The wisdom of designing gadgets that look like spiders when so many people find the many-legged bugs creepy is arguably lacking, but that hasn’t stopped Ericsson. The company’s latest concept is the so-called Ericsson Spider Computer, a tripod design that will incorporate a full PC, pico-projector, laser keyboard and integrated 3G, and offer the people of 2020 an easily transported computing setup.
Video demo after the cut
No, not a pico-projector with a porthole, but DigiLife’s DDV-JF1, the first point-and-shoot pocket camcorder to also integrate a mini projector. Similar in concept to the Nikon Coolpix S1000pj, only concentrating on moving pictures rather than stills, the DDV-JF1 can record up to 1280 x 720 30fps video in H.264 format to SD cards (up to 32GB supported), then display it via the pico-projector hardware at the end.
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Optoma's PK-100 pico-projector may not be, at $196.99, exactly a small-change purchase, but the entry-level model does at least bring the ownership hurdle a little lower. Announced at the start of the month, and now up for sale on Amazon, the PK-100 promises up to a 60-inch image (albeit at a maximum 480 x 320 resolution) and 11 lumens brightness.
Pico-projectors have managed to grudgingly convince quite a few people – ourselves included – that there’s a time and place for a tiny, portable cinema; our big issue is still the relatively high prices they command. Optoma have stepped up their game on that front, however, with the launch of the PK-100, an entry-level model promising 480 x 320 resolution, 11 lumens brightness and a maximum image size of 66-inches.
We’ve reviewed our fair share of pico-projectors here at SlashGear, and while they’ve often had impressive aspects to their performance, there’s been nothing that pushed them out of “expensive toy” and into “must-have accessory”. 3M are hoping that their latest model does just that: the 3M MPro120 is the company’s second-generation attempt at the pico platform, using a new LCoS imager and four times the battery life. Can it earn a permanent place in our bag? Read on for the full SlashGear review.
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Nikon's pico-projector packing Coolpix S1000pj digital camera has finally arrived for sale in the US, priced at $429.95. Expected to begin shipping later this week, the S1000pj manages to squeeze not only a 12.1-megapixel camera with 2.7-inch LCD and 5x optical zoom, but a 10 lumen pico-projector capable of creating up to 40-inch images into a compact chassis.
Epoq are back with their next pico-projector, and since it’s growing harder to differentiate between these compact, LED-based handhelds they’ve decided to stuff Windows CE 5.0 inside. Having a full OS – plus the trackpad on top of the projector – means the Epoq Multimedia EPP-CEP1 can run native Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF viewers for standalone presentations, together with Windows Media Player for broader video filetype support.
ViewSonic have outed a couple of new projector systems, the PJD2121 pico-projector and the WPG-350 presentation gateway. The former is a 720p/1080i capable mini-projector which can throw a 60-inch image, while the latter hooks up to any projector or display with a VGA port and funnels presentations (up to 1024 x 768) or 1080p video via WiFi b/g/n from a nearby laptop or PC.
Aiptek’s T20 Pocket Cinema pico-projector has shown up for pre-order in the UK, with a £199.99 ($330) sticker price and a release date of September 1st. Like the BeamBox Essential G2, the Aiptek T20 lacks an onboard battery and media-player, and is instead intended to be hooked up to a notebook or netbook via USB.
Nikon’s Coolpix S1000pj projector-camera may only have got the official nod from the company this morning, but that hasn’t stopped Stuff.TV from going hands-on with the 12.1-megapixel shooter already. They found the S1000pj to be surprisingly good fun, with the VGA quality from the pico-projector making up in communal usability what it lacks in visual fidelity.
Video demo of the S1000pj after the cut
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