The pico projector is gaining in popularity as they are small enough to be embedded in many mobile devices like those mentioned previously. The technology driving this device continues to advance with developments in microdisplay technology and 3-D hologram tables. Pico projectors are also being used in conjunction with cameras to develop smart touch-projected display.

As for now, pico projectors are interesting gadgets for personal use. The costs tend to range from between $100 to $500 depending on the size and function of the projector. Smaller ones that may be best for personal mobile devices are often less expensive than those that may carry higher functions such as those used for business meetings and presentations.

For instance, Optoma Pico PK has a series of DLP projectors that are smaller than digital cameras and smart phones and may help with presentations and such, especially unexpected or improvised ones. Optomo’s cameras are developed with the newest innovations LED illumination DLP imaging technology. Its more advanced designs might be better suited for business presentations with a 20 ANSI lumens and 16:9 WVGA widescreen resolution. These projectors playback many photo types including JPEG and BMP and support digital formats such as AVI, MPEG-4, MOV and 3GPP.

The ViewSonic PJD2121 is a DLP projector with capabilities of producing images at 400 lumens and a contrast ratio of 1800:1. This product from Texas Instruments is meant for those making presentations for business, civic organizations, schools, etc. and constructed to be portable.

A pico projector can be more than just the latest gadget among technology experts. It could be a whole new way to enjoy and share your media with friends and family or give you new options in presenting your professional work (and they look cool!).  Check out our reviews of the latest pico projectors.

When it comes to projectors, lamp life is a must-have. And 30,000 hours is not just good, it’s brilliant (literally)! I found it on the Samsung P410M LED-based DLP Pocket Projector.  With so many lightweight new models in the market, I had to do my research to make sure that I was getting more than just 30, ooo hours of life.

And here’s what I found out:

1. It uses an LED light source, and thus the extended life on it. LED light sources never need replacement, and they are low on power usage.
2. It’s a great business asset. For presentations of up to 5 people, you get real quality viewing experience. If you do demonstrations or business presentations often, get this projector and maximize on every viewing with your clients.
3. Something that I found about it that’s not so common with other projectors in the market - you don’t need special software to run your files. All you do is plug in, for example to your laptop and you’re good to go. Its even vista enabled a big plus obviously for work related presentations.
4. The picture quality is great. Since it’s not built for use with big groups, with a group of 4 or 5 around, you get superb picture quality. It’s bright, and the definition is high.
5. Its portable – its 9.3 x 7.3 x 8 inches and weighs in at 5.4 pounds. The power unit itself is not very small; almost the size of the projector, but it all comes packed together in a great looking carry case that’s easy to move around.
6. Since we’re talking business presentations here, you might as well go for impressive looking gadgets. It has a perfect finish, very professional looking in black.
7. The sound system is good – not theatre surround sound, but good enough quality for a small group.
8. It comes with a USB port so that you don’t have to carry my laptop to presentations. You can store it in an external media and simply plug it into the projector and make your case. It’s also got a remote control for easy manipulation.
9. Finally, when I’m done with my business presentations, you can take it home for that theatre movie experience. It plugs into a DVD player and can play a movie without any hustles. When you keep it plugged onto a power source, you can have a back-to-back movie experience, see videos and watch music, and can share your photo collection with guests.
10. I like projectors that come with tripods and this one does. You simply mount, swivel and once you get initial focus, and you don’t need to keep re-adjusting.

Definitely comes highly recommended. Remember though that it’s for use with small groups, so if you have to show people something in a hall, look at other projector options.

Optoma have revolutionized sharing. If you  have a bunch of people in your office and your home, and you want to project some photos, a movie or video, all you need to do is pull out this little wonder. No more lugging around pounds of projector!

The previous version of the Pk101 Pocket Projector did not allow use on a computer – you could actually only plug it into video devices. They realized that this was limiting, upped their game up a notch and thus the revolutionary Pk102 Pocket Projector.

So what are the features of this little wonder?

