AAXA P1 pico projector reviewed

Right out the box, the lightweight pico-projector doesn’t look like much – a clean, piano-finish hard plastic that tips the scales at a mere 6 ounces, with optics offset to the side and protected with a handy rubber cover. There’s also a focus knob for the lens, ventilation along the side panels and an exhaust fan next to the lens. Unfortunately there’s no tripod thread on the back or base of the projector, unlike the BeamBox.

An integrated PMP chipset allows for media playback of various video, music and picture formats, with 1GB of onboard storage. There’s also a built-in speaker, small but enough to deliver adequate sound output or music in a quiet and small-sized room. If 1GB isn’t enough for you, there’s a microSD card slot for extended storage, and it has the usual I/O connectivity from Mini USB (to access the internal memory), a 3.5mm composite A/V jack, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack and an AC power connector; AAXA included an optional accessories adaptor, for hooking up your iPhone/iPod iTouch/PSP, and they also offer a VGA convertor for linking your computer to the projector.

Read the full AAXA P1 review at SlashGear

BeamBox Evolution R1 Pico-Projector Review

Slashgear had a review of the BeamBox R1 picoprojector, here's a bit from that, check out the full review at their page, see the link below.

The R1 offers a choice of two modes. At its simplest, the pico-projector works as a basic A/V display, taking composite video and stereo audio input. This will work with pretty much any standard source, whether a portable DVD player, camcorder or even a laptop with a suitable adapter. More interestingly, the R1 also has an onboard media player, turning it into a standalone system rather than one tethered to an external source.

Holding down the play/pause button boots up the media app, which offers a choice of Music, Video, Photo, eBook, Explorer and Settings. The GUI is basic but reasonably attractive, and hides a fair degree of functionality. Audio tracks can be organized by artist, album or genre, together with all tracks and playlists (the latter of which can be copied over to the R1, but not created on-device), with an on-screen equalizer animation, bitrate and ID3 details. Controls include play/pause, track skip and fast-forward/rewind, together with volume.

Read the full BeamBox Evolution R1 Pico-Projector Review

Buy a Nextar Z10 Micro Projector

FAVI PJM-1000 picoprojector

SlashGear says:

At 4.4 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches it’s certainly small, though it can still create a maximum 100-inch image from 12ft away. You’ll need a dark room for that, though, as it only musters 12 lumens and an 80:1 contrast ratio for its 640 x 480 4:3 picture. The battery is good for around 50 minutes of standalone use.

There’s no onboard memory card slot or internal storage, nor a standalone media player function, so you’re limited to playing video from external sources. Both VGA and video cables are supplied, meaning you can plug in your notebook as well as a portable DVD player.

Buy a FAVI Mini Pocket Projector PJM-1000

KDDI picoprojector

Designed to work with the new KDDI iida G9 mobile phone and the upcoming iidda range, the Toshiba manufactured handset uses DLP display technology. It can project a 480x320 image of between six and 63 inches onto a flat surface or wall up to 8.2 feet (2.5m) away.

While the pico projector’s built-in 0.5W speaker won’t exactly leave your ears bleeding, it should be sufficient to handle small office presentations or home movies. The battery provides for up to 130 minutes of continuous viewing and can be fully charged in less than two hours. The projector accepts 3.5mm 4-pole and VGA input, making it compatible with the Cyber-shot S001, CA001, Wooo Keitai H001 and the Exilim Keitai W63CA, W63H, W62CA and W62H.

While the pico projector is not for lounge viewing, it's handy showing off holiday video and snaps, or similar occasions, stored on the phone – as long as your friends or work colleagues are prepared to stay awake.

The KDDI pico projector measures 50×112×18.3mm and weighs 128g. A limit of 3000 projectors will be released in Japan, with each costing about 39,600 yen (about USD$415) or, if you buy the iida G9 cell phone, just 19,800 yen (about USD$205).

Via gizmag

Century Tech PCLit Picoprojector uses Displaytech FLCOS Microdisplay

Displaytech, the supplier of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal on Silicon (FLCOS) microdisplays, announced today that Century Tech (HK) Limited, a leader in professional display industry, launched the PCLit pico projector a new member of the PicoLit projector series. The optical engines used in the PCLit were designed by iView Limited and both the VGA projector (IPL631G) and SVGA (IPL831G) use Displaytech’s FLCOS microdisplays. These PCLit pico projectors were announced at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair 2009 - spring section.

