A Smart Little Gadget

For active people, especially those who are always on the go and are technology savvy, this portable multimedia gizmo is the thing. This small, digital camera look alike is actually a mobile multimedia storer, viewer, and player. Yet, it is simply called Portable Video Player (PVP). A PVP allows us to record TV programs (including from cable or satelite) and watch them later, We can listen to songs using its MP3 feature, and we can download and store data and photos from a PC or camera for later viewing.  Sounds Good ?

Several brands, from EPSON, Cowon, to the hot selling Archos, offer this multifunction gadget. With up to 100 gigabytes storage capacity and a big LCD that shows pictures in high resolution, this thing is soon to replace iPod. Furthermore, some types are IE and MAC compatible. In fact, one brand is also known for its plug and play characteristics.

For photographers or those who love taking a shot or have too many photos stored in their digital cameras, the gadget offers a photo storage feature that can store up to 1 million JPEG photos. Sometimes saving your photo collection in a computer can be risky, so you need to have a backup. This multimedia device allows you to carry photos with you wherever you want to go. Thus, it will be a handy thing to show your shots around or to print them any time you want.

Do you often miss your favorite show on TV and cable or satelite? No sweat! You can easily set the timer on this tool and it will automatically record the show for you. All you have to do is make use of its TV Docking pod (hub connection) and enjoy the show some other time. A newer version of PVP even has an infrared sensor so that a Docking pod is no longer needed. Those of you who always travel around can make your long journeys less boring by watching your favorite movies or videos downloaded earlier during the trip. This cool little contrivance can download a maximum of 55,000 songs and 400 hours of video (40 - 250 full length movies). Its battery life can last for 5 hours if you watch a movie. Need to show your portfolio or resume on the spot? This multimedia gizmo can store them for you.

Wow! There's a lot we can do with such a small object. But there are a few things that you have to be aware of. First of all, it's quite expensive. Then, pirated stuff should be reconsidered. Why? Because with some PVP, even though you can record from copy-protected DVD, and play the video back on the PVP's LCD, you can't play the files on an external TV or your PC. And in some PVPs, you can't watch slide shows with music playing.