Of course, with that low price tag, you aren’t going to be getting a lot of top-of-the-line features. The P300 has a native resolution of 1280×800, though it can upscale to 1080p resolution. The whole unit comes it at 5.9” x 3.9” x 1.6” and weighs just 1.3 pounds, so it’s quite portable, and it also features HMDI and USB ports, a microSD slot, composite video input, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

AAXA says that the P300 is capable of 300 peak lumens when its plugged in, but that goes down to 160 lumens when you’re running it off the battery. Speaking of the battery, AAXA says that we can expect 75 minutes of use from a single charge, and the triple RGB LED bulbs (which use Vibrant Color Technology) will last more than 15,000 hours. As you can see from the images in this post, the P300 comes with a color scheme of white and black.

So there you have it. The P300 certainly isn’t the best projector around, but it should get the job done for someone who is looking to pick up a projector on the cheap. You can order one now from AAXA’s website, but they won’t be shipping out to customers until October 26 – one week from today. Has the P300 caught your eye, or will you belooking elsewhere when it comes to purchasing a projector?

The recently announced P4 from AAXA is a big step up from previous models such as the AAXA P2, and many similar priced projectors from the competition. Offering extremely crisp colors, great brightness, and being fully portable with a built-in battery makes this a perfect companion for any business minded individual.

Hardware

While many competing projectors might have better battery life its the 80 lumens of brightness and array of options that sets the P4 apart from the pack. Being labeled the “worlds brightest pico projector” gives it some big shoes to fill — and it didn’t disappoint.

The AAXA P4 Pico Projector is powered by a 750 MHz Windows CE mobile processor, and is plenty bright too. It gets an 80 lumen high-contrast optical engine by way of Texas Instruments DLP. It features AAXA’s vibrant color technology and the LED should last for up to 20,000 hours. Some of the other specs that make the P4 special include: 2GB of built-in memory, 1280×800 VGA input, micro-SD slot for extra storage (up to 32GB), composite video input, 1-watt stereo speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack, and even 720p video support.

Included with the projector AAXA has provided a mini tripod as well as your usual charging and USB cables. The box also provides a mini to full-sized USB, VGA and AV input and more. The included remote (as seen in the video below) is a nice touch but is extremely cheap and gives off a bad impression.

The actual projector itself is very durable and feels great. It’s covered in a soft-coat matte black design and all the ports and buttons are extremely durable. Nothing feels cheap about this premium projector — and it shouldn’t for $399. The buttons on top make navigation easy and simple but the remote is a much better option. I would love to have a better included remote but that’s just me.

AAXA P4 Pico Projector unboxing

Software

Now the software side of things will be completely based on the buyers overall needs and usage. With Windows CE 6.0 on board we have plenty of options with mobile applications. With Office Mobile, Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, and tons of Windows CE based games the options are fairly open. With the P4 AAXA doesn’t recommend you enter Windows too much unless needed and has a basic overlay to keep things straightforward and simple.

Setup is basically non existent unless you need to use Windows CE apps. The standard media player for pictures, and video is simple to navigate — although is pretty bland. From the start screen you can stream any movies from internal or external storage within seconds, the input settings are easy to access and dead simple. Those needing to start presentations will need to launch Windows CE and that takes a bit longer with a warning you must agree to on every start-up seems extreme.

Performance

While I’ve only used a few cheaper and much dimmer projectors in the past, everything about this projector was impressive in terms of performance. The 80 lumen engine is extremely powerful and is by far the brightest portable projector I’ve seen to date. the 750 MHz processor churns out 720p video with ease and my demo shows some impressive output watching AVATAR on a good 40″ size. Fast forwarding through videos or presentations is extremely fluid and there seems to be zero stutter or lag. The only downside to the performance is only about 75 minutes of battery life. To make things worse there isn’t a notification or indicator and once the battery is up you get lights out — no warning.

I can explain performance but instead I’ll just let you all watch the hands-on video demonstration. I start off showing the basic UI in a fully lit room before turning out the lights. The 80 lumens keeps things bright enough that a dark room isn’t required — but sure makes it nice. You’ll be able to use in a lit room with zero problems should the situation present itself.

AAXA P4 video demonstration with light/dark room

As you can see from the video preview the output is extremely bright and impressive, even from a good 6 ft away from the wall. The manual focus makes things very easy for quick adjustments and changes. From the AVATAR scenes in the clip to my Modern Warfare 3 trailer screenshot below you can clearly see just how great the colors are. Thanks to AAXA’s vibrant color technology the colors are exactly that — vibrant.

Wrap-Up

I’ve seen this projector in action for over 2 weeks now. I used it to stream a few clips while visiting family for my extended holiday vacation and everyone was pleasantly surprised by the sound and image output. With 1 watt stereo sound its nothing special but gets the job done. You wouldn’t expect such an incredible bright and vivid picture from this small pocket-able unit — but it does impress.

