MYLO: Sony’s Lost Bet on a Wi-Fi Future

The Pocket Communicator Built Before the iPhone Era

In the mid-2000s, Sony was looking for a way to reconnect with younger users growing up online. The Walkman brand was losing cultural relevance, and mobile technology was changing quickly. To stay ahead, Sony formed a team across San Diego and Tokyo to develop a new kind of device. It needed to handle messaging, music, and web browsing over Wi-Fi, all without relying on a cellular network.

The project was led by John Tsuyoshi Kodera, a veteran strategist with a background in portable audio, networked media, and global product planning. Under his direction, the team began developing a device that blended communication, entertainment, and mobility into one compact package.

The result was the MYLO, short for My Life Online. It was not a phone and not quite a media player. Instead, it aimed to create an entirely new category focused on social interaction and digital lifestyle.

What followed was an ambitious attempt to reinvent portable tech for the online generation. In the end, it never quite found its place.