Wireless Service for Monochrome Cliés Announced

Posted By: Ed Tuesday, June 26, 2001 6:59:16 AM

Sony and GoAmerica have announced the wireless service for the Clié that they promised back last November. Called MYLO for MY Life Online, it will be available for unlimited access at $40 a month.

In a move that is sure to be controversial, the two companies are only releasing a wireless modem that fits the just announced PEG-S320 and the first-generation PEG-S300. At this time there is no way for the top-of-the-line PEG-N710C or PEG-N610C to use the service.

GoAmerica’s new wireless modem adapter has a PC Card slot that accepts a wireless modem card. This card works interchangeably with Sony handhelds and notebooks that have an open PC Card slot. The card, which is a Sierra Wireless AirPath SC 300, operates on Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) networks. The wireless modem adapter will be available next month at retailers nationwide for under $200 with a 12-month contract and a $100 mail-in rebate. There will also be a card that allows the Clié to access Metricom’s Ricochet network available in September.

The MYLO wireless service itself divides information into four lifestyle categories:
Today – Allows users to choose between information like news, weather, sports, stock quotes and traffic updates.
Work – Access communication, news, travel and financial information.
Play – Offers personal e-mail and information on dining, travel, shopping, TV, music, movies, sports and games.
Search – By using popular search engines or inputting their favorite URL, users can access HTML and WML-based Web pages.

Powered by GoAmerica, a nationwide ISP, the new service features instant messaging, support for ten POP3 e-mail accounts and wireless Internet access to HTML and WML-based Web sites.

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Hmmmmmm

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/26/2001 7:40:20 AM #

This strikes me as something almost Palm like in its foolishness.

I am sure there is a very good reason why the addon won't work with the two colour models, presumably the their slightly greater thickness, but who is more likely to want wireless access? They who dropped 200 bucks on a device or the one who spent $500? At this point Sony needs to pull its finger out and come up with a good wireless solution for their flagship products.

I have faith in them though. I am something of a Sony fan, though I love my Prism, but given the advent of Peg 710 (they need much better names)in Europe I think my Prism will find its home with my wife.

Regards

RE: Hmmmmmm

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/26/2001 9:44:55 AM #

you're saying that people who buy the $200 handhelds are "cheap" or something? i bought an m105 because it had all the featues i wanted and the price was good. but that doesn't mean that i don't want wireless access. if they would make a wireless modem for that model, i'd buy it the first day it was released.

now-discontinued PEG-S300?

ardiri @ 6/26/2001 9:19:18 AM #

they only just released this device in europe!!! we dont expect to see the N710C here for a while i bet.. :)

// az
aaron@ardiri.com
http://www.ardiri.com/

RE: PEG-S300 not Discontinued

Ed @ 6/26/2001 9:36:48 AM #

Sorry Aaron, I foolishly believed something I read online without checking it for myself. The S300 is still listed on the SonyStyle webstore so it isn't discontinued. I have edited the article.

---
News Editor
Palm Infocenter

S300 Users Not Ignored

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/26/2001 9:53:02 AM #

well, this may show that S300 users are not ignored. Let's give sony some time to breath. They have just released/annouced 3 new models in 2 months. I am sure they will eventually have wireless for the color clies.

Bad Mistake for Sony

Mr. T @ 6/26/2001 9:26:44 AM #

This is a major screw up. Sony's made a good handheld but they've got to it together with add-ons.

They should have given GoAmerica the specs on the 710c the millisecond they were finalized and used their clout to *force* them to make a modem for it. Hell, Sony should have offered to take all the finacial risk. GoAmerica is too small to go very far out on a limb but Sony can afford to take the risk that the CLIEs will catch on.

As it is, not very many CLIE users are going to sign up for their service with the stupid name and everyone loses.

Wireless is coming for Sony eventually...

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/26/2001 9:48:45 AM #

If anyone has checked the Sony website and looked at all of the pages you should notice that Sony has added a tab for wireless that basically says that wireless is coming for them. This page is also on one of the 710C information pages, so I suspect that Sony will release their wireless product fairly soon.

RE: Wireless is coming for Sony eventually...

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/26/2001 10:08:54 AM #

I agree. Otherwise, why would they put a wireless demo on they n710c?!

RE: Wireless is coming for Sony eventually...

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/26/2001 10:21:29 AM #

There's no doubt it will be here eventually. But the fact that they don't say *anything* about when "eventually" is makes me worried. They don't even say "by the end of the year". I wonder if GoAmerica just started working on the modem when they saw that the 710c was a hit. We might be looking at a 6 month wait if that is true. I sure hope not, tho.

RE: Wireless is coming for Sony eventually...

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/26/2001 1:33:08 PM #

Clie is wireless today. I'm using my CLIE PEG 710C connected over IR to a Nokia 8290. Speed for web browsing is reasonable using Blazer and it's also acceptable for grabbing your email on the go. It's not as fast as a CDPD connection and it does require line of site but these aren't major limitations.

When Bluetooth and GPRS arrive both these limitations go away.

BTW--I think the name MYLO is brilliant but then I'm biased.

Lee