Mylo
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Adidas' Stan Smith Mylo are its first mushroom leather sneakers
Adidas wants to launch a mushroom leather shoe in 12 months.
Stella McCartney shows off the world's first clothes made from mushroom leather
Mylo's mushroom leather offers a far more sustainable alternative to the current plastic-made fake leathers available today.
Sony's mylo 2 only available in refurbished form -- is the end near?
Sony's mylo 2 -- wait, you do remember what this thing is, right? -- could be headed for the grave... as if it wasn't already there in the minds of most. After Sony hacked a hundred bucks from the asking price during the run-up to Holiday Season 2008, we heard absolutely nothing further until now. Today, the very same order page shows that no new models are available to purchase, leaving prospective buyers with two clear-cut options: 1) walk away or 2) snag a refurb model in black or white for $149.99. So, is this the end for Sony's own Internet Device? Or is this just the calm before the sure-to-be-ferocious mylo 3 storm?[Thanks, Ali]
Sony loses patent suit, ordered to pay $18.5 million
Way back in 2006, Lucent-spin off Agere Systems filed a lawsuit against Sony, claiming the electronics behemoth had infringed on not one, not two, but eight of its patents. As it turns out a prior deal with Lucent gave Sony the rights to use seven of those, but that one unlicensed patent became Sony's weak point, allowing Agere's lawyers to inflict massive damage(s). The jury's findings state not only that Sony wrongly utilized Agere's intellectual property in the mylo, Network Walkman, and the PSP, but that there was "clear and convincing evidence that such infringement was willful." In other words: big payout, in this case an eye-opening $18.5 million. Don't blame us Sony, we told you to settle! [Warning: PDF read link][Via PSP Fanboy]
Sony smartly hacks $100 off of its mylo 2 before the holidays
We don't have any hard sales figures in front of us or anything, but we can't imagine that Sony has moved too many (or just two, actually) of its mylo 2 "Internet Devices" since launching it this past January. To that end, the outfit is hacking a full Benjamin from the purchase price, bringing the handheld down to an entirely more palatable $199.99. Both the black and white versions are being sold right now with the instant rebate tacked on, and the offer is good until January 31st of next year -- which definitely means the mylo 3 is due for a February 1, 2009 release.[Via Pocketables]
Sony's mylo 2 magically transforms from 'Personal Communicator' to 'Internet Device'
According to hot, hot reports from the interblogs, interwebs, and yes -- internets -- Sony has made some shocking changes to its mylo 2. Did we say shocking? We meant not shocking. At all. Apparently in an attempt to re-market (and thusly sell) the odd little handheld, the company has begun branding the gadget an "Internet Device" as opposed to its previous (circa 2006) title of "Personal Communicator." We're all for the new convention (we love the hell out of new names) but it remains to be seen what kind of effect, if any, it will have on the gadget's not-so-hot sales. The next step? Lose the Spider-Man font.[Thanks, Penny]
Software update brings video recording and more to Sony's COM-2 mylo
Sony hasn't forgotten about you loyal mylo 2 (er, COM-2 mylo) owners just yet, as a recently rolled out software update provides a nice list of extras for those who care. Revision 1.201, which is only available for the latest of mylos, adds support for video recording, provides a new menu for "easier photo and video uploading," adds a function for formatting Memory Stick Duo media, adds support for 16GB MD Duo cards and improves Flash playback of YouTube videos. The upgrade also adds support for WMV files and the SHOUTcast widget while improving "system stability." The download is slightly hefty at just under 60MB, so head on down and get the new stuff headed your way.[Thanks, shanne]
Sony mylo 2 firmware version 1.100 adds WMV and SHOUTcast support
Sony's do-everything-except-for-make-calls mylo has been updated to firmware version 1.100, and is now available at Sony's support site as a 61MB download. Because you ran out of things to do with your mylo about, say, ten minutes after unboxing it, rejoice -- the update adds WMV file support, SHOUTcast widget support (the widget is a separate download), a "Game" item on the HOME menu for easier access to all those games you downloaded to the COM-2 unit, and, of course, improved "system stability".[Via Pocketables]
Sony's launching mylo labs to keep your COM-2 in the widgets
If you've already dropped $299 on a second-gen mylo COM-2 unit, then Sony has a little treat for you -- while all of you early adopters still poking around on an original mylo probably feel pretty silly right now. Sony is launching the "mylo labs" site for nabbing mylo widgets, and while right now there are just a few Sony-built widgets, Sony will open up the site to developers in March to add their own. Widgets seem to be a natural fit for a device like this, and hey, they're free, so there's really no reason not to love. It's just too bad those gen-one types get left out in the cold.[Via pocketables]
Sony mylo 2 on sale
All five of you who have been waiting patiently for Sony to upgrade its mylo Personal Communicator should be pleased to learn that the revised internet tablet has finally gone on sale at SonyStyle. With its high-res 3.5-inch touchscreen, 1GB of storage, and improved Flash support, the $299 mylo 2 does indeed offer a number of attractive feature bumps over its predecessor -- however, we're still a little wary of how Sony's positioned this product in the market. But hey, what do we know: apparently they pushed enough first-gen units out the door to give this restyled number a shot. Starts shipping on the 28th, in either white or black, says Sony.[Thanks, Michael E]
Sony's new mylo hands-on
If you're a mylo fan, you're pretty stoked right now. We're doing our best to refrain from calling this thing the mylo 2 (namely because it's just the new "mylo," official designation COM-2 mylo), but we did get to kick the tires on it, and it's pretty clear how huge an improvement the new model really is. Unfortunately, that's not saying a whole lot, given the state of the original mylo -- but the new one? Really not so bad. Granted, the crisp, high res touchscreen wasn't quite sensitive enough for our taste, and it didn't really seem intended for use with a stylus, and most of the big new features we tested (RSS / podcast aggregation, YouTube playback, browsing heavy sites like Engadget, etc.) worked, but were pretty sluggish. For our money, between the two we'd say pick up an N810, but if you're down with the mylo this is a formidable upgrade.%Gallery-12773%
Sony's new mylo (2) now official
The mylo is back, and this time it's gotten serious. The once humble, even kind of laughable device has been upgraded with specs respectable enough to make former naysayers sit up and take notice. Check it out: 800 x 480 3.5-inch (resistive) touchscreen display! 1GB internal storage, mini-USB 1.3 megapixel camera, 802.11b/g, colored info-LEDs WMA / PlaysForSure DRM, MP3, AAC, ATRAC, and MPEG-4 codec support Flash Lite 3 (capable of playing back YouTube videos, for example) Netfront-based browser, AIM / Gtalk / Yahoo IM support Skype support, podcast and RSS aggregator (!), and an expandable widget panel with access to Google, YouTube, Facebook and other web 2.0 sites Attachable face plates ($20) and cradle ($30) options Free Wayport WiFi access at your local participating McDonald's until December 31, 2010 5.1 x 2.5 x 0.8-inch footprint Unfortunately you still can't add your own apps to the device, making it far less compelling then, say, the similar but far better equipped Nokia N810 -- which goes for $180 more. It's shipping this month for $300, "BS" key included for no additional charge.%Gallery-12758%
Is this the mylo 2?