Battery life is rated for 75 minutes of usage but while outputting 720p video that time dropped significantly and it lasted around 60 minutes for me. While that isn’t very long, completely battery powered is the key here. Being small and weighing under a pound, being fully portable and battery powered makes this perfect for business situations where a full fledged projector isn’t possible. To conduct a full presentation with this quality all on the go with no wires is what sets this apart from the others. For those needing a bigger, longer lasting device for those weekly earnings reports AAXA also has some larger micro projectors to suite all needs.

For a fun toy the pricing is a bit steep but for the on-the-go businessman or professional it should find a place easily in your laptop bag of gear.

The AAXA P4 Pico Projector runs for a pretty penny at around $399 but it’s currently on sale for $339 for a limited time. Get your own today by clicking here.

Many pico projectors or too dim or weak, or don’t have long batteries that last through an entire presentation. Yes there are much brighter options available but not portable and battery-powered. This is one of the smallest and most portable projectors around while offering great brightness and a battery that should last through an entire presentation. With the AAXA P4 all you need is your laptop and the projector and you can take your presentation anywhere you go.

The AAXA P4 Pico Projector is powered by a 750MHz Windows CE mobile processor, and is plenty bright too. It gets an 80 lumen high-contrast optical engine by way of Texas Instruments DLP. It features AAXA’s vibrant color technology and the LED should last for 15,000 hours. Some of the other specs that make the P4 special include: 2GB of built-in memory, 1280×800 VGA input, microSD slot for extra storage, composite video input, 1-watt speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, 720p video support, and support for 3rd party apps like Office Mobile and other Windows CE apps.

The new P4 projector is a big step up from the older P2 or other options from AAXA and is available now, priced at $399. It is currently on sale for just $339 and can be found right here.

Attachments

If you plan on plugging your iPod Touch or other Apple product into this projector (or any other, for that matter,) you’re going to have to buy at least one more cord. I decided on the standard Apple Composite AV Cable. This cable is available from the Apple store or several other locations such as Target. Incidentally, this cord will end up being useful for those of you whose iPod cord is on its last leg (like mine was) since it also connects via USB. This cord connects easily to the AV cord included in your projector’s box. As you may know if you’ve been following along with these reviews, the most obviously simple ways to utilize the projector are by plugging in a USB flash drive or by transferring files to the internal memory of the projector itself. You’ll need to have your own USB cord (not included in the projector package) to transfer and/or your own flash drive to work with in these cases. It’s important to remember that you’re probably not going to be able to use this projector straight out of the box unless you’ve got these cords already handy (or don’t mind stopping by your local electronics store.)

iDevices

As noted, the demo you’re about to see is done with a 2nd gen iPod Touch. It’ll end up working basically exactly the same for any other iDevice from that generation forward, I can’t speak for anything behind. When you’ve got the gigantically long Apple-official cable connected to the quite-short AV cable included with the projector, you’ll probably want a couple of twist-ties or a rubber band handy so you’re not tripping over yourself. Once you’ve got it all in your hands, you should be set to go to watch videos. It’s important to note that without hacking your iDevice, you’ll only be allowed to project videos. No gigantic Angry Birds for you.

Adjustments and Angles

If you’ve ever been in a classroom setting with one of those gigantic projectors with infinite buttons, you’ll be used to perfectly sharp images and lots of adjustments available for the size and shape of the picture. This is not that. This projector requires that you physically move back and forth to get the image to be bigger or smaller, and there’s basically no adjustments to be seen as far as if you’re trying to shoot the image up on a wall at an angle – straight on is the only way if you’re trying to make sure your box is perfectly boxed.

Wrap-Up

We’ve seen this projector in action for over TWO weeks now (extended because of the wacky holidays) and have only been disappointed by a few things: battery time, the loudness of the fan (which is basically always on,) and image breakdown. The image breakdown (which you can see if you take a look back at the first demo,) can be excused by the fact that this only seems to happen when playing a video file that wasn’t necessarily meant to be played outside its dvd confines (aka it wasn’t the best quality in the first place,) but still, imperfections in translating a video might be foremost in your mind when your buying a projector made for that single purpose.

The battery time and loudness of the fan are things you’re going to have to deal with whenever you use a projector, especially if you’re talking about one as small as this that you’re going to be carrying around in your pocket. This device is definitely fun, transports with great ease as its tiny and weighs basically nothing, and I can think of a dozen different ways to use it without even brainstorming that hard.

Is it worth the price? You betcha. Are you going to be able to use it in a professional setting? Depends on what profession you’re in. If you’re a freelance artist looking to show off your wares in odd places – yes! If you’re a businessman looking to project weekly earnings and charts – maybe not. This is not a big projector you’re going to use to show movies to crowds of people, but the cool factor is definitely here. If you want to be pro, go bigger (AAXA has lots of more substantial, but less mobile projectors if you wish,) if you want to be totally cool, buy the L1 v2 Laser Projector. Do it NOW!

