Portable-TV Reviews

I purchased the Casio SY-30 as a Christmas gift for my in-laws and was highly disappointed. Reception is poor, if not non-existent, as none of the main (i.e. ABC, CBS, NBC) TV channels were accessible in their home. It is difficult to manually adjust the TV to locate the stations - you can't tell what station you are turning to since there is just a yellow line that appears when tuning - there's no clear-cut channel identification. Upon returning the item, I did not receive the full value paid for it as selling a TV that doesn't work wasn't Amazon's fault. If you are even thinking about purchasing this item, go to a store so you can get a full refund if you have to return it.

I keep this on my desk at work. Most stations in my area come in clearly. A few are fuzzy, but that's not the fault of the TV, that happens with all portable TV's. You have to be in an area of good reception. Anyway, this little TV has a really clear picture for a portable TV!

If it came with an A/C adapter, I'd give it 5 stars. But I have to dish out another $15 for the adapter.

I bought this TV in July of 2003 after a massive storm knocked out power to over 75% of the Memphis area. I finally got to use it when another storm rolled through May 30, 2004, and our power went out during a series of tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms. The nice thing about the color screen is that you can see the radar image on the news and stay informed. The digital tuner works good if you are close to the city. In the outskirts it might not be as effective. I really liked being able to stay with the news after the power went out. It takes 4 AA batteries which are easy to install. It has a "kick stand" on the back which allows you to set it up on a table at an angle. The controls are easy to use and the volume seems sufficient even when the rain and thunder are loud. The only thing that would make this TV a little better would be a larger screen. I highly recommend having this in your emergency stash. If you only use it for emergencies, I would recommend non-rechargable batteries. But be sure to keep the batteries with it but in another container so that they don't leak and make a mess.

I have this tv hooked up to my DVD player and my Panasonic shelf sound system at work. Not too bad of a set up. The color is rich and bright. I don't know how well it can get tv stations but that's fine by me since I only use it as a monitor anyway. Where I live tvs can't really work unless you have cable or a dish. Otherwise it's a nice investment for a micro theater system. If it was cable ready it would get five stars.

Very clear sharp picture, easy tuning, good signal pulling power even when using the built in dipole antenna.

Tunes VHF and UHF channels, but is not cable ready - strictly for portable use. AC - DC, but does not operate on removable batteries. Handy DC power cord with built in fuse protection for use in your auto or boat.

Comes with an antenna adapter to use with an outside or external antenna.

Very easy to carry - ideal to take on a long car trip with the kids.

I used to own a similar TV, but of much poorer quality and workmanship. For all you people with questions, please check out the specifications link and also look at the "see it in motion" page. What a great feature! with spinning models and back and front detailed views! I love it! Anyhow, with these hook-ups, you can connect your TV to the VCR and cable, and then use your remote to get any channels you can get on your regular TV. This TV looks great, with many picture controls and everything else you really need. I'm definitely buying one the first chance I get. It's just what I've been looking for and will be perfect on my work desk next to the computer. And, Philips' quality is worth the extra dollars over comparable products.

I paid [money amount] at [local store], after having no luck at a couple of other "discount" chains finding a cassette/radio Walkman at all - far bigger market for CD & MP3 players, apparently. I was looking for a low-priced, lightweight AM-FM Walkman with a tape player to use while I walk. After buying it I realized that I should have checked Amazon for pricing, features & reviews as I usually do. And today, it turned up as a Gold Box item so I would have even saved a bit more.

I've used the tape player very little; I usually listen to public radio while walking (except during pledge periods! I already contribute) and have had no tuning problems. I do use the "hold" button while walking and also when I turn if off.

Battery life hasn't been tested yet. I've used it an hour or more at a time, 4 or 5 times a week, since May - maybe the batteries are on the verge of failing at this point.

I have had no luck tuning the weather bands but didn't buy it for that. The lack of auto-reverse for tapes or provision for an AC adapter are minor annoyances and fairly irrelevant for my purposes.

For the price, I'm happy, though if I start using the tape player more & it fails, I'll probably be beyond the Sony warranty period. Also, the headphones are about what one should expect for this price (I haven't yet tried my Bose noise-cancelling headphones - I don't use them while walking).

I beg to differ! For 30 bucks, this walkman is excellent. The sound is clear. The reception is generally good. The bass boost is strong. Ok, it doesn't do a playback but if you're willing to pay...more you can get that feature. It radio turns on by itself? Geez! Guys, learn to use the hold button. (Although I have to admit I forgot to put it on hold once in a while. Shame on me.) The TV band goes from Channel 2 to 13. Sure it doesn't have all of your local stations but what you do get are just as clear as what your TV gets. The FM reception is just as good as my shelf stereo. This walkman comes with a plastic case with belt clip that works well. If you take it for a jogging, though, you may have to stop to flip over the tape. Like I said earlier, if you spend a few more bucks, you will get the auto-reverse feature. This walkman doesn't particularly hawk the batteries compared to all walkmans I used to own. It said 32 hours play time on the package and it seems like it's not that far off. I haven't drop-test it yet so I can't tell you if it can hold up well to kluzy owners.