So we were doing some followup research on yesterday's post about the upcoming mylo 2 Personal Communicator, when we happened to stumble upon the picture you see above, first posted in the beginning of October by qj.net. Part of an article sourcing someone claimed to be "close to Sony." this supposed mockup of the second-generation mylo immediately struck us as having an almost identical form factor to the FCC render that we just saw. And sure enough, as you can see after the break, a little resizing magic does indeed show the two outlines lining up pretty closely -- although not perfectly. Hmm...if this is in fact the production version of the mylo 2, what does that PlayStation-style typeface on the keyboard say about the device's features, we wonder?[Image courtesy of qj.net]
Sony's cookin' up a mylo 2
Well hello there, never-before-seen-device bearing the mylo name, nice to meet you. We can only assume by your camera-equipped backside (and your designation as the "COM-2") that you're the mylo 2 we'd heard rumors about -- but no thanks to the tight-lipped FCC, we don't know much more than the fact that you'll be one-upping your predecessor by tacking 802.11g onto its b. Still, now that we've got you in our sights, the rest of your specs can't remain secret for long.
Sony mulling production of mylo 2 handheld?
While you may have given Sony's hard-to-categorize mylo little chance at surviving in the market, a recent report seems to show that sales were "exactly as Sony expected," which possibly means that there's more where that came from. Although surveyed retailers expressed mixed results in regard to sales, Sony "considers the mylo the forerunner to a new category of devices that cater to kids who want to replicate their PC online experience in a portable," and reportedly mentioned that the "next-generation model would include new partners and expanded capability." Now, we're not sure if WWAN or WiMAX connectivity could be headed to the not-yet-confirmed mylo 2, but it's pretty safe to assume that competition in the converged device market will have heated up quite intensely for the second iteration.[Thanks, Ryan]
The 2006 Engadget Awards: Vote for Handheld of the Year
Now's your chance to cast your ballot for the 2006 Handheld of the Year! (For reference: yeah, we're including UMPCs in the Handhelds category.) Our Engadget Awards nominees are listed below, and you've got until 11.59PM EST on Sunday, April 15th to file your vote. You can only vote once, so make it count, and may the best tech win! The nominees: Asus R2H, Pepper Pad 3, Samsung Q1P, Sony Mylo, Sony Reader PRS-500, and Sony VAIO UX280P. %Poll-305%
Is Skype coming to the PSP? [Update 1]
This mumbo-jumbo that appears on your screen happens to be code extracted from a decrypted version of firmware 3.10. MaTiAz from QJ appears to have uncovered a reference to a "skype_plugin" within the code. While the functionality is clearly not present in the current revision of PSP's firmware, it appears that Sony's working on something for a future upgrade. Historically, it appears that hints to future functionality is hidden away in the code: references to the PSP camera and GPS were found in earlier decrypted firmware, long before they were officially released.A similar Sony product, the Mylo, has implemented Skype functionality in the past. Certainly, being able to have some kind of VoIP service (free, or not) would increase the value of Sony's portable even more. Will you celebrate if Sony releases this in a future firmware revision?[Via digg][Update 1: Updated image due to QJ's request.]See also:Sony spills it; PSP to get camera, GPS, VoIPHow the PSP can overcome the PSP-inspired Mylo
T-Mobile to let mylos use HotSpot for free
Today Sony and T-Mobile announced a partnership allowing all mylo users (mylers? mylites? mylanta -- nevermind, that's already taken) to use T-Mobile's massive network of WiFi hotspots (appropriately known as HotSpot) for free until late 2007. To get you online hassle-free, Sony will be releasing a "special application" as a virtual permission slip to T-Mobile's network. Now for those of you keeping score, the mylo will cost $350, while a year's subscription to T-Mobile's HotSpot (if you're mylo-less) will cost you $360 -- so if you were thinking about getting T-Mobile anyway, you can now spend basically the same amount and get a cool piece of sexy hardware for free. But most probably, you'll only be able to access the HotSpots directly on the mylo, until of course, someone figures out a workaround.
Sony mylo spotted in stores, online
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]
The Sony mylo's first street review
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 curvaceous 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.