Have a look at the rest of this series here:
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector : Everyday Use
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector : Hands-on and Unboxing
L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector Revealed by AAXA
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector : iDevices and Wrap-Up

Hardware

If you take a look back at our original post announcing availability of this projector, you’ll see that this device is a three-color laser light source projector, one they call “revolutionary.” It also includes proprietary despeckling technology, and an LCoS imager to produce 800 x 600 resolution and 20 lumen output. It has a built-in speaker, ports for VGA, A/V, USB, and power (for both charging and using whilst plugged in,) plus there’s a headphone jack on the other side.

It fits right in the palm of your hand and all the controls are in plain sight. Once you get into working the menu, you’ll more than likely have a short learning session as the UI is slightly imperfect. But just speaking on behalf of the hardware here, everything seems really slick, all buttons extremely responsive and hearty. Once the projector is running, you’ll hear that the fan has its work cut out for it. You will hear the fan running more than 60% of the time you’ve got the device on. It’s not the quietest fan I’ve ever heard, but you’ll probably get used to it quick after you hear it.

As far as cords go, you’ll have to see what your situation is when you get to the point where you’re going to decide what to use this device for. You’ve got a few cords included in the package, but there’s definitely room for want. For instance you might want a USB to USB cord to connect the device to your computer to add files to the device’s onboard storage.

Software

Once you have the device in your hand and you’d like to start playing some movies or looking at some photos projected high up in your classroom when the teacher isn’t looking, you’ll notice that there’s no screen from whens you can see selections. Wait a second, you’ll say, of course there’s no screen, this is a projector! So you turn the device on and sure enough, the menu is staring you right in the face, right over there on the wall.

The menu is confusing. Apple didn’t design this user interface, and sure as heck Google and the people at Android didn’t take a whack at it. It’s got five different items on the screen that you can highlight – four of them around an image of your controller (same as on the device,) and two more to the right. Around the controller are Documents, Photos, Video, and Music. To access each of these, you’ve only to press up, down, left, or right. When you’ve highlighted an item, its name is also highlighted at the top of the screen. This would be great, but the rest of the names are up there too, flanking the highlighted name. Say what? Confusing, very confusing. Then to get to the other two options: Sources (Input) and Settings, you’ve got to press right two times. You’ve got to select movie, but continue moving to your right to access these two additional items. Weird. Once you’ve got it, you’ve got it though, and the confusion doth never return.

A couple of the greatest things about this device are it’s ability to play and project all sorts of files and its ability to hold files inside itself for playing without anything connected. The most convenient way you’re going to end up using this device is to bring a USB stick along with all the content you’d like to display. Your stick plugs right into the side and your files appear basically instantly.

Picture

The picture is really nice, especially for such a tiny projector. I’ve used it to watch a couple of movies in my wife and I’s living room in the dark and have had basically no complaints. There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to getting certain movies and etcetera to project at full quality, but it’s nothing a person who can read the instructions manual (a very nicely laid out manual I remind you) wouldn’t be able to understand quite quickly. The picture is bright, the picture is colorful, and the picture is always in focus. Always always always. As I mention in the video, I remember the teachers and professors at the schools I went to constantly having to set the projector up to focus on the screen. No more of that, I say.

The picture projects as well as you’d expect it to in light and dark. Projected images obviously look better in the dark than they do in the light because, you know, there’s no competition. On the other hand, this projector deals a better game than they speak of in the advertisements as far as displaying in the light goes. NOTE: In the video when you see lines (or “waves”) moving through the projected image, note that these are only the result of my video camera having a different frame rate than the projector projects. The video is indeed clean.

Everyday Use

In most instances you’ll end up placing this device down while you’re displaying the media you’d like to display. This device is small though, and was clearly designed to be brought along for presentations in the office, school, or otherwise to be held in the hand. When you do either of these, your primary concern should be the heat. This device does get pretty hot pretty quick. You’re not going to be wanting to hold the projector in your hand for the entirety of its battery life (about an hour, a little more), because your hand will thusly become uncomfortable. The device does not become so hot though that you should worry about it overheating and breaking, but don’t go wrapping it in a warm towel just to test it.

We (my wife and I) have used the projector at home now to watch a couple movies up on the wall before we go to bed. We generally like to watch terrifying horror movies so we can’t sleep for weeks, so we watched one of those and Anchorman, a comedy movie you may have heard of, and both worked out really well. We of course turned the lights down for both (got some popcorn too), and definitely recommend doing this when watching anything on the projector if you’ve got the option. Poltergeist is, of course, terrifying either way. This device is clean.

