iLuv this option - Review iLuv i1255

The iPod Touch and the iPhone have found their way into the homes of most gadget lovers over the past year. For those who missed out on the iPhone invasion, the latest 3G S will be available in India this August. Though I am no big fan of converged devices, I must agree the iPhone is a wonderful package, a great music player, a good phone and a brilliant gaming device, all rolled into one.

However, I have missed being able to watch movies stored on my iPhone on the TV or play back songs from the Touch on an audio system. My wife was not so keen on another device entering our room after the Tata Sky +, DVD player, Bose Wave Radio, so I started looking for something which could help converge all these.

I found my solution in an up-market South Delhi store. It was called the iLuv i1255 and cost all of Rs 13,000—it costs just around $150 in the US. This player is smartly built and lets you watch your iPod videos through TV, while charging your device at the same time. The remote controls the DVD player as well as the Apple device in the dock.

The good part is that with this dock you can watch downloaded YouTube videos or synced podcasts on a large screen. For me the capability of being able to stream YouTube videos to my iPod Touch over Wi-Fi and then playing it on TV was a brilliant option to have. However, you will have to take the iPhone out of the dock to answer a call.

The DVD player is a smart accessory. But it still can’t play DivX movies and so doesn’t have USB ports built-in. Moreover, the fact that it has been imported by a dealer and not by a company is a bit of a downer as far as service is concerned. All this means I can’t give the DVD player more than two on a scale of five.

Though the unit is smartly designed and has a nice on-screen display and interface, I would recommend this only to those who are dealing with a cable mess at home and looking for a DVD player-cum-iPod dock to solve the problem.

However, it must be agreed that iLuv has a brilliant line-up of devices now available in India, all well designed. Though priced a little bit on the higher side, this is a good option if you are looking for something which you won’t find in every home and still doesn’t cost a bomb.

For More Details, visit the iLuv website

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The Above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday June 28, 2009