The latest attempt to crack the video eyewear market comes from Myvu with its new range of iPod-targeted Personal Media Viewers. The version we have on test is the 'fully loaded edition', which includes a battery pack and protective case that'll charge your iPod, along with the glasses, and offers an extended viewing time of up to eight hours. The package is designed to work with any video iPod and includes a pendant control for managing content remotely, offering full hands-free operation with your player.

The first thing you'll notice about the Myvu glasses is that they're actually fairly stylish, at least when compared to most rivals in this market. You'll still attract some rather strange looks if you wear them out and about, but the slimline design and sleek black finish give you a better than average chance of making it home unscathed.

They're easy to set up and use, and once charged you'll find any video played back through your iPod appears simultaneously on the viewer. A choice of noseguards gives you some control over comfort, and a pair of built-in bud earphones fit quite neatly into your ears for sound.

In terms of appearance and usability, Myvu's effort isn't doing too badly, but we still don't think there's quite enough on offer here to crack the market. The first issue we had is with the low resolution 320 x 240 display. When you combine this with the fact that the viewable area on each lens is quite small, you'll find it puts a bit of a strain on the eyes after extended use.

We'd like to have seen a 640 x 480 resolution here to match up with the video iPod's display capabilities. Having said that, the experience is far from unpleasant, an adjustable brightness setting helps compensate for different environments and certainly in terms of short-term use - perhaps to watch video podcasts or music videos - they would do fine. Audio quality isn't fantastic but the bud earphone design does a decent enough job of blocking out background noise for a more immersive environment.

Since the glasses themselves are so slim, some users might have issue with distractions in the background or brightly lit environments, making it difficult to view video properly. On the other hand this does mean it's pretty easy to see what's going on around you by glancing above or below the unit, so they are more suitable for using on the move than many other products in this range.

Currently Myvu only produces these glasses for iPods, and although a universal version is coming out later this year it does mean that you're restricted to iPod content and don't have the option to use them when gaming or with other video sources. When you take into account the high price tag for the fully loaded edition, some might consider the Personal Media Viewer's capabilities a little too restrictive.

Myvu scores points for style and comfort with its Personal Media Viewer, but the glasses are quite expensive and currently restricted to use with an iPod. It's a fairly tidy package though, and for occasional or short-term use is one of the better solutions we've seen for watching video on the move.