A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector from AAXA

Take a look at all of our “Week With” posts for the L1 v2 projector in this ever-growing list right here, starting with the first announcement and ending with the final word:

L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector Revealed by AAXA [Original Press Release]
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector : Hands-on and Unboxing
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector : Everyday Use

R3 Media Network

Editor’s Choice
Brand New Android Marketplace User Interface Available NOW (via ripped APK) [SHINY]
Atari and Cryptic Studios launch Star Trek Online Season Three: Genesis contest [DIY SHIP]
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector : Hands-on and Unboxing [GON BE FUN]
Clark Griswold has nothing on the Faucher’s Christmas light show [IS YOUR HOUSE ON FIRE?]
Verizon’s Motorola Android Honeycomb tablet leaks [LEAKY LEAKY]

SlashPhone
Verizon iPhone is on Apple’s hired engineers handle

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Unofficial Gingerbread Port for Droid X Available Now
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Huawei Australia Unveils IDEOS X5, X6 Android Smartphones
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Kaleidescape reveals Modular Disc Vault for Blu-ray movies
Atari and Cryptic Studios launch Star Trek Online Season Three: Genesis contest
HP and Rossignol team up for special edition notebooks
Mini iPad rumors reignite as half-size model tipped
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Amazon deny hack attack as Euro sites go offline over weekend
Nexus S UK pre-orders open ahead of late-December delivery
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ASUS Eee Note EA800 gets video unboxing; user-guide goes live
Verizon’s Motorola Android Honeycomb tablet leaks
LG VL600 LTE modem [REVIEW]
Nexus S unboxing and hands-on [FEATURED]
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector : Hands-on and Unboxing [FEATURED]
Why I’m Willing to Give 3D TV A Try [COLUMN]

To see more wrap-up posts, follow the following tags: [The Daily Slash] or [SlashGear Morning Wrap-up]

The Box

As you might already know, if I open a box up for a review of the device inside and I find that the box is above-average quality, I’m gonna tell you about it. This particular box is a combination of shipping-quality toughness and second-thought printing. As you can see in the photos and video, there is a slide-off cover to the box which is itself surrounded by a brightly colored print display which tells you all about the product as it would stand in the store. This piece of gloss paper is taped on, letting you know instantly that AAXA does not depend on its graphic design presentation to sell you its products. Is this a good sign? Sometimes no, but in this case, it’s just fine, as the product itself is relatively high quality, as you’ll discover through the rest of this week’s reviews.

The people who would buy this projector are not the same people who buy Apple products whenever they’re released and refuse to use anything other than an iPod to listen to their music. Or is it? If you take a look at the image used in this post, you’ll see that they’re attempting to capture at least a part of the Apple consumer crowd. The box itself doesn’t really reflect this.

Inside the box are some thin cardboard separators and a piece of plastic cushion padding. These aren’t the sort of pieces you’re going to keep. Might as well just toss them in the garbage as soon as you open the package. Each cord is wrapped in its own plastic bag, the directions are situated right on top, and the device itself is precariously placed inside the thin cardboard right in the middle. The one we have here came in perfect condition, but I would definitely warn you to make sure your device isn’t bashed against the side before ripping all the packaging apart, just incase the cardboard broke down in the shipping process and a shipper’s thrown the box (as is often the case in shipping boxes this size, no matter who you get it shipped through.)

The Guide and Cords

In the box besides the device you’ll get an instructional manual and several cords. The manual is nicely printed and very easy to work with. Each time I’ve had a question about how the device works thus far, it’s been simply addressed by the book in an easy-to-find chapter.

The cords are thus: power cord (which plugs into a wall socket exclusively,) VGA video cord (which I agree with Intel, will be dead sooner than later, but is very nice to have here and now,) and a composite A/V cord – you know the kind, with the three color plugs red, white, and yellow. Both the A/V cord and the VGA cord connect to the device via a port on the right side of the device right next to the charge plug, both under the same flap.

As you’ll see in the video, and I still miss here, I wish there was a straight USB cord here to connect to the computer, as it does show this happening in the manual, but then again, there’s no headphones or earbuds either, and more than likely anyone purchasing this device already owns both.

The Device

The projector itself, as you can see in the video, is definitely hand-held. This is as far as technology has brought us so far with thinness in a laser projector, and I am satisfied. A big question for the future is how projectors are going to be integrated into thinner devices like tablets, etc – but then again, maybe they never will be?

You can see each of the plug covers plainly around the edges of the device: the power cord imput and external port (for VGA, RCA, and S-Video cords) under the same cover along the right side below the USB 2.0 port under a separate cover. Along the top is the projector glass – do not look directly into it! This is something AAXA is very clear about in the users manual. Watch out! Along the left side is the headphone port as well as the reset button (under the surface, accessible with a pin or something tiny, of course.)

The buttons include an Projector Adjustment button (top left), On/Off button (top left), Menu button (bottom left), and Cancel (bottom right.) Between these are up, down, left, and right, as well as an OK button in the center. Above these buttons you can see where the fan cools the engine off, and on the back you can see a laser warning as well as several rubber pads for setting the device down without scuffing it up.

The Bracket

The bracket is an item that lets you know exactly what this device is – not just an object that works in and of itself, but one that works as a teammate of other devices. This device is a projector, and should be thought of as a middleman between your device and the image it projects. The bracket lets you know that although the device works perfectly fine held in your hand or set on a flat surface, you might consider adding a tripod or similar holding object. That’s not to say that this device cannot play media on it’s on though – it can! You’ll hear all about that in the future reviews.