1. Little as it is, it can project large images, up to 60” in width. It may not be ideal for professional use, but its perfect for home use. And the image quality is great as well.
2. What enables it to connect to a computer? They added a VGA connector, which gives users lots of options. It’s a pretty standard one too, meaning that most hardware will be able to take it.
3. It’s got 4 gigabytes of internal memory – yes, 4GB! That’s great, especially if you want to store and share movies.
4. Its great for photos – it can hold up to 6000 photos. Imagine how handy that would be if you wanted to show your friends what your trip around the world was like ?
5. You get up to 8 hours of video on it.  A great feature if you have long video presentations – great feature especially for a small home business.
6. Its palm sized, or call it pocket sized, whichever you prefer. It will fit in your pocket quite comfortably, and because it also fits right into your hand, it’s much easier to handle compared to the big projectors that you may have used in the past.  If you want to get an idea of just how small it is, compare it to a mobile phone.
7. Its pretty – it has a cool finish. If you’re keen on looks, this will look real nice sitting next to your computer.
8. You can get it to stand on a tripod. This is a bonus because being so small, it may be tricky to point at one spot. A tripod will do that for you perfectly. And you can get the right tripod for it as you are buying it for an extra $10 or so.
9. It comes with a 1 year warranty – the smaller equipment is the more delicate, right? Well, the makers of this little gadget are so sure of its performance that they are willing to give you a full years warranty on it.
10. Last and maybe most important feature of a projector after picture quality – the LED light source has a lifespan of 20,000 hours!

You want to buy? Great, just a couple of things you need to know:

• It’s not Mac compatible. Get it only if you don’t plan to use it on a Mac.
• You may need special software to convert videos and movies into viewable versions.

Don’t let that discourage you though; it’s a great little piece. It costs around $250, so it’s definitely worth a try.

Optoma PK102 PICO Pocket Projector Sale Price: $129.97

If you’re looking for a small projector that will open up a world of possibilities for sharing and viewing content, you have found it. The Optoma EP-PK-101 PICO Pocket Projector is just the thing to have with you if you travel or of you are required to show on-spot presentations impromptu. Weighing in at 2.2 pounds, it’s probably one of the smallest and most versatile projectors you will ever get to see. It’s so small that your mobile phone feels like a handful. Small as it is, it’s got power. It can do lots. Packed with a whole range of useful features, it’s a projector that you’ll be happy you bought.

So why should you get yourself one at all?

1. We’ve already talked about size, but maybe to give you a clearer picture, let’s look at dimensions. Its 4.1” in length, 2” in width and just 0.6” high. Now you can see why compared to your mobile phone, it’s a little handy gadget.
2. It connects to a great range of devices. You’ll be able to hook up your iPod, iPhone, iTouch, your camcorder, your camera, you mobile phone and your DVD player. For versatility, that is more than you are ever likely to get on such a tiny gadget. Just that range alone makes up for the fact that it does not connect to a PC or laptop, but then, there’s a good reason for that – its an entire standalone media storage and all you have to do to have a presentation is carry it in your pocket – no need to lug along your laptop.
3. What makes it so effective as stand-alone media storage? Because it’s got capacity. At 4 gigabytes, you can store a lot. And in various formats too: movies, videos, photos and your regular power point presentation. Confidently pull it out of your pocket, mount, power it on, focus and you’re good to go…talk about looking impressive!
4. You don’t need to lug around its power cables. The whole idea is that you can carry it alone and make a presentation. It has a rechargeable battery that gives up to 1.5 hours of power. Time your presentation for less than that and walk into a business meeting without a huge, cumbersome carry case!
5. For improved sound quality, it comes with an inbuilt 0.5 watt speaker.
6. It comes with a bunch of accessories: A power adaptor, a USB Cable, a tripod, an Adaptor, batteries, a standard A/V Cable (RCA to Mini-Jack), an iPod Kit with Dock Connector (US only) and a bag to throw them all into. Make sure that you get all the accessories when you purchase, especially the iPod kit.
7. It will project onto any surface. All you need to do is to make sure that you have dimmed the lights enough for a clear image.
8. The image itself, once projected, can be adjusted to 60”. Again, great for small groups. And home use too!
9. At 1000:1 contrast ratio, the picture quality is clear and bright.
10. Lastly, the light source can last for up to 20,000 hours. That’s a real bargain compared to regular projectors.

Really, for a device that’s the size of a lighter, that’s a lot of power for it to pack. And at around $200, and a 1 year warranty, you’re guaranteed to get back your money’s worth.

If you need any more convincing check around the internet, there are many happy users. What’s to look out for before you buy? Only one thing: remember that it is not compatible with a computer, so don’t expect that. Other than that, you’ll be one happy customer.

