A market that surprisingly you can say is untapped is portable TVs. Sure, people have gravitated towards projectors but sometimes that requires having the correct lighting and a canvas to put the display on. Skyworth looks to alleviate those issues with the Companion Portable 24P100. But is it good enough to take everywhere?
Style
The design of the Companion Portable is quite interesting. All over the body of the TV is a sort of speckled white color. The screen is a 24” 1080p FHD LED 60Hz Display. It hits up to a brightness level of 250 Nits. The display has a matte finish to help with anti-glare in various light reflecting environments. Hidden behind the display is a nice leather handle. This makes carrying and relocating this 11lb TV anywhere quite easy. For carrying protection, Skyworth does sell a carrying case as well.
For port selection, you have (1) HDMI, Composite, Optical, and USB 2.0. There is even an Ethernet port if needed. All these are accessible on the left side of the TV. While one HDMI does sound insane you have to figure you won’t be carrying multiple devices to connect anyway.
On the lower front of the TV is an 8W x 2 Channel Stereo speaker colored in Sunset Orange that supports Dolby Audio. These speakers can get quite loud, which is good if you are outside somewhere. And of course, in the middle is the power button which will illuminate red when charging.
Skyworth Companion comes with an AC power brick and remote control.
Navigation / Apps / Features
Companion runs Google TV as its UI and its familiar if you used it on any other TV. This means you can utilize it with Google Home and other google related services. It also supports casting and even Amazon Alexa. I will say the UI on this TV can be quite lagging and painfully slow at times. I just imagine with it being a smaller TV the processing power isn’t there.
But that doesn’t mean watching content isn’t bad. As mentioned, this is a 1080p panel and watching stuff on YouTube, YouTube TV looks quite alright. Colors can look a bit over saturated at times, but you can try and adjust it some. I like that the TV has a Game Mode so It will recognize when you connect a console to it.
I set it up with a Nintendo Switch and the TV recognized it and put it in the right format. I didn’t get any input lag and worked well while playing a ton of Super Mario Wonder. Switch would be the best console portable wise since the system and the dock are both insignificant compared to a massive Xbox or PlayStation.
Portability
I love the ability to just pick up this TV and go. Putting it anywhere you need to take in content. I have used it in various parts of my house such as my bedroom and even my kitchen as the viewing angle of my TV in my living room isn’t the greatest. I have taken it out a couple of times outside to the park and it’s been good. I could see this being a great TV for tailgating or backyard parties in the summer. It has a 3hr battery life that seems to hold up to what it advertised. I did have issues at times though where it wasn’t recognizing the battery was charged but the last update, I did seem to fix that. I would also say to make sure you charge it before you go on your outings. I found leaving it alone for a week or so and the battery would be dead.
Verdict
Even though most have gotten used to portable projectors I can see this TV being utilized more in those spaces. It looks nice in various conditions, gets quite loud, and has a decent 3 hr. battery life. The only gripe is the UI which could be beefed up to run better. It retails for $399.99 and is sold out on Skyworth’s site but is available on Amazon. I’d love to see what they can do with a portable 4K display in its same design.