So get all pumped up! This is a handheld projector that works pretty neatly. Stay tuned all next week for several more reviews as we get used to it and blast images all over the place (as I write this, I’m watching the Empire Strikes Back on my wife and I’s apartment wall as we’re snowed in for the day – fun!) Seeya then!

A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector from AAXA

Take a look at all of our “Week With” posts for the L1 v2 projector in this ever-growing list right here, starting with the first announcement and ending with the final word:

L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector Revealed by AAXA [Original Press Release]
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector : Hands-on and Unboxing
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector : Everyday Use

Project images up to 50″ away in dark environments. Rapid change possible in projection size, simultaneous near and far projection, angled projection, and projection on uneven surfaces. Fricking sweet, man. This projector includes an onboard 1.5 hour battery, making power cables unnecessary, VGA input supporting up to 800×600 resolutions for laptop connections, and a media player inside the device able to decode multiple document and media formats. Have some files on a USB thumb drive? It can read those too. Available for $449 MSRP or pre-order for $399. Check out the full press-release below:

AAXA Introduces L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector

November 24, 2010

AAXA Technologies is pleased to announce the release of the AAXA L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector, an updated version of the L1, the world’s first laser powered pocket projector. The updated design improves the performance of L1 v2 by increasing the thermal efficiency of the PCOS laser light engine. The unique three-color laser light source enables the L1 v2 to produce images with amazing color saturation that are always in focus. Designed for mobile professionals and entertainment, the AAXA L1 v2 pocket projector combines a revolutionary laser light source, proprietary despeckling technology, and an LCoS imager to achieve a 20 lumen output at 800×600 resolution without the pixilation problems found in some laser projectors.

The flexibility offered by the L1 v2 laser light source opens up a new world of possibilities in projection applications. The focus-free operation allows for rapid changes in projection size, simultaneous far and near surface projection, angled projection, and projection on curved and other non-flat surfaces. Its ultra-efficient optical engine enables the L1 v2 to produce rich images even in less-than-dark environments – and color-rich images up to 50″ in dark environments. Combined with onboard 1.5 hour battery, the L1 v2 operates as a true hand-held laser projector without the need for any cables or external power source.

Built-in features include VGA input supporting up to 800×600 resolutions for laptop connections and on-board gamma correction. Additional features include a powerful media player capable of decoding of video (AVI, ASF, WMV, MPG), audio (MP3, WAV, AAC), images (JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP), and popular document formats (DOC, XLS, PPT, PDF), onboard memory, and a USB port capable of reading files directly off a standard USB thumb drive.

While the L1 v2 is slightly larger than the original L1, it still remains the world’s smallest 20 lumen pico projector – no larger than a small cell phone, measuring only 4.2″ x 2.1″ x 1.2″ and weighs in at 170 grams (including battery). The L1 v2 projector is much smaller than the traditional “pocket projector”. It slips into a pocket or briefcase and comes with a stand, making it fully portable and configurable for maximum presentation flexibility. Additional accessories allow the L1 v2 to connect to Apple iPhone/iPod, Microsoft Zune, Sony Playstation Portable (PSP), and a wide range of cellphones from Nokia, LG, Samsung, and HTC.

The AAXA L1 v2 is available for pre-order at www.aaxatech.com for $399 and begins shipping December 1, 2010 and will also be available through our fine retail partners.

[Via AAXA Technologies]

There’s also a USB port – into which you can slot a USB memory stick for standalone playback (MP4/MP3/WMA/OGG/WAV/AVI/WMV/SMV/ BMP/JPG/GIF/TXT) via the M2′s integrated media player app – VGA and composite inputs, together with a 3.5mm audio output in case the stereo 1W speakers aren’t quite up to the job. AAXA even throw in a remote control.

At 132 x 145 x 47 mm it’s not the most pocketable mini-projector around, but for the price – on going from the specs on-paper – you’re getting a decent balance of performance and portability. One thing to remember is that the power supply is external, so this isn’t the model for your impromptu elevator pitches.

Press Release:

AAXA Introduces M2 Micro Projector

AAXA Technologies is pleased to announce the release of the AAXA M2 Micro Projector, the world’s first XGA (1024×768) micro projector. Weighing just 1 pound yet producing a vivid 110 lumen image with Vibrant Color technology, the AAXA M2 Micro Projector is the next generation ultra-portable multimedia projector. With power to produce 100” images*, a built-in media player, 1GB storage, and an array of input options, the M2 redefines what is capable in mobile projection technology.

The AAXA M2 micro projector is the most powerful and fully-featured micro projector in its class. The M2 employs a next generation optical engine with Vibrant Color technology producing high brightness and deep colors for a rich viewing experience. A high speed LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) imager and powerful Luminus PhlatLight LEDs are combined for the first time in the M2 to create a powerful yet efficient projection system.

