Philips DCP850: 8.5 inches of portable indulgence

It's fun when big things come in small packages, like the multi-million dollar Hollywood blockbusters that can be enjoyed on a small iPod screen. However, some people aren't all that happy watching Johnny Depp in 3-inch form, and Crave is no exception to this rule. So we're staring lovingly at the Philips DCP850 -- a portable DVD/DivX player with a built-in video iPod dock.

The initial appeal of the DCP850 is the large 8.5-inch swivel screen, which is a tremendously satisfying screen size to stare at on the move. But the real killer feature, for us anyway, is the way this new model 'absorbs' a video iPod and allows videos stored on it to be played back on the large screen. We saw this at CES earlier this year and loved how the iPod fits seamlessly into the body of the player. This means you can leave the iPod inside the DCP850 when closing the lid, which Crave finds mysteriously satisfying.

This device will also play back all your DivX movies. Dump them onto an SD card from your PC and play them back on the DCP850 thanks to the built-in card reader. Films will be able to take full advantage of the native 16:9 aspect ratio and look mouth-wateringly beautiful, even when enjoyed in a dirty Mexican motel infested with rats and large insects.

Oh, and it plays DVDs too.

We're so excited about this product that we're physically jealous of our American cousins at CNET.com, who will get this a few months before us (and almost certainly for a lower price). The DCP850 launches here in the UK this summer. Price is TBC but Philips tells us it's likely to hover around the £199 mark -- a cracking price for such a cool piece of gear. If you're not as excited as we are, try reading this page again, emphasising every third word. If that doesn't work, check back at CNET.co.uk later this year for a full review. -NL