Originally we had taken a look at the P4 before and thought that while it was a very adequate projector with an even better pricing model, it did indeed lack the definition and digital output that so many people are looking for. The new P4 – X is a revised P4 with a couple new bells and whistles and we couldn’t be more excited to get our hands on it. It comes with the usual inputs that the P4 packed which was VGA, Composite, USB with the addition of the new mini-HDMI port. Unfortunately this version seems geared to people looking to expand their media sharing abilities as the P4 – X loses it’s productivity package embedded into the system as well as the Windows CE operating system. Of course these options are more geared towards the business minded user looking to update and present Microsoft Office files.

The P4 is truly a portable projector as it sits as the thinnest projector that fits comfortably in a pocket and even better in a laptop bag or purse. At 5.6” long, 2.7” wide, and 1.2” tall you can be assured this tiny projector can definitely fit into most bags so can always carry a cinema experience ready to roll out.

Definitely a step forward in attracting the media friendly user, although the exclusion of Windows CE might turn off business oriented users, the lower price point and HDMI with a high resolution has me thinking about Angry Birds SPACE on a 60” screen.

AAXA P4 – X Available for pre-order direct from AAXA

Here are a couple of examples of Pepper’s Ghost in action.

On top of being able to run off a USB port, the projector has it’s own built in battery for 1.5 hours in bright mode which utilizes the full 30 lumens of the projector and 2 hours in standard mode. The pocket projector can output an image at a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels.

The projector looks like it would be a good candidate for people who need to make portable presentations on the go for a few people at a time. Since the lumen output is only up to 30, a brighter projector may be desired for those looking to present or share their media with larger groups. However, as a toy, this pico will turn heads and be an awesome companion for the gadget lover that no one else has. The release date for this projector is this April, 2012.

At around $290, there are some brighter projectors out on the market, but for a tiny USB powered Pico Projector, this would be the best bet.

For a detailed list of specs, see below:

Technology : DLP

Resolution : 640 x 360 pixels

Brightness (lumens) : Up to 30 lumens

Contrast : 1500:1

Focus : Manual

Lamp : LED RGB

Lamp life time (in hours) : 30,000 hours

Projection Distance : From 0.354 x 2.125 m

Screen size : 0.25 cm to 1.5 m

Inputs / Outputs : USB entry
1x 3.5 mm jack output

Size : Height: 7 cm
Width: 13 cm
Depth: 9 cm

Weight : 246 g

Included accessories : Carry case

Other : Micro SD/SDHC card slot
2 GB internal memory
MP4 media player
1W speaker
Battery life in standard/bright mode: 2 hours / 1.5 hours
LED indicator: battery charge

The glasses are rumored to be coming out late 2012 and most likely running a stripped down version of Google’s Flagship Android operation system. They will include earpieces too which will allow for listening to music and you will undoubtedly be able to make phones calls with them if Google pulls this off right. Although this was meant to be a top secret project, some Google employees reportedly just couldn’t keep this news from coming out into the public just like the open source mentality at Google.

However, some people might actually be averse to this idea. Who would not want to have extra information in this fast paced world you might ask? People who do not want to see ads in their field of vision at all times of the day. If there’s one thing we know, there will be a ads in this augmented reality specs.

It is yet undetermined the mechanism behind the glasses but from what technology currently exits, there may be a Pico Projector behind these glasses or it may even be a
see through version of Samsung’s flexible LED displays.

The gallery below shows depictions of what Google Glasses may look like.

With CES last month and many major product releases we missed out on news that the P3 was released.  The P3 pico projector uses a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) imager that produces 50 peak lumen, 1024 x 600 (WSVGA) native resolution, 1000:1 contras ratio, and 1280 x 768 (WXGA) maximum resolution.  This is MUCH higher than other picos that we have seen which typically are 858×480 or less.  Its a good thing we were informed by our readers that we missed out on a product that they absolutely loved.