“We are very proud of the commercialization of PicoLit series of products and in particular PCLit luxury. It is a perfect example of a very practical application of pico projectors. We have a strong belief that these new pico projector products will ignite the market.” said Terry Kwok, Century Tech CEO.

The PCLit luxury version is best suited as companion projector for notebook and desktop computers as it uses a single USB cable for both power and video signal. It supports mirror and extended modes. The computer screen can be used for work and at the same time project worksheets, videos, and games. PCLit is a perfect device for both business and personal uses.

“We are extremely excited with the PCLit product. We believe that our FLCOS micorodisplay’s superior image quality and low power consumption coupled with iView’s optical design create the opportunity for products like the PCLit pico projectors which are battery powered and small.” said Richard Barton, CEO of Displaytech.

Displaytech’s FLCOS microdisplays are available in VGA, WVGA, and SVGA resolutions. These microdisplays are the perfect match for battery powered projectors because the display and integrated controller/driver dissipates less than 100 mW. The FLCOS microdisplays are field proven in mobile consumer electronic devices with the shipment of over 20 million FLCOS microdisplays used in digital still cameras and video camcorders.

Via Displaytech

Micron acquires DisplayTech, moves into Micro-Projector Business

Memory chip maker Micron Technology has acquired DisplayTech, a manufacturer of small display screens for camera viewfinders and display chips for Pico-style projectors, for an undisclosed amount, and is using some of its new assets to introduce today a new microdisplay panel small enough for placement in handheld devices like iPods or BlackBerrys.

The new panel was said to be a wide-screen quarter VGA (WQVGA) microdisplay solution designed to enable portable video and image projection for applications including head-mounted display products and embedded cellphone projectors.

It is based on ferroelectric liquid crystal on silicon (FLCOS) technology, which Micron said produces superior image quality and color fidelity to other competitive micro-projector display solutions.

The device is offered as a single chip and is said to require “minimal power” to operate.

“The FLCOS microdisplay technology that Micron has acquired from DisplayTech has demonstrated success in the market, clearly evident by the fact that more than 21 million panels have shipped in portable consumer electronic products,” stated Abid Ahmad, Micron’s silicon and systems group director. “With Micron now delivering this technology, we are well-positioned to provide our customer base with global support and an even stronger R&D platform to further extend FLCOS microdisplay technology.”

The chip consumes only 85 milliwatts, and is said to be suited for applications where portability and battery life is most critical. The product adds to Micron’s DisplayTech FLCOS microdisplay projection panel line, which includes QVGA, VGA, SVGA and WVGA panels.

Micron said the chief attribute of its FLCOS microdisplay approach is fast switching speed, which is said to be up to 100 times faster than traditional LCOS technology. This is important for using field sequential color, which, unlike color filtering, produces full color on each individual pixel, blending color by very rapidly integrating red, green and blue frames in sequence, Micron said.

When compared to Texas Instruments’ micromirror technology, FLCOS allows for “a fully integrated microdisplay solution, combining the display panel, memory, image processing and light driver control into one chip.” This reduces size and power requirements.

DisplayTech, which is based in Longmont, Calif., has shipped 21 million small display devices to such companies as 3M and Kodak.

Via twice.com

BenQ reveals GP1 Mini LED Projector

BenQ has just unveiled a brand new projector aimed at those who like to take their projection on the move. The lamp-less GP1 Mini LED Projector doesn’t need a PC to operate; it’s compatible with portable storage devices, smartphones and PMPs, and it weighs a scanty 640g.

Despite its small stature – you can see how well it would fit into your palm from the pic – it’ll happily lob out images of 80” in size. Beats the hell out of your telly, huh? Because of its PC-less design, it incorporates a 2W internal speaker as well as its own headphone jack, which could be great for taking on your hols, assuming you want to spend your vacation time watching 24 in the hotel room. Actually, that’s a thought...

While it falls just shy of the Pico projector category, the GP1’s added bulk means it packs in some of the features boasted by full sized projectors. You’ll find Auto play modes, auto keystone, auto search and Wall Colour Correction, as well promising a broader colour gamut than you’ll find on most projectors of similar size. It has a 4:3 native format, although 16:9 is an option.

Inputs include D-Sub, Composite and USB, while iPod/iPhone users can pick up an optional docking station.

Via t3.com