The M2 mini projector is a stand-alone projection system featuring a new high-speed video and image processor supporting up to 1280×720 resolution video at 30 frames per second and a wide array of image and music formats. Content can be accessed through 1GB of onboard memory, an SD card slot, or a USB thumb-drive (USB OTG). The M2′s connectivity is unmatched with HDMI, VGA, and composite A/V inputs. Coupled with built-in 1 watt stereo speakers, the M2 projector makes for a powerful yet portable device that serves double duty as a standalone multimedia system and as accessory display for notebooks and other multimedia devices.

Additional features include infrared remote control, adjustable tripod, and a 3.5mm audio output for headphones or external speakers.

Optional accessories include iPhone, PSP, Zune, Nokia, Samsung, iTouch, and AV out cables for mobile device connectivity.

The M2 is available for sale at www.aaxatech.com for $369 and through our fine retail partners.

This time around, it’s the P1 Jr. Pico Projector, and the company is saying that it’s the world’s smallest LCOS pico projector with an onboard MP4 player. Pretty good news, especially if you can claim a title like that. And if the photos are any indicator, than the P1 Jr. Pico Projector is indeed small. There’s a 10 lumen LED light on here, which should suffice enough to light up whatever is is you’re trying to illuminate for your viewing pleasure. Unfortunately, the battery life isn’t exactly where we’d like to see it — even if it is a rechargeable battery, lasting only about an hour just doesn’t seem good enough.

If you feel like you need to play back some of your own files, there’s an included SD card slot, too. Cables will come included in the box, so you’ll be able to plug it into an A/V source, too. As far as prices go, pico projectors aren’t necessarily known to be all that cheap, but for only $119.99, this new model from AAXA Technologies doesn’t break the bank too bad. Anyone in the market for a new pico?

[via Oh Gizmo!]

The new version of the projector is called the M1 Limited Micro Projector. The pre-order price for the little projector is $299 and the MSRP is $349. The limited edition gets more lumens than the original at 75 lumens.

The resolution for the projector is 800 x 600 and the LEDs used inside the device are good for 15,000 hours of use. The little projector looks just like the original M1 on the outside and has a remote control, VGA input, and more.

There’s also an onboard media player, with support for pictures, video and still images, either stored on the 160MB of internal storage or on a USB drive; AAXA throw a 2GB stick in the box.  It’ll also play certain Office documents, so you could feasibly leave your laptop behind.

The whole thing measures 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.8 inches and weighs 170g including the battery; that’s good for up to 90 minutes use.  As well as USB there are composite and VGA inputs.  Preorders are being taken now, at $599, and the AAXA L1 is expected to begin shipping on February 12th 2010.

[via PicoProjector-Info]

Two models will be on offer, each capable of projecting up to a 100-inch picture.  The entry-level M1 Standard gets a 3.5mm composite video input (complete with a suitable adapter cable), while the M1 Plus adds a 1280 x 960 VGA input (though you’ll obviously only get 800 x 600 max output); both also have 3.5mm headphone jacks and a microUSB port.  Eventually, AAXA say, you’ll be able to use that USB connection to hook up a computer, though right now they’re not providing the necessary drivers.

Otherwise there’s 1GB of onboard storage and an SD card reader, integrated media player app and stereo 1W speakers; the whole thing measures 112 x 105 x 46 mm.  Each model is available for preorder now, priced at $299 for the AAXA M1 Standard and $359 for the AAXA M1 Plus.  They’ll ship on December 21st and January 21st respectively.

[via PicoProjector-Info]

In fact, the 1,700mAh rechargeable battery is only good for 35 minutes use; for any longer, you’ll need to add an optional external battery which will be available in either 70 or 180 minute capacities.  They’ll obviously boost the P2′s 4.3 x 2.3 x 1 inch size and 260g weight.

AAXA are quoting contrast of 1,000:1 and up to an 80-inch image, with stereo 1W speakers and connectivity including a 3.5mm composite A/V port, miniUSB for recharging and a 3.5mm headphone socket, along with the VGA port.  We reviewed the P2′s predecessor, the AAXA P1 back in April.

The AAXA P2 pico-projector is available to pre-order now, priced at $349.

[via PicoProjector-info]

Meanwhile, Motorola’s Calgary was tipped to be the company’s first Android device – and Verizon Wireless’ first, to boot – which made up for the manufacturer canning two other upcoming handsets.  Samsung’s Omnia HD i8910 was reviewed, and managed to whet our appetite for the rumored Omnia Pro complete with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.  If that wasn’t enough, leaks from the Palm camp tipped the upcoming Eos, a candybar-format replacement to the aging Centro.  Remember, you can keep up with all the latest Android and Palm news at Android Community and My Pre, respectively.

