC Expo 2001 “to offer mobile users an original and personalized way to access information and entertainment content for work and play.” (Yeah, that’s specific.) This blast from the past now takes shape as a $350 WiFi-centric handheld features a slide-up 2.4-inch screen, VoIP capabilities via Skype, web access, media playback capabilities, 1GB flash, and a Memory Stick slot — just think of it as a UX180P, you know, for kids.

[Thanks to Eric and everyone who sent this in]

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