Optoma EP-PK-101 Pico Pocket Projector Sale Price: $124.55

If you’re into small, handy and cool gadgets to enhance your entertainment unit, then you’re in for a treat. The Optoma EP-PK-100 PICO Pocket Projector probably the only thing that you’re missing.  It’s smaller than your camera, smaller than your smart phone and will fit easily into you palm and pocket. It is the coolest way to share photos, movies and videos.

Before you go out and get one, let’s look at why you’ll love it:

1. The image quality is great. Darken your room and project, and you will get up to 60”of image on whatever surface you choose to project on to. The picture resolution is great at 480x320. And you can project from as far as 15 feet without affecting image quality.
2. Including the battery, its really light – only 1.2 pounds. That makes it totally easy to move around with.
3. It will connect to a whole variety of your collection of cool little gadgets at home. It comes with a USB port connector that can connect to your mobile phone, your DVD player, your camera, your camcorder and your iPhone or iPod.
4. In addition to the USB connector, it comes with a kit for your Apple products – a big plus because many great little projectors wont have this kit and you will not be able to hook them up to view content on Apple devices.
5. It comes with a pair of inbuilt speakers for a whole entertainment experience.
6. It has adjustable brightness levels – gives you options to suit the kind of lighting you have in a room.
7. It comes with memory storage – you can store pictures, movies and videos for when you are ready to watch them. A revolution for Saturday night family time movies!
8. The light source lasts up to 20,000 hours – great whichever way you look at it.

As part of your home entertainment unit, this is a perfect little addition. It gives you great options while entertaining, and even when you’re alone and want to get that theatre experience. It may not be the best option for business use because its battery life is not that great, and it doesn’t hook up to a PC, but at home you can keep it plugged in and keep going. Also, it’s designed for small groups, so for maximum enjoyment, make sure that you have around 5 people at one time viewing.

For about $200 and a year’s warranty, you’ll get full value from this little projector. Make sure to buy from an authorized distributor though – you’re guaranteed that if anything is not working properly, you can have it fixed or get a refund. Also, when you purchase, double check for the Apple connection kit.

Optoma EP-PK-100 PICO Pocket Projector (Black)

We all wish that we could buy things that can last forever! I found something that does – and it’s the mini sized projector, the Mitsubishi PK20.  Well, ok, it doesn’t last forever, that maybe a bit of a stretch, but this is the first ever projector I have come across that you never have to replace the lamp – ever! That’s definitely worth something.

So I went ahead to try and find out as much about it as I could before I parted with the cool $800 for it. And I found out it can do lots:

1. It great for home use and for business too because it plugs into a whole variety of devices. It will go into your portable DVD player, PDA, your laptop computer, digital camera and your video game console. The video game console was a great one for me – gaming just became a theatre experience!
2. The other unique thing about it – there’s literally no wait-time between when you switch it on and when you get an image. You know how it is with regular projectors – put it on and take a walk, when you get back, it will probably be onJ. Anyway, no kidding, this little thing gives you image right on start-up.
3. Its small – its just 18 x 14 x 17 inches. That’s small enough compared with the other projectors in the market that you have to lug around. They call it pocket size, I would probably not be able to fit it in my pocket, but I know that moving it around would not be a hustle.
4. At those dimensions, you may be wondering about weight – very, very manageable at 4 pounds.
5. The memory on it is amazing. It’s been built real clever, with an external SD card flash memory reader for on-the-fly photo, movie or video sharing or presentations. All you have to do is store whatever you want to view in the card and just slot it in and you have the projection going.
6. It has different connectivity options for the different devices. The camera connector is different from your DVD plug in and so for all the other possible connections. This means each display comes up just as its supposed to – customized to whatever device you are using.
7. You know that feeling you get of lots of heat when you get close to a projector that’s on? Aren’t they always throwing off so much heat? Well, this one comes with an inbuilt cooling unit, part of the reason why the lamp will never need to be replaced!
8. It comes with a tripod, which makes a lot of sense. Unless a projector is lighter-sized, it’s usually hard to focus and keep in one position. With a tripod, mount, adjust and no need to keep adjusting it to refocus.
9. Image size is good – 60 inches. I found this particularly great for home use; it takes up almost all of one side of the living room wall. And the image quality is brilliant as well. It’s really bright and has great resolution. The manual says that it’s 150 times sharper than your average projector and I believe it!
10. You don’t have to have an electrical outlet to run this little gadget – it can go for quite a while without power. And it comes with an external battery you can plug in just in case you need to use it for that long.

