Hand-Helds That Offer Video to Go

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Posted on Friday 12th of March, 2004 at 10:48 by SirQUK
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"Now, video players will never be quite the smash hit that audio players have been. One significant difference is that there aren't as many times and places for using one. For example, it's O.K. to listen to music as you drive, jog or perform surgery, but probably not such a great idea to watch movies. You have to load your player with video a lot more often, too; you might listen to a favorite song 100 times in your life, but you probably have a lower tolerance for repeated viewings of, say, "2 Fast 2 Furious."

Still, the video pod concept has much to offer. Such a device can turn any airline into JetBlue, with its personal seat-back TV screens, except that you control what's available and you don\'t miss the ending of "Friends" when the guy in front of you reclines into your lap. When you finally get to your secluded vacation cabin, you can hook the video pod up to a TV for a whole weekend of VHS-quality movie viewing. The Lyra even has a Compact Flash card slot, so when you've filled up your digital camera with nature photos, you can empty out the memory card onto the player and return to the field, ready for more shooting.

In many ways, the Archos and the Lyra video players are two peas in an electronics store. Each is an 11- or 12-ounce rectangular slab too big and too heavy for a pocket. The Lyra is thinner but longer (5.4 inches by 3.1 inches by 1 inch); the Archos is smaller but thicker (4.4 by 3.2 by 1.2).

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