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projectors

For new Sanyo projector, short is better

In our remote-driven society, distance is often considered a good thing. The farther away a gadget can work, the better.

So in this sense, a new projector from Sanyo is somewhat counter-intuitive: Its biggest selling point is how close it can be positioned to the image it's projecting. The LP-XL40 has an "ultra-short-focus lens" that can project the equivalent of an 80-inch screen from just 3.15 inches away, according to Akihabara News.

Why is this a good thing? Think about all the tight spots where it can work--such as mounted on a wall directly above the … Read more

'Nano-projector' promised for next year

We're still waiting built-in projectors to become standard fare for mobile phones but, until then, maybe something like this item will make projectors truly portable. The "Oio," described as "the first truly mobile and fully operational nano-projector," is made by Israeli company Explay.

MobileWhack didn't include specs but said the tiny device was displayed at an annual conference of the Society of Information Display in Long Beach, Calif. It's also scheduled for release next year, unless we all end up getting video glasses that turn us into Borgs first.

Projector + Clock = Too Complicated

What is it with clocks these days? It seems like every day my RSS reader has at least one wacky clock--usually more--showcased on a few of the gadget blogs I read. They're typically not as awful as the watches that we come across, but still...the bird call clock? The unreadable Tetris-esque clock? And don't forget that freaking orrery. I prefer to keep my clocks simple, thankyouverymuch.

Which is why this projector clock, hailing from Japan, is also a "thanks, but no thanks." It's a translucent little box that can sit on your table of … Read more

$100,000 home theater projector can be yours for $99,995

We have to give the folks at Vidikron a hard time about the company's announcement that its flagship front projector, the Vision Model 150, is now shipping. Make no mistake, the thing looks awesome. (I think that word was in the press release somewhere.) But what's with the $99,995 pricing for the base model? If I've got that kind of money to spend on a projector, what do I care about 5 bucks? We're not talking about a $999.99 plasma; we're talking about the ultimate projector. So come on, guys, let's go … Read more

Yet another astro-gadget: the Aurora Borealis simulator

Recently we've been digging astronomy gadgets around these parts (and astro-mashups on Webware). Most of the time, they deal with plain old stargazing or the simulation thereof. This Japanese import, however, deals with recreating the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) on your wall, ceiling, or projector screen of choice.

The gadget in question is a 6-inch-tall lamp, retailing for the Japanese equivalent of slightly over $60, which runs on AA batteries and even comes with a sleep timer so that you can use it as a sort of visual lullaby. It obviously isn't an exact scientific reproduction, but for … Read more

Stars with frickin' laser beams!

About a month ago, we wrote about the HomeStar Pro Planetarium, which uses LEDs to project the night sky on your ceiling. Here's another one for the astronomy buffs: Laser Stars, a projector that beams star and cloud formations onto your wall or ceiling of choice with laser technology and holographics. For those of us who live in brightly lit cities where we can't really see any real stars at night, it's a cool idea.

The Laser Stars projector looks to be less for nuts-and-bolts astronomy buffs than for people who just like to look at a … Read more