Optoma PK301 pico projector

"The Optoma Pico PK301 is probably the most impressive Pico projector on the market today," commented Product Manager, Richard Stamper.  "With impressive resolution and brightness the PK301 is an essential business tool, brilliantly handling and projecting highly professional looking PowerPoint ® slides, photo and video files.  After work, you'll be watching movies at up to 120 inches using the HDMI input or the built in memory.

Buy the Optoma PK301 Pico Pocket Projector

A MicroSD slot allows for up to 32GB of removable storage space with the PK301, whilst connectivity options include mini HDMI, VGA and USB.

Whilst the WVGA (854 x 480) pixel resolution is nothing to write home about, the tiny size and 250g weight make it a perfect portable device for those regularly travelling to make presentations.

Via Tech Digest

Optoma Pico PK 100 simplified model for $199

The PK 100 will join the previously introduced PK 101 ($229) and PK 102 ($249) models.

Model PK 100 ($199 estimated retail) is billed as a more simplified version of the miniature DLP-based Pico projectors the company has introduced in the past.

The new model is designed for general purpose use and features composite-video inputs for connection to similarly configured digital cameras, game consoles movie cameras and similar devices.
The projector is expected to be broadly distributed, especially through Optoma's online retail partners, according to Jon Grodem, Optoma's product marketing director.

The unit features the same tiny .17 DLP DMD chip used in Optoma's earlier models, and is powered by three LED lamps (red, green and blue) capable of outputting up to 11 ANSI lumens of brightness at a 1,000:1 contrast ratio.

The PK 100 will join the previously introduced PK 101 ($229) and PK 102 ($249) models.
In related news, Optoma said Apple has agreed to expand the distribution of the PK 101 model to up to 170 Apple stores nationwide beginning in October.

Via Twice

Optoma PK102 Pico Projector has 4 GB Storage

“Customers made it clear that the best way to improve on the Pico concept was to add convenience and connectivity options, especially VGA,” said Optoma marketing director Jon Grodem, in a statement. “The new improvements make Pico more versatile and more convenient for both personal and business use.”

The PK102 can handle resolutions up to 800 by 600 pixels, and projects images at a native resolution of 480 by 320 pixels. The projector can handle common video and image formats directly from files loaded into its 4 GB of internal memory—that includes MPEG-4, H.264, and AVI, along with JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG—and users can pop on an optional USB connector to access media from a thumb drive or other USB device. The rechargeable lithium ion battery can power the PK102 for up to 90 minutes; there’s a dedicated power plug for faster recharging, too.

Via  DigitalTrends

Optoma Pico PK102

Small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and light enough to carry around like a cell phone, the PK102 differs from its older, less talented cousin, the Optoma Pico PK101, by being able to connect to a wider range of sources. Or to no source at all.

As with the PK101, the PK102 can connect to a composite video source like a digital camera or camera phone. In addition, it can connect to a computer's VGA port or to a component video source. It can also read an assortment of image and movie files from USB memory keys or from its 4 Gbytes of internal memory—enough to hold 6,000 pictures or eight hours of video, according to Optoma. Battery life is 60 to 90 minutes, Optoma says.

Buy the Optoma PK102 Pico Pocket Projector

Via PCMag

Projector-phones due by Christmas?

Pico projecters were all the rage last month at Taiwan's giant Computex show, with Life Technologies showing its DigiLife DDV-JF1 pico-projector-equipped digicam and other pico projectors on the way from Aiptek, Optoma, and others.

Microvision of Redmond, Washington has been demoing its laser-based ShowWX pico projector for quite some time, with a release both as a Microvision-branded product and as a OEM subsystem planned for later this year - a deadline aided by Corning's recent announcement that it can now provide Microvision with green lasers in mass-manufacturing quantities.

Microvision's ShowWX has the distinct advantage over other pico-projector designs of not needing a focusing lens, as do competing technologies such as Texas Instruments' DLP, 3M's LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon), and Displaytech's FLCOS (ferroelectric LCOS).

Via The Register

Optoma Pico PK101

Optoma picked an appropriate moniker for its Lilliputian-size video projector. The Pico PK101 isn't just small, it's almost inconceivably tiny. It measures just 1.97 inches wide by 4.06 inches long by 0.59 inches thick, and it weighs only four ounces.

Texas Instruments’ DLP (Digital Light Processor) technology deserves much of the credit for making such a product possible. DLP projectors create an image by bouncing light off microscopic mirrors arranged in a matrix on a semiconductor. Each mirror represents a pixel in the image and swivels to either reflect light through the lens or to an internal heatsink. Toggling these two states on and off creates a grayscale. Color pixels are created by using either a color wheel or a colored light source. Optoma uses a non-replaceable LED for its light source, which it claims should last for 20,000 hours. There’s a tiny speaker and a 0.5-watt amp onboard, too.

In addition to its Li-Ion battery, the Pico PK101 can operate on AC or USB power (we used the USB port on a Metadot Das Keyboard). Optoma claims a fully charged battery should last 90 minutes, but ours delivered only 67 minutes while playing a silent, looping slide show at the brighter of the projector’s two settings. Good thing it comes with a spare.



This projector is designed to be paired with a handheld media player and is outfitted with only an analog A/V input. You connect the projector to a source using either a special cable or an iPod docking-port adapter (both are included). If you want to connect the projector to a PC, the PC must be equipped with either a composite video output or a VGA output (connected to a VGA-to-composite adapter). That limitation pretty much rules out the device as a PowerPoint tool for the traveling businessperson, because a VGA signal converted to composite does a very poor job of displaying text.

Buy the Optoma Pico PK101 EP-PK-101 PICO DLP Pocket Projector - 4 oz.

Via maximumpc.com