Apple have made their usual rumor round this week, with word that the company have been negotiating with Verizon for an exclusive cellphone.  Hot speculation tips it as an LTE iPhone, though there’s also talk of an “iPhone Lite” and a UMPC-rivaling Apple Media Pad.  Just to keep us on the very edges of our seats, a fan mockup of the latter managed to make us forget the name and manufacturer of every Windows UMPC on the market from the past two years.

Acer’s Aspire One nettop hit review benches, and proved a mixed bag.  The NVIDIA Ion 1080p-capable GPU is every bit as impressive as we were warned to expect, but it’s let down by the single-core Intel Atom CPU they’ve paired it up with.  Not everyone is disappointed with Atom, however: this stunning Filofax MID concept is based on the low-power Intel chip, while ASRock and Pegatron have both based NVIDIA Ion nettops on the processor.

Meanwhile Acer’s Aspire One 751 11.6-inch netbook launched officially, finally including a full spec list, and Microsoft released Windows 7 RC to MSDN subscribers; the general public can expect the OS RC on May 5th, while Acer tip the full release as happening on October 23rd.  While you’re waiting for that, you can read our review of the AAXA P1 pico-projector; can you see it fitting into your life?  Our A/V expert Daniel Lim wasn’t sure.

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.

Physically, though, if it wasn’t for the chassis and finish, one can hardly tell the AAXA P1 and BeamBox Evolution R1 apart. Both are close in size, weight and feature-sets. Like the Beambox, the AAXA is a natively 4:3 VGA pixel-resolution pico projector, built upon a LCoS-based microdisplay with a single white LED light source — courtesy of CREE LED technology — that can last up to 30,000 hours over the course of its working life.

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.

The main differences between the two projectors are the contrast and lumen outputs. The AAXA boosts a whooping 1,000:1 contrast ratio, at the expense of lower luminous intensity – it’s only rated at 12-lumen, as opposed to 30 from the Beambox. However the latter only offers a 200:1 contrast ratio.

Power is courtesy of a 1,900mah, 3.7v rechargeable battery, meaning you can use the P1 with or without the AC adaptor. The battery/charger indicator could be more informative though, unfortunately: it lights green whenever the AC adaptor is connected and turns red when the unit runs off the battery, and that’s all there is to it. There’s no easy way to check charge status. According to AAXA, a full charge should take about one hour depending on how drained the battery is. From our own experience, a single charge was enough for around 110 minutes of mp4 video looped on continuous playback and with onboard sound playing, surpassing the manufacture’s claim of 45-60 minutes by around twice as much! But wait, there’s more: it will run even longer if the sound is off.

Operation and GUI are no different than the Beambox – pressing and holding the play/pause button turns on the GUI, offering a simple interface with a choice of Music, Video, Photo, eBook, Explorer and Settings which allow the user to browse multimedia files, each of which are arranged vertically in a folder and split across onboard or microSD storage. Audio can be played in the background while you navigate though the menus. As for music, the app displays song details along with a real-time 14-band equalizer. Pictures, meanwhile, provides basic JPEG, BMP and GIF format support, with slideshow and zoom features, while Video supports basic controls such as fast-forward, rewind and pause.

In our tests, the P1 projected a standard size 60-inch (48” x 36”) diagonal picture from a distance of approximately 78-inches. Unlike a conventional projector, the mechanical lens of the pico-projector doesn’t incorporate a zoom, so the throw ratio is fixed at approximately 0.77x.

A common business-class projector provides somewhere around 1500-2000 lumens, boasting enough light to view a presentation in strong ambient lighting conditions. A home theater unit, on the other hand, requires only 300-500 lumens in a dim and light-controlled media room (after the D65 standard calibration). A perfect picture output is a balance of optimized contrast and brightness with accurate color reproduction. So how does a 1000:1 contrast ratio and 12-lumen pico-projector fit into the equation?

After viewing a few video clips and images on a Draper M2500 2.1 gain angular reflective screen, we shifted to a neutral matte white screen surface to ensure the overly contrasty images weren’t the result of the high-contrast off-white Draper material. Video color temperature looks cool, definitely above D65 standard. We didn’t put our light calibration tool into good use here, since the unit doesn’t provide custom settings for the picture, nor has it picture presets for alternate viewing materials.

The video is dim but tolerable in a dark room, enough to keep kids in their seats, but it wouldn’t endure any light present. Photo display is slightly out of whack, with too much contrast for my preference. Audio levels are muted for normal movie playback, even turned up to their at maximum level, but sound from the headphone output leveled out just right. Movie clips might need to be recorded or re-processed with higher sound levels to get the best out of the tiny mono 0.5-watt speaker. Unsurprisingly, then, it’s not much use for business presentations; furthermore, with 25db of high-pitched fan noise, we don’t really see how this device could be useful for playing music.

Using the supplied 3.5mm cable, we were able to get our iPhone hooked up to the P1. Once connected, the plug-n-play setup shut off all activity on the iPhone’s display, and displayed content directly to the external projector, without having to go though any troublesome setup or menus. In video playback, we noticed panning jerk was present in mp4 material, but we’re told the AAXA engineers are working on a solution to address some of these playback issues. An option in the P1′s settings menu allows you to update the firmware, which has to first be loaded into the pico-projector’s internal storage.

