I'll tell you next week when mine arrives.

It plays video at 800x480 pixels

So what is the resolution of the screen?

Huh?

Yes, what is the resolution?

Many screens of that size are speced in subpixels, and that could very well be the case here too.

Subpixels are Red, Green, or Blue emitters that TOGETHER can create one real resolution pixel in any available color.

The published specifications say this:

LCD : 3.5 WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) with Touch Panel

It's obviously a progressive screen and I think 720 x 400 30p downrezzes from 1080i hdv should look very sharp.

Laurence, when you get this unit, can you post more info on what the OS is, which browser it uses, and whether the VOIP capabilities are configurable, or if it specifically linked to Skype? I like the form factor & style of this Mylo.

I know from reading up on it that it uses a variation of Linux and that the browser is some form of Opera. I also am pretty sure that it can do VOIP via services like Google talk and AIM, though the one I will be using is SKYPE.

This is one of those products that isn't as well suited to it's target audience (the general public) as it is to us. It looks a little to big for most people to carry in their pocket, but for me the larger screen is an advantage because I want to show off the video. No cell phone is a detriment to most people, but I wanted a wifi Skype phone anyway since it is quite useful during foreign travel as well as talking to my friends overseas.

During a recent trip to Peru, I used a portable USB Skype phone tethered to a laptop to keep in touch with the US, and several hours of calls cost me less than five dollars. We also used Skype for making travel arrangements during the trip. The Mylo would let me leave my laptop at home during trips like this.

Another kind of cool thing about it for me is that you get a few years of FON service (until 2010). This is kind of useful to me in that once a week I take my daughter for an hour of math tutoring at a local Starbucks. The sessions are supposed to be an hour long but they usually run over. With the Mylo and this free FON service I will be able to visit my favorite Vegas forum during what would otherwise be down time. ;-)

Anyone interested in the Mylo should also check out it's nearest competition, the http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-N810-Portable-Internet-Tablet/dp/B000Y4AH3CNokin N810[/link].



It looks better in some ways: it has a webcam for Skype and a GPS for instance. The Mylo has a 1.3 megapixel camera but it is pointed away from the viewer for photos rather than web communication. The screen is the same resolution. The Mylo has backlit keys. The Mylo has a "hold it to your ear like a regular phone" approach whereas with the N810 you sit it in front of you and use it like an audio video conference call. Both approaches have their advantages. The Mylo has a touchscreen whereas the N810 does not. The touchscreen is used for dialing numbers for Skype to regular phone calls. You just touch the onscreen numbers like you would with an iPhone.

Overall I still like the Mylo better (at least on paper and in the pictures) but I have to admit that the N810 looks outstanding as well.

Also there is that $100 off Sony credit card deal which takes a third off the Mylo price and makes it a little more competitive.

Does anyone here have the N810? I'd love to hear a videographer's perspective on this device.

The new PSP 3000 also looks pretty darned cool:



It will have a built in mic for skype calls, a 4.5 inch screen, connectors for regular TVs and be less than $200!

Anyone tried the Archos ? Just curious to hear comments...

The Archos is really nice and it will play back DivX as well. They have hard discs built in and can store a lot of video and audio. The new ones have wifi as well. No Skype or keyboard though.



One thing that the Archos can do which none of their competition can is to record video off a set of AV inputs (which are on the docking stations).

They also have a model with a 7 inch screen:

Well I got the Mylo a few days ago.

The verdict: as a Skype phone and email device, the Mylo is really great.

Unfortunately, video on the Mylo is currently limited to 320x240 pixels like the original PSP. It's a shame because the screen is quite nice. Original PSP firmware video rendering templates seem to work well, but not the new higher resolution ones.

Would I recommend it? Only if you are looking for a portable wifi Skype phone (which I was). Voice quality either holding it to your ear like a regular phone or using the headset is excellent. It is about the same as my regular phone and much better than my cell phone. On the other hand there is about twice the delay of a cell phone. This is normal with any VOIP phone though.

The web browser is not as good as the one on my iPod Touch. The touch screen is nice but you can only point to things. You can't slide things around or expand or contract them with the touchscreen. All is not lost though. Lots of web sites now have mobile versions for small screens and the Mylo handles them well. The slide out keyboard is really nice. For browsing info the Apple products are faster and better, but for reading and writing correspondence, the Mylo keyboard is more practical.

Trying to browse and watch Youtube videos is totally impractical on the Mylo but easy as can be on the iPhone. On the other hand, something like Google Talk is way more practical on the Mylo.

Would I get it again? Yes but only because I really wanted a wifi Skype phone. In my case, I work from my home studio and am around wifi most of the time. My goal was to cut my cell phone minutes way down by using the cheaper skype minutes (about $3 a month unlimited). Yes I could use Skype from my computer, but I like to walk around the house when I talk rather than be tethered to my computer. I also want to use the Skype phone and email from hotel wifi when I travel abroad. I have a rather gigantic laptop and this will let me leave it at home.

There have been other Skype phones in the past year or two. We bought a really nice Philips phone for my daughter that consists of a base station that connects to an Ethernet cable, and the wireless phone has a range of about 200' from the base station. I normally avoid Philips products, but this product is really slick, and total charges for SkypeOut and SkypeIn are about $5 a month.

Someone else makes a Skype phone that is self-contained, working with wifi directly without the need for a base station or a wired connection. I think it's made by Linksys. The reports I read a few months ago said that it worked okay but was only able to deal with wifi connections that were totally open, i.e. that didn't have any sort of login screen. This limitation greatly reduced the phone's utility, in my view.

So the question is whether Mylo has additional intelligence that allows it to access those wifi networks also.