Enough said. I think it’s great for both home and business use. Considering the fact that you will never have to replace the lamp, and all the other features it packs, it’s worth every penny.

Mitsubishi PK20 PocketProjector Sale Price: $449.99

3M has gone into the world of pocket projectors, and they have released quite a few good ones so far. The Micro Professional Projector MPRO110 is one of them – a little projector that will fit on your palm but that will be able to give you as good a presentation as you can expect to get from a pocket sized projector. It’s been called the projector for the road warrior and with good reason. The last thing you want if you travel and have to make business presentations is a projector that going to hog space among your other equipment, and add bulk and weight. This miniature projector is just 50mm in width, about 10cm long and 2 cm thick. You can start to see why it’s referred to as a road warrior must have.

Let’s get into a bit more detail:

1. It weighs 160 grams – just to get this in perspective, try weighing you mobile phone on the kitchen scaleJ.
2. Its plug and play – it doesn’t come with lots of buttons that you have to adjust once it’s connected to your device – it can automatically adjust picture and in a few seconds, you’ll have your presentation running.
3. It works with a variety of devices - your laptop, DVD player, your cell phone and PDA.
4. It projects anywhere there’s a surface.
5. Despite its size, it can project from as far as 50 inches away – a long way for such a little gadget.
6. For image size, its good too – you’ll get anything from 6” to 50”.
7. The lamp life is good, especially compared to bigger, older model projectors – you get 10,000 hours.
8. Battery life is good too – you can keep going for about 60 minutes with the battery only, no power source. If you need to have it running for longer, just keep it plugged into the power source.
9. It comes with something that many projectors don’t – you can use it in a low-light environment. Many small projectors require that it be completely dark for you to see a good image but not this one. It’s a great advantage at business presentations because your little group can take notes as you make your presentations – it’s not completely dark.
10. The image quality is crisp and clear.

As you buy though, you should know that the cables are pretty short and you may either need an extension or buy other cables – really the only thing you should look out for. Other than that, remember that its not compatible with Apple products as many pocket projectors now are.  Its warranty is also rather short – 3 months as compared to the one year or more that you’ll get with similar sized projectors.

Micro Professional Projector MPRO110 Sale Price: $135.00

Weighing in at just 5 ounces, it’s a got a whole load of features that would make it choice for a projector. The FPS Pearl Portable Cinema M3 Pocket Projector, other than looking really cool, will be able to do much that other pocket projectors don’t. It’s come in to compete with other newly released pocket projectors, and its standing its own ground quite well.

What can you expect?

1. It may seem odd that this is the first thing to mention, but it’s because so many pocket projectors have failed to get it right – it’s got a long battery life. At close to 3 hours, you can get a full movie on it without having to plug in to a power source. Most pocket projectors will do 1 hour and you have to get them recharged. At 3 hours, it will live through even quite a long business presentation without dying on you. And it means too, that you don’t have to carry power cables everywhere you go.
2. It can connect to a range of devices, all the way from your iPhone and iPod to your MP3 player, as well as your mobile, Wii, PSP and PDA. And not just these – since it comes with a number of connecting cables, all you need to do is check whether the cable can go into your device – it plays presentations in many different formats.
3. It’s got internal memory (2GB). This means all you have to do is save your presentation onto it, slip it into your pocket and your good to go. No other devices necessary.
4. It weighs only 5 ounces – don’t worry about it weighing you down.
5. It has a wide screen at 16:9. Most others will give you 4:3.
6. It supports multi-language, again not a very common feature with pocket projectors.
7. You’ll get better sound than with most – the internal speakers actually do make a difference. Many pocket projectors have internal speakers, but the quality of the sound is such that you have to hook up another set of speakers especially if you have a group presentation or want some music. The ones on the FPS Pearl Portable Cinema M3 Pocket Projector actually work quite nicely.
8. It comes with a free tripod, a plus for any projector. Tripods help to minimize fuss during presentation; once you set up your projector, you’ll not have to keep adjusting it.
9. You can return it within 3o days if you’re not happy with it.
10. It comes with a 1 year warranty.

Any cons to this little projector?  It’s a little sensitive, so you need to handle with care.