Unless you are a free sweater, the cheap plastic case that comes with this walkman provides enough protection against moisture to take it to the gym with you. It weighs a lot less than the comparable feature sport walkman. If you can do without the unnecessary weather-proof protection (even so, you still can't submerge it in the water) you will have a few bucks more in your pocket and half a pound less in your hand.

A good purchase for the money!

My mom gave me this walkman for Christmas and I have used it everyday since then. I tend to leave it on accidently but the battery's last forever. The reception is great, you can hear any station very clearly anywhere. It sounds like you are listening to it on a CD player! When, I say God Bless this walkman it is litteral as well, the walkman has a casset player which I use to listen to my "Hearing Gods Voice" casset tapes. It comes with a very handy case with a clip. Not to mention a nice pair of headphones. Also, it is very cool looking, I couldn't stop showing it off! Defeniatly a great price for a great walkman! God Bless!

I bought this radio mainly to listen to television while working.
With some effort we can find the station but listen to them is not easy.You have to use full volume and this mean low volume to your ears. I have tried others radios and brands with the TV sound feature and they all work poorly. Perhaps a Digital one can deliver more volume but they are expensive. At the price I recoment this PHILIPS since if you are in a quiet room it may be useful.

Mario.

This radio is a wonderful little product. I got it because the one we had was old and wareing out. Sometimes it has trouble getting one channel, and the weather band doesn't come in much, but other than that, it is perfect. I am trying to convince my husband to get one for his study.

Bought this radio regardless of some of the negative reviews. Works great for me. All the bands (TV, weather, AM/FM) come in nice a crisp (I live in Connecticut. Others may have had problems with TV and weather reception due to their geographic location. Just my speculation. Well worth the $.

One long-asserted myth of consumer capitalism is that products improve over time, tested and winnowed by the market. This Walkman disproves that. I had a Sony Walkman that I used every day for over a year (until I dropped it down the side of a mountain); it had auto-reverse, a convenient belt clip, it was compact enough to fit into a pocket; it was everything I wanted in a Walkman. And, of course, it's not being made anymore. Instead, you have stuff like this.
This is a device that's designed for one apparent use: to hold in your hand (a large hand; it's too big for my wife to hold comfortably) (and only in your right hand; it is not laid out to fit comfortably in the left hand) while jogging in the rain. Or, perhaps, trail running or some ther "edge" sport.
It's big and heavy; about twice as large as it needs to be. This means, among other things, that you can't easily fit it into a pocket.
The cassette bay opens a bit like a submarine hatch, which is to say it takes two hands and a lot of attention to get the cassette in and out. So, you'd think they'd put auto-reverse in it to reduce mucking around (and keep the water out) but they don't.
The volume knob is very easy to find and adjust, but if the Walkman is anywhere but in your hand (in a coat pocket, perhaps?) the volume changes every time you move.
There's a belt clip, which is on the short list of things I need on a Walkman, but there's also a fabric strap to hold it onto your hand with, and the strap, which is not removable, gets in the way of the belt clip and makes it really difficult to clip securely.
It is ostensibly water-resistant (though it's not meant to play underwater) and there's a rubber seal in the cassette bay. I use my Walkmen primarily for bicycling to work in rainy Seattle, and I've never had a problem with any of them being damaged by water. I guess I'm not extreme enough. This would be a useful feature for a kayaker, I suppose, except that a kayaker would have a hard time holding it in one hand, as he paddled.
But it looks great: if you have one of those traffic-cone yellow Nissan Xterras, this Walkman would look really cool sitting on the hood.

but hard to hold without hitting the radio buttons. Lots of options, though.

I have used this walkman for two years of extensive listening to books on tape. It is perfect for this use. It is true that the buttons are easy to bump accidently, but I just leave the hold button on, and the problem is solved. My husband needs a new tape player, and this is the one I'm getting him.

I've owned Sony Mini disc players - the first one I owned had this AVLS - I didn't like it at all and wrote to Sony to let them know. This AVLS feature limited the upper volume of my first mini-disc player. I told Sony that they had no right to "control" my choice of the amount of volume I wanted to listen to my music. The second Sony mini-disc player I bought (the first one was defective) did NOT have the AVLS and I was pleased that they removed this Sony control over my choice. This product (the cassette player) has this Sony "big brother control". I was ready to purchase this product until I saw the AVLS feature. Now I will not buy this product simply because of that feature. I will write to Sony again about this cassette player. Believe me, the highest volume that Sony sets the AVLS at was low, insufficient. It was frustrating to not be able to turn up my volume, especially while I power walk and I hardly think that when I'm at my football games, I would even be able to hear the TV bands at all. The other features are nice - but Sony has lost my purchase due to the AVLS.

