University of Texas students are developing a gaming system that incorporates a head tracking camera with a motorized pico projector. The head tracking camera senses the direction the target head is facing, and the pico projector will then move the image to in that direction.
source: picoprojector-info.com
Mint Wireless announced the launch of its V10 micro projector. The V10 micro projector has 1GB of onboard memory. This micro projector also features USB and RCA connectivity. The V10 micro projector can also be mounted onto a tripod.
The anticipated battery life for the V10 micro projector is 60 minutes and can throw a 50″ image from 5ft away. The announced price of the V10 micro projector is $650, but no official release date has been announced.
Following the Acer K10 pico projector, the Acer C20 micro projector shows a more serious side of Acer. About the size of a smartphone, this micro projector has USB and HDMI connections with a WVGA resolution. This micro projector is only 20 lumens though, but has 2000:1 contrast.
There are also composite and component audio/video inputs as well as stereo output for better sound. Rounding out the entire package includes microSD card slot together with a USB port that supports USB Slide Show and USB Multimedia for direct playback from a memory key.
A battery for this micro projector is good for up to 2hrs use in “ECO” mode (or 1hr in regular mode) and an optional remote round out the specs.
Digitimes Research released their global pico-projector market forecasts for 2011-2013. They say that total shipments will be 10.7 million (up from 3.1 in 2011) – out of which 1.1 million units will be stand alone projectors, and the rest (9.6 million) will be embedded projectors – mostly from digital cameras and phones.
Global pico projector module shipments by application, 2011-2013 (k units)
Application 2011 2012 2013
Built-in Digital cameras 1,663 3,410 5,906
Handsets 668 1,146 2,770
Notebooks, tablet PCs 28 183 568
Hand-held external devices 611 945 1,144
Total 3,100 5,959 10,756
Source: Digitimes Research, compiled by Digitimes, April 2011
DLP and LCoS will remain the top two technologies – with DLP acounting for 38% of the market in 2011 and 40% in 2012 and 2013 according to Digitimes.
The Cinemin Slice by WowWee is designed to dock the iPad and display off the rear of the Slice. The Slice multi-media dock/micro projector features a WVGA DLP projection engine with 90 degree pivot! Rounding out the package are stereo speakers and a modern triangular design.
The Slice micro projector is not limited to the iPad only. You can also dock iPhone and iPod to it. The rear also features AV, VGA and HDMI ports to connect nearly any device with video-out functionality. It doesn’t appear to be very bright though since they state 60″ display in dim room.
The Favi E1 LED Pico projector isn’t the best pico projector, but it makes up for it with a longer battery life. But the trade-off of a longer battery life is lower brightness and smaller image size.
The native resolution of the Favi E1 LED pico projector is 640×480 but can go up to 720×480. The optical engine type is LCoS. Due to the lower lumens of this pico projector, the ideal size is 5-20 inches. The aspect ratio is 4:3 and contrast is 200:1. This pico projector is recommended to be used in dark rooms.
The pico projector also has features like composite AV, headphone jack and mini USB. There is also an SD slot. This feature may be nice to some but not to others is that it runs off 4 AA batteries. Given that this is a LED pico projector, estimated lamp life is between 15000-20000 hours.
This pico projector is fairly straightforward. Not only does it come with a remote, which makes things easier, but it also includes a tripod. Between these two accessories, you won’t have to worry too much about the location of your presentation.
The Mitsubishi PK20 micro projector is a LED DLP micro projector. This the 2nd generation of Mitsubishi’s award winning micro projector. This micro projector features an ultra-wide lens for the shortest throw distance possible. It can create a 20″ diagonal image with just 1ft of distance.
The PK20 micro projector features flash memory card reading capabilities. The DLP imager increases brightness by 150% compared to the PK10 micro projector. This results in greater detail and clarity, especially with the 1000:1 contrast ratio. There’s even an audio-in jack and a tripod mount.
The PK20 micro projector offers SVGA (800×600) resolution. This micro projector also includes RCA video, S-video and VGA inputs, plus stereo mini-jack audio in/out to connect to your PDA*, portable DVD player, laptop computer, digital camera* or video game console*. Like their first micro projector, the new PK20 micro projector offers instant on/off control, virtually noiseless operation, and no bulb replacement.
Sapphire Technology is better known for its ATI based graphics cards. They’ve recently launched the Mini-Projector 101. This mini projector features the latest super bright multi-chip LED technology with a lamp good for 20,000 hours. This mini projector comes complete with charger, tripod, video leads for PC VGA, composite video and an approved iPod / iPhone adapter.
This mini projector uses a LCoS imager and provides a 640×480 resolution at 4:3 aspect ratio with a contrast ratio of 200:1. If you include the battery, this mini projector weighs in at 103g.
This mini projector can be used to share pictures so that you and your friends don’t need to be squinting at a tiny screen on your phone. You can also stream videos from YouTube onto your wall when connected to an iPhone or computer! This mini projector can also be used for business presentations, the possibilities are endless!
So just plug in and play – shine and share ! .
Visual Enhancement Engine (VEE) is a new technology developed by Quiklogic. The technology is aimed at increasing pico projector lumens without increasing wattage at the light source. Pico and micro projectors can then be more effectively embedded into other devices such as mobile phones without increasing the drain on the battery. This would make pico and mini projectors brighter without increasing power consumption.
You can read more here
The 3M PocketProjector MP160 is an average mini projector. Though it doesn’t have the best picture quality, it is still fairly decent and will work when you are giving a presentation on the go. The built-in speaker and decent battery life are added benefits that almost make up for the low brightness level. Overall, this product does have a few things going for it.
The picture quality of this mini projector could be a little better when it comes to the brightness, only 30 ANSI lumens, but the image size, 10 to 80 inches, is quite respectable. We were also pleased to see that although the native resolution is only 800 x 600 it is compatible up to 1044 x 900. This might make up for the fact that you need to have a fairly dark room in order to see what is being projected.
There are a couple of different options for connectivity on this product, although there is only one port. This mini projector comes with two cables that enable you to hook up devices: a composite video cable and a VGA cable. We were pleased to see that there is a separate port for the power cord. The battery in this mini projector only takes three hours to charge and will last upwards of three hours, though that does depend somewhat on the settings.
The other features of this mini projector include a 20,000-hour lamp life, which is very respectable, especially when you consider how many presentations that covers. There is also a 0.75 W speaker. This is handy when you don’t want to worry about packing speakers as well as your computer and laptop projector. The overall size of the unit is 5.9 x 2.5 x 1.2 inches, and it only weighs 0.7 pounds, making this a true pocket projector. The last feature we found useful on this projector was the fact that it comes with a tripod. This is a great addition when you don’t know how your room is going to be set up. Now you don’t have to fret about the screen being in an awkward position or the table being too short.
This mini projector is easy to use but doesn’t have the same capabilities as we’ve seen in other products. When a device is hooked up to the mobile projector, it will immediately register and just show what is on the screen of the device. It isn’t meant to act as a media player. The buttons located on the top of the unit only consist of volume, power and battery. This unit doesn’t come with a remote, which isn’t a bad thing, but it does limit the control of the projector. We never had any problem working this projector during our testing.
Summary:
The 3M PocketProjector MP160 is a typical mini projector that works well. While it’s control features are limited, the battery life, built-in speaker and high resolution option make this mini projector one to look into if you have to make presentations to make on the go. This is definitely a good product if you want something easy to use and simplistic in design.
from http://mini-projector-review.toptenreviews.com/3m-pocketprojector-review.html