iLuv Zeon i1055

Bateria tine foarte putin, nu a fost incarcat o perioada lunga. De la priza functioneaza bine.

The iLuv Zeon i1055 comes feature-packed to tickle your most intense cinematic tastes. It is available in two colors – black and white. Obviously, care has been taken to match the colors of the iPod.

The player not only allows you to watch videos from your iPod (30GB and 60GB), but also integrates a DVD player. So if you are traveling and run out of movies to watch on your iPod, you can simply buy a DVD that you fancy and indulge your passion. 

The player comes with a 7-inch active matrix TFT LCD screen, which also acts as the door to access the DVD tray. Basic functionalities are available on the front panel – navigational keys, playback buttons and access to setup, title menu, DVD menu and display setup buttons are splayed around the screen.

A bit on the heavy side, the player adds more than a few grams to your travel case. In fact it weighs close to 1360.8g and can be a real pain to carry around. However, it comes bundled with a travel bag, with a shoulder strap for convenience. This makes a hell of a difference!

The player also has a stand that can be used to prop it up. 

The Zeon is equipped with two 3.5mm earphone jacks, so you can watch movies with a partner. The volume dial is right beside the earphone jacks.

While most of the control buttons are easily accessible, you will really appreciate the remote control provided with the player. It's a full-fledged remote, with everything you'll possibly need. 

The iLuv Zeon i1055 comes with a composite AV cable (3.5mm to RCA) to connect to a TV or amplifier. S-video cable is not included, but it has a 3.5mm jack to compensate.

The iPod docking station is placed at the rear of the player. You can charge the iPod while the player is connected to the adapter, but the downside is that you can't control playback using the remote while viewing movies from the iPod.

The compartment that houses the iPod leaves a circular hole to access the jog dial, and every time you need to change anything you will have to reach for it manually.

iPod videos can be watched on an aspect ratio of 16:9. A zoom feature is available.

While the player comes with built-in stereo speakers, the volume is not loud enough. The playback quality through the earphones, however, is brilliant. Of course, the headset also determines the true output quality. The i1055 comes with a pair of decent headsets. 

The player can read any CD/DVD with MP3 and JPEG content, apart from playing regular DVDs. As far as video performance is concerned, the output isn't quite sharp though. It does keep the color saturation intact, but the quality gets largely affected by the viewing angle.

By default the dark areas are not very deep, but you can change that through the contrasts and sharpness levels. 

You may grumble when watching short clips or videos from the iPod, because you will need to manually put the content on – the player gives no access to no iPod controls. This is very bad for a device that's marketed as an extension to your fifth generation video iPod. It does do service as a good DVD player though, with a passable iPod docking facility.

The player comes with a car charger and a wall charger, and battery life isn't that great – we got nearly 3.5 hours of playback.

Considering its weight, and the not inconsiderable price of Rs 11,500, you would do well to buy this device only if you're looking for a DVD-cum-iPod player. It doesn't make a very good travel companion.