With over and hour of battery life, and a built in MP4 player  this little pocket sized projector is capable of connecting to just about anything.

With its approximate 30% higher resolution and 30% lower cost than the competitors, the AAXA P3 is the clear choice winner for getting the most for your money in the pico industry.  The FULL HDMI also makes this extremely easy to hook up to Blu-ray players, Cable boxes and Gaming consoles without the need for any messy adapters.

The P3 is now available at amazon.com for $269.

Check out the video review by our friends over at picopros.com

AAXA P4 in hand

We have raved about the P4 in the past but a few months after its release it is available on your beloved Amazon.com.  For all you amazon prime fanboys you can now get the AAXA P4 $339.  The P4 is still our favorite pico projector to date boasting 80 lumens on AC, 55 lumens on battery.  Not much out there can compare to this projector at this price.

The other projector that is similar in size, price, and lumens is the Optoma pk301 which provide 50 lumens AC, and 20 lumens on battery.

Considering the they are the same price I would suggest taking the extra 30 lumens.

The AAXA P4 is now available at amazon.com @:

http://www.amazon.com/AAXA-KP400-01-Projector-Windows-Rechargeable/dp/B005NDVWAG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329874343&sr=8-4

This is a very intriguing development and could mean many things.  Are they now so big that they can leverage their strategic distribution like they are saying, or are they downsizing to cut costs?  Hopefully its the first option as we really would like to see how MicroVision improved upon their pico projectors.  Their latest interactive demo they showed at CES is an interesting design idea and hopefully they will be able to increase the lumens to make it a bit more practical.  We are all hoping for the best from MicroVision as they have really helped spread the word about what pico and micro projectors are worldwide.

At $269 the P3 offer 50 lumens and a 1024×600 resolution.  This is the first pico I’ve seen with such a high native resolution.   Similar projectors in this category are:

AAXA P4 80 lumens $339

Optoma PK301 50 Lumen $339

Favi E3  50 Lumen $349

Samsung SP-H03 30 lumen $299

It’s great to see AAXA release what I would categorize as a great bang for you buck product.  Hopefully I can get a hold of one to review myself but for now you can check out a good review with a video from picopros.com

http://www.picopros.com/article/picopros-reviews-aaxa-technologies-p3-pico-projector

Karl Guttag co-founder and CTO of Syndiant has announced that he will be leaving the company.  He states in his new blog that he is still a firm believer in LCoS technology’s and its potential to hit big volume markets with pico projectors.  His blog can be found at http://www.kguttag.com/.

About Syndiant:

“Hand-held consumer electronics are constrained by their small screen size. Ultra-portable projectors, or pico projectors, allow consumers to enjoy a large screen experience in portable electronics, such as smart phones, notebook computers, digital media players, game consoles and cameras. OEM Customers indicate that all key technology elements are ready with the exception of a light modulator that meets cost, form-factor, resolution and power requirements.

Syndiant’s technical advantage lies in its patented architecture, which uses powerful but elegantly simple parallel processing to enable the world’s smallest and highest resolution light modulating chips used in ultra-portable or pico projectors.”

LG now has 300 Lumen WXGA DLP projector available for $699.99.  It only seems to be available in select retailers and mostly outside of the United States.
This micro projector features a built-n TV tuner, HDMI, VGA and USB ports.  Weighing 1.72 lbs its one of the heavier micro projectors but is also one of the brightest.   Its dimensions are  6.3″ x 2.1″ x 4.7″ which also make it SLIGHTLY bigger than their micro projector but it is definitely still a micro projector.

LG has their HX350T projector at 250 lumens and also has a TV tuner built in.  It looks like LG is still very strongly tied to their TV bonds and their customers still want to use LG products to watch TV.

As everything is getting smaller and downloadable, I would imagine people will start streaming their shows from their TV onto their micro projectors.  For how LG seems to have a customer base big enough to warrant the need for TV tuners.