Pocket Projector Roundup
As electronics continue to dwindle in size, we can find very powerful electronic that will literally fit into our pockets. While this is great for empowering the user, there is a problem – viewing of media on this devices often leaves us with a tiny screen that is hard to see. It seems that there is a tradeoff on portability versus viewing pleasure.
But there could be a solution to this conundrum on the horizon. The media projector has collapsed in size along with other technology, and today it is quite possible to buy a projector that will fit in your pocket and still give you a larger projected viewing screen. In some cases, a separate media source is not even required, since some projectors have internal storage memory and/or a SD card slot for the media, with a built in player.
As with any technology that aims to be highly portable, there are some tradeoffs. For pocket projectors, tradeoffs tend to be found in battery life and in projection brightness. Battery life on some units last well under two hours, which means that a typical TV show, shorter movie, or presentation might be fine, but a longer movie would not be watched in a single sitting without an external power source.
The brightness issue is both a blessing and a weakness. One one hand, the LED light source means that there are no expensive bulbs to replace. But on the other hand, you will probably need a darkened room to make the picture comfortably viewable. Again these are tradeoffs in order to make the technology both portable and battery efficient.
Since most portable devices such as smart phones now support video, it could be easy to imagine that a pocket projector would be a nice complement to such a device. In order to give you some idea of what the market currently has to offer, we have rounded up the current crop of the most popular pocket projectors.
3M MPro120 / MPro 150
The MPro120 utilizes the MM200 projection engine, which employs a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) imager, delivers a bright color image. The unit boasts two to four hours of battery life depending on the brightness level, and on high output pushes 12 lumens. The unit incorporates stereo speakers and ships with various connoting cables to interface to a lot of today’s electronics.
The MPro150 is the latest version, and as of this writing it is not shipping yet. Simlar to the 120, the MPro150 has 1gb internal media storage with mini SD card support. In high brightness mode the MPro150 gets 90 minutes on a charge.
Optoma PK-102 DLP Pocket Projector
The Optoma PK-102 replaces last year’s PK-101 projector. The 2″ x 0.67″ x 4.17″ unit weighs in at 4.4 oz (124g) with battery, and sports a contrast ratio of 2000:1. The rated display size is 10″ to 102″, and media storage is accomplished with 4gb of internal storage. Built in speakers complete the entertainment package, and video inputs allow viewing of external media coerces. The PK-102 also allows computer input with the optional VGA adapter.
Aiptek Pocket Cinema V10 Plus
The Aiptek V10 Plus incorporates an LCOS projection system that is rated for displaying 6″ up to 50″ pictures. The unit connects to a variety of media through its AV connections, and provides 1gb of internal storage. The V10 also has a SD card reader for media access, and measures 4.9″ x 2.1″ x 0.9″.
Mitsubishi PK20 Pocket Projector
The Mitsubishi PK20 pocket projector packs a brightness of 25 ANSI Lumens and is rated for a projected image of 12″ to 60″. The 3.82” x 4.84” x 1.90” unit weighs in at 1.1 lbs, and uses a
0.55″ 1-Chip DMD in its imaging technology. The device incorporates a SD card reader, and connects to a variety of video sources, including VGA, video, and S-Video. The PK20 is rated to be PC and Mac compatible.
BenQ’s GP1 LED projector
The popular BenQ GP1 pocket projector comes in a 5.4 x 4.7 x 2.1 inch package, weighing in at 1.4 pounds. The 100 lumens unit throws a picture up to 80″ in a suitably darkened room. The device supports a USB drive for media storage, and it can play a variety of picture and video formats, including JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, MPEG4, MJPEG, xvid, and 3ivX.
Atlantis APSE-10A Ultra Mobile Multi-Application Mini Projector
The Atlantis APSE-10A weighs in at only 0.3 lb., and comes in a 4.5″ x 2.5″ x 1.0″ package. The projector has arrayed ANSI Lumens brightness of 15, and it is rated to display an image from 15″ to 60″.
AAXA P1 Pico Projector
The Ps Pico Projector sports a 60 minute battery life with an optional 3 hours battery. The device has inputs for RGB/iPod/ PSP/ PDA/ DVD, and supports media formats of MP4, MP3,AVI,JPG and WMV. The P1 has 1gb internal storage and a microSD card reader for additional media. The P1 measures 105*58*26mm, and its 12 lumen output projects a display of up to 60″ in a suitable darkened environment.
