Small as a box of matches, but not quite as useful
Elgato’s EyeTV Mobile is small enough to fit inside a box of matches yet promises to allow you to watch Freeview TV on your iPad 2.
It plugs into the iPad’s Dock connector, comes with a telescopic antenna and works in conjunction with the free EyeTV Mobile app. There’s also a micro-USB port and accompanying cable to allow you to plug the little black box into your Mac to charge it.
The experience of using the EyeTV Mobile will be familiar to anyone who ever used one of those pocket TVs that seemed like such a good idea in the 1980s and 90s. In a word: frustrating. The hardware itself is fine. Neat and tidy, you’ll barely notice it when it’s plugged in. And the app is great, making it easy to find the channel you want to watch, find out what’s on and even record the current programme (though you can’t schedule recordings).
The problem is it relies on having good Freeview reception. And while you might just about be able to get a strong enough signal to watch TV sitting in the garden, on a train or the back of a car, the signal will drop in and out. Elgato does provide a rod aerial with a magnetic base, which should help reception, but it isn’t designed for outdoor use. That begs the question: just what is the EyeTV Mobile for? It might provide entertainment for tent-bound protestors at St Paul’s Cathedral, but how many of the rest of us want to watch broadcast TV as a travel activity?
It’s also worth noting that while there have been reports of the EyeTV Mobile working on an iPhone 4S, and we managed to watch TV on an iPhone 4, Elgato doesn’t recommend it. It will only work properly on an iPad 2.
If you want to watch TV on the move without eating up your 3G data allowance, the EyeTV Mobile is definitely worth a look. However, you’ll have to watch a lot of television to justify the purchase price. If you want to watch TV indoors, there are better options out there, including Elgato’s own Tivizen or EyeTV Netstream.
Kenny Hemphill
Price: £99.95 inc VAT
From: Elgato
Needs: iPad 2
Pro: Tiny + App works very well + Doesn’t draw power from iPad
Con: Expensive for something which will only see occasional use