I recently purchased this player for my birthday as a gift to myself and I am so pleased with it that I actually just got done ordering another one as a back up, just incase I break my first one.
Very Happy, I love the Auto-Reverse feature because I listen to a lot of tapes at work and it saves me from having to stop my work to flip the tape over when side one has finished.
Wonderful unit, and reasonably priced, Great for the Audio Book fan.

I got this walkman about a week ago and I'm loving it. It weighs about half as much as the 12 year old sony walkman its replacing, and the digital tuning is a great feature. I learned to work it easily in about 5 minutes of playing around and mimimal instructions. The tapes load from the back, which is a little odd, but doesn't do anything bad. AM radio works GREAT, FM pretty good, TV good on some stations, and WB not at all, but I don't really need that anyways. The battery indicator is a great feature that they happened to throw in, and all the buttons are in good places and work well. It comes with a case and headphones which both work well, and look dorky. I recomend this cassette player!

This portable color tv doesn't give me any channel that you can actually watch. I returned it and I was credited. However, much to my surprise I received the same five inch tv as I had returned. It already cost me to have it returned. Since I didn't ask for it, should I consider it a gift?

When my 15+ yr.old 5" Sony Under-counter bracket mounted color tv (with AM/FM radio)"expired" suddenly,I searched for a replacement; it took days to find this Jensen. None of the others had the features I wanted combined into one unit. I needed a simple wall plug-in (this one also is cable ready & VCR ready AND comes with a car adapter for traveling, AND a headphone outlet). Since I live in NY City, direct local channel reception on a basic tv (7 prime + 6 UHF)is not a problem. If I lived in a rural or remote area, I'm sure receiving a signal would be impossible. This is a true space-saver device. The price is much less than was expected. $138.99(+$8.99 delivery charge)We paid almost $400. for the original Sony. The picture is perfect, as is the color, sound & radio tuner. The swiveling feature is a plus - all angle viewing! It was delivered a week earlier than promised from Amazon's Marketplace Affiliate Merchant. Thanks to Amazon, time spent in the kitchen doesn't seem like a "chore" anymore!

While there are many good features to this television (size, easy set up, on-screen display) the sound quality is very poor. There is only one small speaker on the right-hand size, which limits the sound and its quality. However, for a 13" television, picture quality is very good. I might recommend this t.v. if you are purchasing it for a very small space. Beyond that, pay a little more money and find something else.

We use this as a set in our kid's room, and he loves it. We like it too- it's almost as good as our living room unit! It is very easy to set up and use, has a decent amount of features, and a nice clear picture. Best is the low price. I recommend to all.

At first, this TV appears very sleek and stylish and packs an average display. This is all true. However, for a 13" screen, the unit is huge (over a foot and a half deep). More importantly, I bought the tv and it lasted a year. The tube just went and it is only covered for a year. NO TELEVISION SHOULD BLOW OUT AFTER 1 YEAR!! The worst purchase of all time. Please do not buy this -- you will regret it.

I've worked in video and television stations for years. I always look to Sony to lead both in quality and product design. They've done it again. I've had this TV for about 6 months now. (I use its auto-on feature as my alarm clock!) the picture quality is always crisp and sharp and lively. The price is very good for the quality of the image. The only drawback is that it's only got one speaker. That's a small concession to make for the great, bright image. My other Sony television still looks great after 9 years.

I purchased this item as a gift for a friend. I admit, it has great features, namely, it's portable, It has TV / Weather broadcast capabilities, and its a Sony. For the most part it is a great item, w/ great sound....BUT....it is not very user friendly. The buttons are too close together. The display is way too dark when you are trying to tune in a station, but even more importantly, the display letters are so flippin' small, you need a magnifying glass to see what it says. (which mode you are in) Not one of Sony's well thought out products. Definitely not up to their name. If you don't have 20/20 Vision--Don't buy this item!

I received this walkman for Christmas, and so far I am really enjoying it. The reception is very good, and the sound is clear. The bass boost is strong. The TV band goes from Channel 2 to 13. I've never had a TV walkman before, and it was fun to listen to PBS or a soap opera while taking my lunchtime walk. :) The last portable stereo I had had a very loose, floppy type belt clip, which I hated. The belt clip on this one works well.

The reason that I gave this product 4 stars instead of 5 is that when the batteries are low, the unit just turns off. I would prefer to have it give me crummy reception until I get new batteries, but maybe that is just my own personal preference.