Despite an appealing price and a promising list of features, the Mach Speed Trio TV5 was a big disappointment.
Donald Bell
Donald Bell has spent more than five years as a CNET senior editor, reviewing everything from MP3 players to the first three generations of the Apple iPad. He currently devotes his time to producing How To content for CNET, as well as weekly episodes of CNET's Top 5 video series.
The TV5's graphical user interface does have a certain Windows 95 retro appeal. This is also a good shot of the battery status indicator in the upper right-hand corner, next to the time display. Looks empty, right? Nope. That's a full charge. Confused? So were we.
Even if you just use it as a PMP, your reputation might get tarnished by owning a substandard product like the Trio TV5. Best to keep this thing hidden away in your pocket.
Top to bottom, you're looking at the TV5's power input (no, it doesn't power off of USB), USB connection, minijack headphone output, and 2.5mm AV output and input.
The cheap, plastic buttons on the top of the Trio TV5 make an audible, hollow click. No big deal. Understanding what buttons A and B actually do is another story.
The Trio TV5 features a colorful and bright screen. Unfortunately, because there's no way to dim the screen, the TV5 delivers poor battery performance.