If jerkiness wasn’t frustrating enough, there’s also evidence of discoloration at the edged of the picture. LCD projector users will likely be familiar with the polarizer elements that tend to wear out with age and excessive heat exposure — a tint color overlays the edge of projected image. The P1 image looked a little like that; however the LCoS-based technology is more resistant to those shades of discoloration. The image edge distortion, according to the manufacturer, is “normal for the current generation of LCoS-based pico projectors due to the output lens being shrunken to the smallest possible size. The LCoS panel is slightly oversized for the optics and results in slight distortions at the extreme edges/corners.”

It’s an exciting technology but not practical. It lacks the essential – adequate lumen output — to fulfill either mobile professionals’ business applications or living room entertainment. It’s quite a disappointment and that’s how I feel about pico-projectors in general, not particularly toward the AAXA. I can’t get past the feeling that the technology is not ready for prime time — I doubt I would sit still for a minute looking at a muted picture, trade in my iPod for an MP3 player with a high-RPM fan and, most certainly, decline to showcase my media portfolio on any display with imprecise color settings. On a cheerful note, the battery power is inspiring, but there’s a lot of work to go before pico-projectors generally live up to their promise.

The AAXA P1 pico projector is available now to order online for the discounted price of $239. (As of 4/28/2009)

AAXA P1 Pico Projector Spec.

1. VGA (640×480), 4:3 Aspect Ratio
2. 12 ANSI-Lumens
3. 1000:1 Contrast Ratio
4. 25dB Noise level
5. 7 ~ 50 inch project-image
6. Single Chip White LED Lamp with 30,000hrs Lifespan
7. 50° Projection Angle
8. Onboard 0.5w speaker
9. Stereo speaker/headphone mini-jack
10. 105 x 58 x 26mm Dimension
11. 180g in Weight
12. Power Consumption 0.9-1.5 watts
13. Power Supply: DC 1900 mAh battery
14. AC100~240V(Free Voltage), 50Hz/60Hz
15. Supported Formats: MP4/MP3/WMA/OGG/WAV/AVI/WMV/SMV/ BMP/JPG/GIF/TXT
16. Video In: Composite A/V (3.5mm Jack)
17. Audio Out: 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Jack
18. USB: 5 Pin Mini USB

There’s also 1GB of internal memory, meaning the P1 can be used as a standalone media player rather than as a display for a connected iPod, notebook, DVD player or other source.  A microSD card slot augments that storage, and there’s a built-in speaker together with a standard headphone socket.

The design of the AAXA P1 looks very similar to that of the Beambox R1 pico-projector we reviewed last month, which also has an onboard media player and 1GB of memory.  However the R1 boasts 30-lumen brightness, which suggests the two companies have made their own tweaks to a core design.  As for the AAXA P1, it’s available through Amazon for $279 with free shipping.

[via PicoProjector-Info]

That means you can load up the P1 pico-projector with MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AVI, WMV, SMV, BMP, JPG, GIF, TXT and HTML files and play them from the device itself.  There’s also a built-in speaker (and a 3.5mm headphone socket) and battery life is rated at 45 to 60 minutes depending on whether you use the onboard sound.  Happily the battery is swappable, so if you really get into a movie you don’t necessarily have to stop watching half-way through

The AAXA P1 pico-projector will begin shipping by the end of the week, with a normal MRSP of $289 but a currently discounted intro price of $259.  It comes with a composite input cable; a mini-USB cable, iPod and iPhone, PSP, and other cell phone input adapters are available separately.

Press Release:

AAXA ANNOUNCES ITS P1 MICRO PROJECTOR

AAXA Technologies announces the release of its P1 micro projector. Combining off-the-shelf components with AAXA’s proprietary LCOS chip, AAXA’s micro projector brings affordability to the pocket projector market while improving brightness and image quality. Weighing in at 6 ounces and no larger than most PDAs, this diminutive unit projects a usable 12 lumens at a resolution of 640×480. The unit is capable of producing excellent picture quality and brightness in most lighting conditions.

Picture quality is excellent in low-light conditions even with a 60″ picture. Multiple input sources are accepted including VGA, Composite, as well as direct hook-ups to Ipods, Iphones, PSPs, and a myriad of cell phones. With 1GB built in and a micro SD card port the storage capacity is virtually unlimited. The onboard file menu and decoder plays virtually all media formats including MP4, AVI, WMA, JPG, GIF, HTML, etc. Battery life is rated at 45 to 60 minutes (depending on speaker use) and replacement battery packs are available. With an MSRP of $289 included with the projector is battery, composite input cable, and charger. Tripod, micro SD, mini-usb cable, Ipod / Iphone, PSP, and other cell phone inputs are available separately.

As of January 14, 2009 units are now shipping.

MSRP $289.00