3M's launches new pico projector

 

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Posted on 11 Nov 2009 at 16:54

We've seen several pico projectors this year, and 3M's MPro120 Pocket Projector does little to raise the bar.

It will fit in your palm, yet project up to a 50in picture on your wall: this pocket projector is another tiny marvel.

The MPro120 measures 120x60mm and has built-in speakers so it's all you need to make presentations or watch photo slideshows or videos. The built-in battery is claimed to last for four hours, which is the longest of any pico projector we've seen.

As you'd expect, the light source is an LED, while the image is created using LCoS (liquid crystal on silcon) rather than DLP as with most pico projectors. The native resolution of 640x480 is a little limiting for presentations, but it's good to see VGA input, albeit using a proprietary connector on the projector itself.

3M bundles a VGA adaptor cable and a composite video (with stereo phono audio) cable in the box along with a handy tabletop tripod and carry pouch. An iPod-compatible cable is an optional extra.

With a brightness of 12 lumens, you'll need to use the MPro120 in a darkened room, and we'll be surprised if the image is easily visible at 50in. We'll have to wait until a review model arrives for testing before making any judgements, though.

Unlike some other pico projectors we've seen, such as Aiptek's Pocket Cinema V10, the 3M has no inbuilt media playback facilities, so you'll always need an external video source.

However, with the advent of gadgets with built-in projectors, such as Nikon's Coolpix S1000pj, we can't help but feeling that pico projectors may have a limited shelf life. In fact, we'll be very surprised if 2010 doesn't bring the first smattering of projector phones - mobile phones with a built-in pico projector. With these, you should be able to store and show presentations, videos and photos, all with one device.

If you're desperate to buy a pico projector in the meantime, the MPro120 costs around £300 including VAT.

Author: Jim Martin