If you’re a motorcycle rider then you’d know how we’re limited in sight and all the gadgets and things people cars play with on their drives to work. Well, now there are companies that are using pico projectors and using them in motorcycle helmets. All those cool movies where they show futuristic helmets that can tell you when you’re locked onto the enemy and ready to fire is now a reality!

Head-up Display (HUD) technology has been around for years.  However, adoption has been limited due to performance, cost, and lack of connectivity.  Well, things are changing – rapidly.  We’ve reported on exciting new products from Kenwood and Pioneer aimed at automobiles.  Now, HUD technology is starting to make its way into motorcycle helmets.  You read that right – helmets.

Head-up Display (HUD) technology has been around for years.  However, adoption has been limited due to performance, cost, and lack of connectivity.  Well, things are changing – rapidly.  We’ve reported on exciting new products from Kenwood and Pioneer aimed at automobiles.  Now, HUD technology is starting to make its way into motorcycle helmets.  You read that right – helmets.

Nuviz has started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funding to bring their technology to market.  Seeking a modest sum of $185,000, Nuviz will use the funds to scale production.  Backers of $479 will receive a complete unit to attach to their helmet, gaining access to all kinds of information, including navigation, various apps, and more!  Nuviz utilizes LCoS microprojection technology, for the geeks that are interested in that type of thing (like us).

[PicoPros.com]

Here is another company thats bringing another HUD Helmet to the game!

Presto: 360-degree situational awareness for riders who are used to mainly seeing their elbows in the often near-useless rear view mirrors that come stock on most motorcycles. Plus, the helmet can pair with a smartphone (Android at this point) to add phone call, music playback functionality, and more if riders want it.

In this world of “an Internet of things” as Weller describes our now cellphone-centric e-lives, the P1 is unusual in that it’s a standalone device and does not need the connection to a smartphone to operate: the GPS, HUD, power supply, and the operating system (called Synapse) are all built into the helmet, which looks much like any high-end helmet on the market today and functions as a data hub rather than an accessory for a phone. Synapse operates via voice commands and also speaks back to the rider. The HUD system in the P1 sits low and to the right, out of the rider’s main forward vision. Weller said he chose that position because it’s second nature for many people to look in that area for the GPS system in their cars – at least, it was for him.
[Digitaltrends.com]

Among the many things at the IFA that was introduced, Aiptek is one of the first to announce a mini LED projector case that is specifically designed for the iPhone 5- the MobileCinema i55. It has a brightness of 50 lumens and claims to produce up to a 60 inch image. It also doubles as a battery pack which is a nice feature. A big complaint about adding a projector to the phone is how thick and bulky it makes it. But since a lot of people already are willing to make their phone thick for an extended battery, the MobileCinema i55 might be able to offer a good value. Any new iPhone 5 accessories are getting a lot of attention these days, but we will see if this product will really be able to perform down the road. What are your thoughts, would you buy it for your iPhone 5?

For the complete coverage please visit full story at Ubergizmo.

OEM250 vs. M2

Got a hold of the OEM250 micro projector 2 weeks ago and am here to do a comparison review with the previous M2 model by the same makers. I very much enjoyed the AAXA M2 micro projector from a few years back, so after some research I ventured out and bought the new AAXA OEM250. The OEM250 is a nifty little device that produces more lumens, better color saturation, and better build-quality for a cheaper price compared to the M2.

First off, let’s take a look at the basics. I don’t want to bore you with every single spec, so see bottom of this page for full spec sheets of both models.

I want to focus on some key differences for general use. Both models have all the typical bells and whistles that today’s micro or pico projectors should have (props to AAXA for having that even on the old M2 model!) Both support all major connections – VGA, HDMI, A/V, have 3.5 audio-out for external speakers (when the onboard speakers aren’t enough) and have direct play back abilities from USB and SD cards.

A great thing about both models is that they both have full HDMI ports, something that definitely comes in handy when in a pinch and no other cables are needed. One upgrade of the OEM250 is that it also has a full VGA port, something the M2 doesn’t have. That’s great for business use and classroom use since VGA is commonly prominent in those worlds, but personally the full HDMI is my main concern. HDMI is where everything is heading towards (if not already there.) Both models have ports that support A/V inputs and include the necessary cables in the box.

Now let’s look at the key features and main differences- lumens (and price!) The OEM250 as its name suggests out puts a maximum lumen of 250, and when on eco mode still 210 lumens, which is actually a great brightness for a device of this size and this price ($289 from the AAXA manufacture website directly.) It is much brighter than the previous M2 model ($379 through Google shopping), which has an advertised brightness of 110 lumens. Although to both models’ credit, they are great in both dark room AND bright room settings (people often forget that these so-called low-lumen-ranges are in fact very bright! Not compared to the bulky lamp based ones of course, but that’s another discussion.)

[top: OEM250 bottom: M2] As the picture shows, the OEM250 produces a much brighter picture vs. the M2.

