Now that second-generation pico (i.e. really tiny) projectors are hitting the streets, you can pick up first-gen models for a song.
Witness the 3M MPro110, on sale at Newegg for $149.99 shipped. It's a refurb, but given that it sold new for $359 just 10 months ago, you gotta take a look-see.
The impossibly small MPro110 weighs 5.6 ounces and measures 0.9 inch high by 2 inches wide by 4.5 inches deep, meaning you can literally stuff it in a pocket.
The projector works with a wide variety of video sources: laptops, digital cameras, camcorders, and iPods (which require a special video-out cable--3M doesn't supply one).
CNET hasn't reviewed the MPro110, but be sure to read the reviews at Gizmodo and PC Magazine. The chief complaint lies with brightness: you need a pretty dark room to enjoy the view, and you can't get an image much larger than 20 inches without taking a brightness hit.
Of course, if you're running a photo slideshow or watching a movie, 20 inches is way better than the source device's little LCD. The MPro110 may not be a suitable replacement for a boardroom projector, but for fun and leisure, it's pretty sweet.
You can learn more, and see the gizmo in action, in the above video (which is a little cheesy but very informative). Still more info is available at 3M's product page.
Newegg doesn't specify the warranty, but assume 90 days (and call or e-mail them if you're concerned about it). I don't really have a need for one of these, but I'm salivating over that price.
Whether you're BBQ'ing, lazing by the pool, or showing those (un)fortunate souls all of your summer vacation photos, this episode has a little something for everyone.
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EPISODE 139 |
Livio Radio review: Pandora streaming, with a high-end look
Bose unveils SoundDock Series II for iPod–and iPhone
TomTom GO 740 Live is our GPS Editors’ Choice
Sharp’s sun-powered phone almost beach-ready
Powerbrella juices up your gadgets while you lay in the shade
... Read more
Home theater is Samsung's game at this year's CES. Though the company did announce the new P3 touch-screen MP3 player, an inch-thick plasma TV, feature-packed Blu-ray home theater systems, and backlit LCD TVs dominated the show.
Samsung unveils P3 touch-screen MP3 player
Photos: Hands-on with the Samsung P3 player
Samsung's slick HT-BD7200 Blu-ray home theater system
Samsung's funky Blu-ray and DVD players
Samsung's PN-B850 series of plasmas get down to an inch thick ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
Wowwee's 2009 lineup of iPod-friendly mobile projectors are hot--almost hot enough to make us forgive the company for unleashing Femisapien onto the world. Branded under the Cinemin moniker, WowWee's pico projectors come in three flavors: Swivel ($299), Stick ($349), and Station ($399).
Tom Merritt and I got some hands-on time with ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
WowWee's 2009 product line includes everything from roving telepresence robots and pocket-size iPod projectors, to animatronic plush koalas and miniature motorized planes. They must have a lot of fun dreaming this stuff up. To take a closer look at WowWee's new wares, click through to see our photo gallery.
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
Samsung MBP-200 Pico Projector
(Credit: Samsung)Samsung has revealed the updated MBP200 Pico Projector, which promises to be an updated version of the MBP-100 Pico Projector it released last year. As the name suggests, it's a tiny portable projector that can transform your little 2-inch handheld display into as big as a 50-inch viewing area. The projector utilizes the DLP pico chip from Texas Instruments. Features of the projector ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
No, no, we haven't employed a giant, the Pico really is that tiny. Very handy if you need to conduct an impromptu presentation while out and about. Click on the image above for more photos of the projector.
(Credit: Crave UK)If you don't live in a big city or have never used public transport, you won't be aware of the great British tradition of annoying people on a bus. To participate in this ritual you must be between 14 and 18 and a half and you must own a mobile phone equipped with speakers. You must then use this phone to annoy all other commuters hoping to enjoy a quiet journey to or from work.
Now, technology has brought us yet another one of its inevitable advances, one that will bring new levels of irritation to public transport: the Optoma Pico, a tiny projector for throwing video onto a near wall or other solid surface. About the size of a Nokia N95, the device weighs just about a quarter of a pound, is battery operated, and can project images and video from a variety of sources such as portable media players and mobile phones. Can you imagine what the kids are going to do with this thing?
We explore the possibilities in our photo gallery.
(Via Crave UK)
Johnny 5 is alive!
(Credit: Lynxmotion)Via Technologies' EPIA-P700 Pico-ITX is an x86 embedded board that measures 10 cm x 7.2 cm, uses a 1GHz Via C7 CPU, and thanks to its low power consumption, is an ideal fit to process small little cute robots that will soon be our lords and masters. Well, maybe not soon, but one day, you'll see.
With robotics development representing the cutting edge of technological progress, Via's commitment to extremely compact designs, robust performance, extensive feature sets, and extremely low power consumption means that the company's off-the-shelf EPIA boards are becoming an essential component for academic, hobbyist, and commercial robot developers.
Via plans to be at the forefront of the eventual robot takeover as it has been a major supporter of robotics development for academics, hobbyists, and military applications. Friday in Taiwan--which is probably Thursday by now--Via showed off its EPIA Pico-ITX-based robots at the Taipei International Robot Show (TIROS), taking place August 21 to 24.
At the Via booth will be three compact robots provided by PlayRobot, a Taiwan-based robot developer and distributor of educational, scientific, and entertainment robots for government, academic, and research institutes, as well as robot kits for enthusiasts.
... Read more
The new Pico D USB drive.
(Credit: Super Talent Technology)Super Talent Technology, a manufacturer of Flash storage and DRAM memory modules, on Wednesday announced the Pico D, the newest member of world's smallest USB thumbdrives.
Though tiny in size, measuring only 1.4-inch in length and weighing less than 0.2 ounces, the new Pico D series are shock- and water-resistant.
According to STT, these drives can transfer data at speeds up to 30 megabytes per second. Like the Cosair Flash Voyager Mini, the Pico D achieves the miniature size by using chip-on-board technology. However, the Pico D series offers storage capacity up to 8GB, twice that of the Flash Voyager Mini.
Like all other USB devices from STT, the Pico D series is backed with lifetime warranty. The series will be available for purchase sometime this week for about $40.
(Credit:
Optoma)
We'd almost forgotten about the "Pico Projector" as more than a year had passed since we'd heard of it making any significant progress. But when our colleagues at Crave Asia spotted a working demo using the technology earlier this month, we were reminded of its promises to project photos and video from mobile phones and other portable devices.
Now Taiwan-based projector company Optoma is partnering with Texas Instruments to bring its own version of the micro-projector to market. Its technology requires a separate companion product, rather than projecting directly from a phone or media player, but it's a start: The "micro-portable" device weighs only 4 ounces.
The Optoma Pico Projector, which uses TI's DLP chipset and LED technology, casts images that are up to 100 times larger than the originals displayed on a handheld device, whether it be a media player, smartphone, or digital camera. It's scheduled to launch in Europe and Asia this year, with plans to arrive on the U.S. market in 2009.
