myvu crystalYears ago, I was flipping through the pages of a catalogue on an airplane and saw what at the time was the greatest invention I had ever seen: A pair of sunglasses with a built-in TV. It advertised that you could sit on the beach and watch your kids while simultaneously watching television. I had dreamt of getting them, and even started saving in hopes of buying that $800 contraption I had only seen a picture of in a catalogue.

I never bought them. In fact, I put the catalogue back in the seat pocket, and left it just as a dream. But with the advent of portable media players such as the iPod and the Zune, it was only a matter of time that a contraption like that would make the leap from niche gadget to mainstream product. So when the Myvu Crystal came my way, I jumped at the chance to play with it.

The glasses themselves are a very sleek design. As I put them on, I noticed they didn’t obstruct my entire view beyond the glasses. I wasn’t sure if this was good or bad, since I could easily be distracted by what was around me, though it also meant I would see something important around me, like if I were on a plane, I’d see a food tray coming and know to move my legs in. The headphones are in-ear style, which would normally be great except this was a loaner from the company that had already been used at least once. At least they put 3 different pairs of covers in the package, though the ones that would have fit me best were the used ones.

The setup itself was easy enough. Plug the glasses into the controller. Choose the gadget you’re watching on, and plug in the corresponding connector to the other side of the controller. If the glasses are low on power, plug in a mini-USB into the controller to charge the battery. Turn it on and go. Seems simple enough.

The first item I tested this with was an iPhone 3G. Imagine my surprise when the first thing that happens is my iPhone giving me the warning that this device was not compatible with it. It suggested I switch to “Airplane Mode.” I declined. I assume the $25 cable sold on the Myvu website eliminates that message. I went to play the movie, but noticed it didn’t start up. As I sat there playing with different settings on the iPhone, I eventually discovered the culprit. In the time it took me to read the warning message and decide what to do – which was 10-15 seconds approximately – the glasses shut themselves off. I turned them back on and away I went.

It took some getting used to, but I had started to get the hang of watching. There are separate screens for each eye, but they are aligned just about perfectly to be seen as one screen. I did notice that the centre of the movie screen would seem slightly fuzzy, like I was watching cross-eyed. This issue eventually faded away as I adjusted to the movie, but eventually, I also noticed that if I tried to look at the sides of the screen, my vision would be a little blurry. Shutting each eye and looking at the edges, it seemed looking at the edges would always be too far out of view for one eye.

I was watching the movie lying down, but I decided to try walking around with them on, while watching the movie. Remember: You can see very easily above and below the screen. The glasses did not have the best fit, so lots of movement caused them to move around a lot. I don’t have this problem with sunglasses. Anytime the glasses moved anywhere other than the proper spot right in front of my eyes, the video would go fuzzy, and I’d have to hold them in place with one hand. I suppose you won’t need to worry if you keep your head against the headrest in a car or airplane.

Having enjoyed the movie, and not having a major complaint about viewing – I’d call these previous comments minor complaints – I decided to try another test. The Myvu Crystal came with connections for an iPod – also with a mini-USB jack in the iPod connector to charge the iPod or iPhone as you watch – as well as standard A/V cables. I hooked it up to my Playstation 2, and tried playing some NHL with it.

NHL was a great game to test these with because it showed me how I needed to take a few tries to get the contrast just right on a mostly white screen. It was also a game with fast action, so I could see if there were any response time issues. There didn’t seem to be. Where issues came up were reading text on the screen, and the glasses’ tendency to slide. Moving my hands really quickly while sitting up caused the glasses to start sliding down my nose, which caused the video to get blurry and small. If anyone had walked by me, they’d see me sitting and playing a game, with my head turned all the way up to keep the glasses in place. It did not do any favours to my back or neck.

The Myvu has to potential to be an incredibly great product. It’s sleek design and convenience for watching movies makes it a great product for people who have over $300 to burn on a gadget of it’s type. For those of us without that luxury, it might be best to wait for some improvements to be made. A better fit for the glasses would be a great start, and interchangeable headphones too. As great of reviews in-ear headphones get, I don’t personally like them. And there could stand to be just a little more room for viewing quality. Finally, 4 hours of battery life means it will last for an entire flight from east to west coast, or east coast to western Europe, minus the take-off and landing. For longer flights, you may have to rely on the airplane video at some point.

 andPOP Rating - 2 Half Stars

Myvu Crystal All-in-One

Retail: $344.85 USD

http://www.myvu.com






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