The next big difference is color saturation. The OEM250 has a significant improvement on color reproduction. This is most likely due to the difference in brightness and also OEM250 uses DLP vs LCOS of the M2. (to find out more about DLP and LCOS see reference http://www.theprojectorpros.com/learn.php?s=learn&p=theater_front_projector )

[top: OEM250 bottom- M2]

[top: OEM250 bottom: M2] When comparing the two models side by side like this, it is clear that the OEM250 is able to produce a much better picture. The details, color, and edges are all more accurate.

Next key difference is resolution. Now while the OEM250’s native resolution is SVGA, and the M2 is XVGA, both support HD content up to 720p. What that means basically is I can watch all of my favorite shows either from download or streaming and will be able to enjoy great picture quality. Even though the M2 technically has higher resolution than the OEM250, the OEM250 produces a much better looking image/video in the end due to the brightness and better color reproduction.

Performance: picture and video comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM1R0JxpGQA

Full review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dF9X1ScwwM

CONCLUSION

The OEM250 is a great upgrade from the M2. For a cheaper price ($289 vs $379), it produces superior picture quality due the higher brightness, better color saturation, and better detail reproduction compared to the M2. It has a slightly better connectivity board and better over-all build quality.

AAXA’s P2 Jr has been out for a little while, long enough for any company to work out the kinks in their product, so I figure it’s time for an old fashioned review.

The P2 Jr is AAXA’s latest foray into the Pico Projector market, and it’s not bad.  It’s pretty small, at just 4.2″ x 2.9″ x 0.8″, and it weighs 0.3 lb.   For being so small you’d expect it to be lackluster on features, right?  I know I was.

For the $199 price point you get a battery powered projector which may not be great for presenting to large groups, but is pretty good for sharing media with a few family members.

So lets go point by point on this review, cover all the bases, starting with inputs.

The P2 Jr has a few inputs at it’s disposal.  HDMI is the biggest player here, although it’s a Mini-HDMI, so if you want to use a full sized HDMI cable, you’d need an adapter, something that AAXA doesn’t bundle with it.  The VGA/AV port is next, which, when used with an adapter, can output to VGA and RCA (again, if you lose the adapter, you’re outta luck).

The USB port on the P2 Jr is a full-sized one, and that’s something we love.  Just pop in a USB flash drive with some pictures, music, or movies on it, and you’re good to go.  The MicroSD card slot provides the same functionality with a MicroSD Card, if you have photos, music, or movies on it, you can play them right on the projector.  One of the things I loved was being able to shoot a few pictures and videos on my cell phone, pop out the memory card and play it right on the projector.

The design of the P2 Jr is pretty uninspiring, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s simple and clean, and doesn’t distract from what you’re trying to project.  The only downside to it is the plastic feels cheap and grabs fingerprints like nobodies business.

The P2 Jr’s power is 55 lumens, which is not as bright as it’s big brother, the P4-X, but serviceable for a lot of situations and environments.  The best use case for this model is if you’re in bed, at night, and watching a movie that’s being projected against your wall.  It won’t make a huge image but it’ll be good enough for watching a movie in bed.

The speaker in the P2 Jr is not great, but I didn’t expect it to be great for something this small and cheap.  The downside to having a projector this small is that there is no audio output as well, meaning that you are basically stuck using the internal speaker on the P2 Jr for your audio.

So for the price of $199, you get a tiny projector capable of displaying video from a variety of sources, as well as photo slideshows, presentations, and more.  The quality is good enough to justify the $199 price, as well as make it worth carrying around with you, I found it handy to be able to show someone something on a screen bigger than my 4″ phone.

Overall we think this is a great value, and we would recommend it to anyone looking for this kind of product.

By Greg Tarr On Mar 13 2013 – 12:14pm

The Genius BellaVision BV 200 ($270 suggested retail) pico projector is shipping now.

Chino, Calif. — Genius introduced Wednesday a BellaVision portable pico projector designed for both business and personal entertainment applications.

The Genius BellaVision BV 200 (shipping now at a $270 suggested retail) is billed as a pocket-sized projector with up to 800 by 600 resolution. It measures 5.9 inches by 3 inches by 1.1 inches.

Images are presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio and are watchable on screen sizes of up to 80 inches.

The BV 200 uses a color sequential engine and an RGB LED light source. It produces 30 lumens of brightness with up to a 300:1 contrast ratio.

The projector is suitable for viewing movies, giving presentations or playing video games on the road and in limited space.

The BV 200 will display MS Office, PDF, audio and video files from its built-in memory/SD card as well as from a connected camcorder, PC or smartphone.

It also offers the option of stereo sound even in the smallest spaces, such as small meeting rooms or hotel rooms, and includes a complementary tripod, enabling placement on any solid surface. It can be optimized to project images from a variety of angles from a distance of up to 13 feet.

An included ceiling projection kit enables viewing movies or playing video games while lying in bed. The pico projector also ships with a remote control.

In stand-alone mode the BV 200’s 3,780 mAh battery offers power for up to two hours, after which it can be connected to a power source through a USB or power cable without needing to pause the projection for recharging, Genius said.

The projector includes 1GB of built-in flash memory and has an SD card slot capable of accepting up to 32GB cards.

The projector also supports data input through composite A/V and USB cables.

Read Full Article: http://www.twice.com/articletype/news/genius-launches-bv-200-pico-projector/105360