Bagtv Handbag Review: Watch What's On the Purse For A Change

Bagtv Handbag Review: Watch What's On the Purse For A Change
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What’s A Fella To Do?

If you’re a guy you’ve been there - we all have. Your wife or girlfriend drags you along to a clothing store or a shoe store (even worse for those living in New York City, don’t get me started). If you’re lucky, you get to sit there while the mysteries of the female psyche take place and where no matter what you say in answer to a question - it’s wrong.

Of course there’s a downside to sitting too. Maybe there’s magazines, but it’s not like Popular Mechanics or Car and Track issues are waiting - sure Glamour magazine and Allure are great reads, but not for me boyo.

Purse Meets Content

Red Bagtv

All this might sound just a bore that you have to put up with but here’s the final and ultimate kicker: you get to hold her purse. Yep, while she goes gallivanting you get to sit or stand there holding whatever she’s been using to carry around the contents of the average bank vault in. You can bet you look manly now. Almost as much so as when you have to buy feminine products at the grocery store.

So why don’t I care? Sure partly because it comes with the territory and I’m old enough not to get overly excited about such things anymore. But mostly because the purse I’m holding is the one I got her - the Bagtv. What makes it different? The fact that it’s got a built-in DVD player, is what.

Bagtv’s Hidden DVD Player (5 out of 5)

DVD player

Okay, let’s break this down while you’re still numb with disbelief. The front of the purse has one of those rings you rotate counter clockwise to open a flap, you’ve seen these on purses so no big surprise. But behind that flap is a plastic insert peeking from the other side of the window. The insert is held in place by velcro so you can remove it if you don’t want the plastic mucking up the colors - because it’s there to protect the LCD screen of the battery powered DVD player that goes inside (for sure the plastic will dilute some of the brightness). The DVD player can be placed into the plastic insert or, if removed, just into the mesh area behind the flap. Either way it is separated from the other sections of the purse.

DVD Player Specifications (4 out of 5)

Now there’s some differences with the DVD player worth noting right off. For one thing, the color LCD screen (a nice 7-inch widescreen) is on the front of the DVD player. So when it’s placed inside of the pouch, the LCD lines up with the front flap. That means you just open the flap and there you are. A removable rechargeable battery powers the whole thing, but there is also a power outlet should you want to use the DVD separately sans purse (AC power supply included too).

DVD rechargeable battery

Another difference is that the controls for the DVD player all run alongside the right top. Again, this makes sense since you can just snake your hand inside the plastic pouch (no I am NOT taking money out of your purse!) and hit a control. Which can get fairly easy to differentiate by the distance between each to the next. That there is a full set of controls on the front below the screen might give you pause, so use Pause plus all the other controls with the included remote. Again, it’s a smallish sized standard DVD-type remote you can pull out of the purse (or keep in your pocket) until needed. Infrared has no trouble going through the plastic flap to control the DVD player - more sense being that the IR receiver is on the front so the remote can make contact. Oh - expect to remove it when inserting/removing a DVD. The side mounted DVD release switch swings the entire LCD up and out so there’s no way you can do this while it’s in the purse.

DVD Player’s Ready For Wherever You Are (5 out of 5)

DVD player outputs

The built-in stereo speakers can be muted, but you might want to plug in headphones. Yes, once you would have looked really odd doing this - insane even - but in today’s era of the iPod, et all, the worst is that someone might think you’re listening to an iPod inside of the purse instead of pulling it out like a sensible person should. But then who knows from sensible when you’re seated at what has to be a kindergarten sized table with chair to match which “She” looks at yet another pair of shoes in a store that seems to have been designed by Odin or Zeus on a bad hair day.

And to be fair to my gender, while I was watching Fast and Furious’ Vin Diesel beating the crap out of some drug dealer, I had another person soul confined to the kiddie section pull his chair over and watch with me. Serves me right for not first putting in the earbuds.

Bagtv ’s Price to Performance Success (5 out of 5)

I’m no expert at purses, but according to my wife the Bagtv is value and class combined. I can see that the construction is well made, especially since there’s the additions for the DVD player, and there’s a number of different styles and designs available a the Bagtv website. Price is very reasonable for what you are getting–providing you include the purse and DVD player together, and it’s good that spare rechargeable batteries are available as are more purses should you wish to mix things up but keep the DVD player a part of the action. And true its cool to see my wife walking the purse around with the flap down and the LCD playing through. I said she should let me put a disc of our home movies on it, but that permissive she’s yet to be.

I should add that the prices on the website are listed in Pounds - conversion fans anyone - but the 200P doesn’t translate anything as high as it used to back in the 90’s.

Bagtv Is More Than Just A DVD Player

Red purse side angle

Now I haven’t gone into the purse that much as I’m no expert. But here goes - it’s a nice red color with a gloss that makes it appealing to pretty much anyone. It doesn’t scream opulence but does look a bit funky as it’s plastic which works in its favor. And it’s more than large enough to carry the many, many, many “necessary” items. Plus you can get different versions of the bag from their website.

Spending some time with just the DVD also shows just how far this 11 year + technology has come. The DVD player is really lightweight compared to what you’d expect and the LCD is bright and colorful and more that up to the job. Battery life isn’t high, but a quick recharge will do the trick. I should add that there’s outputs to attach the DVD player to a TV, as well as there being a SD memory card slot and even a USB. Full featured was not expected but is appreciated.

Remember how they were always talking about how technology was going to make life easier? I don’t know about that, but I do know that having the DVD player in the Bagtv purse has made my hanging around in “Women’s World” a lot more bearable.

Bagtv