FPS Pearl Portable Cinema M3 Pocket Projector

Some things come really, really mini, and the FAVI Mini Pocket Projector is one of them. There’s several in the market now that are pocket sized or palm sized if you like, but this one is really small. Described as the must have projector for 2009, it’s probably smaller than your mobile phone. And with the FAVI Mini, size doesn’t matter, because it will do for you what literally any other giant sized, bulky projector will do and maybe more.

And here’s a list of just what:

1. It will project on any surface. So long as you have something solid to project your picture on, the FAVI will do its job.
2. It’s great for business and great for home use and who doesn’t want a little great gadget that they can use at work and at home too? At work, presentations are made easy, and at home you can have all the fun you want with movies, music and photo slides.
3. While you have your presentation or movie running, it will be absolutely silent – no “whirr” that you’ll get with other projectors, big or small.
4. You’ll never have to replace the projector lamp. If you have any experience with projectors, you know that this is a big one – lamp replacements are usually expensive. In fact many times, you might just chuck out the projector and buy a new one instead of spending a fortune on a lamp.
5. It will connect to almost any device – Laptop, PC (not common with pocket projectors by the way). Your iPod and iPhone, your cell phone, your game console, your DVD player and many others.
6. Despite that it works on so many devices, its easy to operate – almost as easy as a plug and play. With the right cable connected to your device, you’re good to go.

Let’s talk a little about the FAVI itself. What features does it have that make it so great?

1. It weighs 6 ounces; measures only 4.4” by 0.6”1.9”. Simply great for portability.
2. It can project from as far as 12 feet – a long distance for such a little projector.
3. The image size is awesome – you can get anything from 6” to 100”.
4. The picture quality is great too – it’s clear and crisp, not a common thing with pocket projectors.
5. It comes with a great number of accessories to make it as useable as possible: a removable stand, a lithium ion battery, a charger cable, video cable and VGA Cable for your PC or laptop.
6. Once on, you can go for 50 minutes without having to plug it into a power source. If you need to use it for longer, just keep it plugged in.
7. It’s got a useful product guide, a rare thing with electronics these days. It has step-by-step set-up instruction with pictures.
8. It comes with a kit for your Apple devices.
9. It comes with a 1 year warranty.

10.  Lastly, for all its great qualities, it’s almost the cheapest pocket projector you’re likely to find – about $200 only.

For such a good deal, is there anything that makes it not so good? Most gripes about it are that it came without some accessories, so go through your list and make sure to have everything.

Not quite pocket sized, but highly portable and very functional, Dell has released the Dell M109S DLP Projector. It’s great for the quick business presentation – its portable, its light and hustle free. You can use it at home too – especially great because the picture quality and colour saturation are good. What makes it compete strongly in the range of pocket projectors?

Let’s have a look at what this little projector has and what it can do:

1. It gives very good image quality. It’s crisp and clear, and especially with written word. That’s what makes it such a great tool for business presentations.
2. It weighs in at just .8 pounds, and though a bit squarish in design, will fit nicely with your laptop in your laptop bag.
3. Its image is rich in colour – Dell uses a mirror technology to reflect images several times before they are projected onto the surface so that the colours can be richer.
4. It can connect to a variety of devices – you laptop and PC, your DVD player, even your gaming console. In the pocket projector range, there are very few that can connect to a PC, so this is a plus.
5. It comes with a multi-input cable that can connect to all compatible devices. This means that you don’t have to carry around several cables with you to use it on different devices. It also means that switching from one device to another during a presentation is swift.
6. It’s got a light source that goes for 10,000 hours, great compared to bigger projectors which last only about 8000 hours or less. The light source uses mercury-free LED technology – if you’re going green, this is a projector to consider!
7. You can store presentations on it, and it comes with a facility for password protection – you don’t have to worry about other people nosing through your sensitive presentations.
8. Image size is very good – 15” to 60”, enough for a small group presentation.
9. It can project from as far as 12 feet – a good distance for a pocket projector.
10. Lastly, it’s got a warranty to last a year.

What should you look out for when you are buying the Dell M109S DLP Projector? It doesn’t come with a stand, so you’d need a kind of prop for it if you want to see picture at an angle. Also, at 50 lumens, you need to be in a completely dark room to get clear image.

Dell M109s On-the-go DLP Projector - 50 ANSI lumens - SVGA (858 x 600) - Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - Contrast Ratio 800:1 - Pocket-sized Sale Price: $426.00