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Julia Hall asked:


One of the most fascinating new types of gadgets on the market is the portable

video device. Portable video devices are also called portable media devices

and sometimes portable entertainment devices, and are direct descendants of

the MP3 player. In addition to the digital audio that MP3 players could provide,

portable video devices can play video on built in color LCD screens, display

digital photos on the same screen, and many models can even be used to

play video games as well. These gadgets have a lot of features built into

small packages and come in a tremendous variety of different models that

range from very basic models all the way up to home entertainment systems

in miniature.

On the lower end of the portable video device spectrum are models that are

about the same size as many audio only digital devices, yet have a surprising

capacity to store video. These gadgets can easily fit in the palm of one’s hand

and display video on a screen only an inch or two across, depending on the

model. These gadgets can cost as little as fifty dollars and are available

anywhere.

On the larger end of the spectrum are some really impressive portable video

devices. These gadgets have hard drives that are bigger than the hard drives

in the computers that many of us are still using, and can store anywhere from

dozens to hundreds of hours of video depending on the format that the video

is stored in. Archos is a major manufacturer of these gadgets and builds a ton

of features into its higher end models. For example, Archos makes one model

that has a screen that’s over four inches across that has touchscreen

functionality. This model has built in WiFi capabilities that enable it to access

the Internet in a variety of different locations that have wireless hot spots. It

even has a built in Opera web browser and the ability to zoom in on specific

parts of a web page in order to allow its user to read the page better. It can

also display the contents of its screen on a normal TV set in order to provide

better visibility. It can also display PDF files that it has downloaded from the

Internet as well.

Archos also provides an impressive array of accessories for its higher end

portable video gadgets. For example, it’s possible to get various docking

stations for the devices that enable them to record video that other devices

play. This, combined with the ability to display video on a TV screen, can

make an Archos portable video device the DVR component of your home

entertainment center. This is especially useful because it provides the option

of watching anything on the gadgets hard drive either on the full sized TV set

or on the go, and the decision can be made on a moment’s notice. Archos

also supplies video cameras that can be mounted on bike helmets so that its

portable video devices can essentially be converted into camcorders. Plus,

with options of recording video in MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 formats, these high end

gadgets give their users a good deal of control over how video is recorded.

If you’re a busy person who loves TV and video, these entertainment centers

in miniature are the perfect gadgets for you.



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