Sony DVP-FX810 8-Inch Portable DVD Player
Good new entry in this price range
As I write this, Amazon still has the player listed as \\"not yet available\\" even though it's been available from other vendors for several weeks now. I've had mine for about three weeks. <br /> <br />As much as I like this player, there are a few reasons I'm only giving it four stars. First and foremost, the player has no screen mode for accommodating older wide-screen DVD's. When you watch one, you'll get black bands on all four sides. If you switch the LCD mode to Full, it only stretches the picture horizontally. It does a great job, however, on more recent  \\"enhanced for 16x9\\" discs. <br /> <br />I'm not sold on the idea that glossy screens are a good idea on laptops or DVD players. A glossy finish supposedly makes the colors more vibrant, but it also means that, unless you're in a very dark room, you're always going to get reflections, particularly in scenes that are darkly lit.  <br /> <br />The player is heavier than I expected. It is heavier without a battery than my older 7\\" Toshiba player is with a battery attached. While this gives the impression of  a solid, well-made product, it also makes me worry about how severely it could be damaged if dropped on a hard surface. <br /> <br />On the plus side, the twist and flip tablet mode is well thought out with all of the controls running along the bottom of the screen. This could be improved by having a way to differentiate the buttons by touch. The picture quality is as good as you're going to find in an under-$200 player. The battery life is impressively long; I'm getting 5-6 hours per charge.  Both AC and car adapters are included.  Unlike my older player, when you turn the DVPFX810 off, it remembers where you stopped watching and resumes play at the same point. For me, this player is well worth what I paid for it.