As electronics continue to dwindle in size, we can find very powerful devices that will literally fit into our pockets. While this is great for empowering the user, there is a problem – viewing of media on these devices often leaves us with a tiny screen that is hard to see. It seems that there is a tradeoff on portability versus viewing pleasure.
But there could be a solution to this conundrum on the horizon. The media projector has collapsed in size along with other technology, and today it is quite possible to buy a projector that will fit in your pocket and still give you a larger projected viewing screen. In some cases, a separate media source is not even required, since some projectors have internal storage memory and/or an SD card slot for the media, with a built in player.
As with any technology that aims to be highly portable, there are some tradeoffs. For pocket projectors, tradeoffs tend to be found in battery life and in projection brightness. Battery life on some units last well under two hours, which means that a typical TV show, shorter movie, or presentation might be fine, but a longer movie would not be watched in a single sitting without an external power source.
The brightness issue is both a blessing and a weakness. On one hand, the LED light source means that there are no expensive bulbs to replace. But on the other hand, you will probably need a darkened room to make the picture comfortably viewable. Again these are tradeoffs in order to make the technology both portable and battery efficient.
Since most portable devices such as smart phones now support video, it could be easy to imagine that a pocket projector would be a nice compliment to such a device. In order to give you some idea of what the market currently has to offer, we have rounded up the current crop of the most popular pocket projectors.
3M MPro120 / MPro 150
The MPro120 utilizes the MM200 projection engine, which employs a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) imager, delivers a bright color image. The unit boasts two to four hours of battery life depending on the brightness level, and on high output pushes 12 lumens. The unit incorporates stereo speakers and ships with various connoting cables to interface to a lot of today’s electronics.
The MPro150 is the latest version, and as of this writing it is not shipping yet. Similar to the 120, the MPro150 has 1gb internal media storage with mini SD card support. In high brightness mode the MPro150 gets 90 minutes on a charge.
Optoma PK-102 DLP Pocket Projector
The Optoma PK-102 replaces last year’s PK-101 projector. The 2″ x 0.67″ x 4.17″ unit weighs in at 4.4 oz (124g) with battery, and sports a contrast ratio of 2000:1. The rated display size is 10″ to 102″, and media storage is accomplished with 4gb of internal storage. Built in speakers complete the entertainment package, and video inputs allow viewing of external media coerces. The PK-102 also allows computer input with the optional VGA adapter.
Aiptek Pocket Cinema V10 Plus
The Aiptek V10 Plus incorporates an LCOS projection system that is rated for displaying 6″ up to 50″ pictures. The unit connects to a variety of media through its AV connections, and provides 1gb of internal storage. The V10 also has a SD card reader for media access, and measures 4.9″ x 2.1″ x 0.9″.
BenQ’s GP1 LED projector
The popular BenQ GP1 pocket projector comes in a 5.4 x 4.7 x 2.1 inch package, weighing in at 1.4 pounds. The 100 lumens unit throws a picture up to 80″ in a suitably darkened room. The device supports a USB drive for media storage, and it can play a variety of picture and video formats, including JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, MPEG4, MJPEG, xvid, and 3ivX.
Atlantis APSE-10A Ultra Mobile Multi-Application Mini Projector
The Atlantis APSE-10A weighs in at only 0.3 lb., and comes in a 4.5″ x 2.5″ x 1.0″ package. The projector has arrayed ANSI Lumens brightness of 15, and it is rated to display an image from 15″ to 60″.
AAXA P1 Pico Projector
The Ps Pico Projector sports a 60 minute battery life with an optional 3 hours battery. The device has inputs for RGB/iPod/ PSP/ PDA/ DVD, and supports media formats of MP4, MP3,AVI,JPG and WMV. The P1 has 1gb internal storage and a microSD card reader for additional media. The P1 measures 105*58*26mm, and its 12 lumen output projects a display of up to 60″ in a suitable darkened environment.
The Pocket Projector is a relatively new device to the gadget arsenal, but one that is sure to grow given the explosion of portable devices now capable of playing media. As the choices grow, the capabilities will no doubt increase as the products go through generational changes. But already the pocket projector is an item that any portable video watcher would no doubt find handy.
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pico projector,
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