Exclusive First Look: Sony's Next-Gen Mylo PDA

In 2006, Sony launched Mylo (typically written as "mylo"), a PDA of sorts with a slide-out keyboard and a landscape screen, designed for teens and twentysomethings primarily as a portable instant messenger device. With its rounded design and bright orange color scheme, there was no confusion about the target market. But Mylo wasn't just a Sidekick knockoff. Namely, it wasn't a phone at all. Mylo used Wi-Fi to access the internet instead of the cell phone network, though Skype was available if you really needed to make a call (and were near a hotspot).

At $349 at launch, Mylo wasn't what you'd call a hit. The biggest problem: Mylo was an IM device but it didn't support AOL Instant Messenger, far and away the most popular messaging platform. Whoops.

Sony went back to the drawing board for 2008, and the result is vast improvement. The Mylo COM-2 features some serious upgrades; those who scoffed at the original Mylo may want to take another look.

For starters, the web browser is impressive. With support for Flash, you can use the Mylo to watch YouTube and other web videos, something few (if any) other handhelds can do. (And we're talking the full YouTube site, not the iPhone's stripped-down version.) A camera adds a 1.3-megapixel lens to the mix, complete with editing software. And, of course, AOL Instant Messenger is now supported. Flash-based game downloads are also on tap.

Even the Wi-Fi gets an upgrade; the Mylo gives you free access to the Wayport wireless network, including more than 9,000 McDonald's locations.

I've been using a version of the Mylo with final hardware but beta firmware for a day now, and it's a pretty cool device. I'm outside the target demographic, but I'd have no trouble recommending it for people who want to stay in touch with their IM pals while lounging around the house, but who don't want to lug a big laptop from room to room. At $300, the price cut is appreciated too (though methinks there's room for more).