Pico and Micro Projector sales expected to grow exponentially

Pico projectors need a price drop and boost in performance in order to be a threat against the traditional home theater projector states Digitimes. It's a bold statement, but the increased use of portable electronics makes this fact undeniable.

While pico projectors are certainly nothing new, there's still some work to be done in a number of departments before they start flying off the shelves like hotcakes - namely brightness in non-pitch black areas and production cost.

The reduced weight and size is appealing for business users and mobile professionals who have the budget to splurge on one of these devices. The fact that they will eventually fit into a coat pocket is an even crazier thought, but is very likely given how fast tech develops these days.

If pico projectors become standard, we can probably expect to see add-ons like wireless connectivity as well as a plethora of other features to help connect them to existing AV systems.

One company that has been making headlines in this field is AAXA Technologies. You can check them out at http://www.aaxatech.com.

Sapphire LED Mini-Projector 101

Sapphire announces new LED Mini-Projector 101
SAPPHIRE Technology, best known for its ATI technology based graphics cards, launches the Mini Projector 101. This pocket sized projector houses the latest super bright multi-chip LED technology, with a lamp in the is good for 20,000 hours. The Mini Projector 101 weighs only 103 grams and a protective slide covers the lens to avoid damage in transit or when not in use. The pico package comes complete with charger, tripod, video leads for PC VGA, composite video and an approved iPod / iPhone adapter...


PRESS SUMMARY
Details and specifications of the Sapphire Mini-Projector 101SAPPHIRE Technology, the No.1 brand worldwide for graphics cards based on ATI technology from AMD, has just launched an exciting new product that will appeal to a wide range of users, young and old, private and professional.

The SAPPHIRE Mini Projector 101 is a pocket sized projector that packs an image punch way above its tiny weight. Taking graphics input from any PC or laptop, video from any digital camera or media source, or connecting directly with an adapter to iPod and iPhone, the Mini Projector can cast an image from 7 inches across up to 65 inches across on a suitable surface.

Share those pictures with mates - without them squinting at a tiny screen on your ‘phone! Stream those YouTube videos onto your wall! Watch those TV programs you missed, anywhere! Show business colleagues your visual ideas for a campaign without the need for a media equipped meeting room! The possibilities are endless …

Based on the latest super bright multi-chip LED technology, the lamp in the SAPPHIRE Mini Projector is good for 20,000 hours – no worries about changing bulbs then! And you don't need to sit in the dark, either, the SAPPHIRE Mini Projector lamp is rated at 14 lumens – giving good image quality at 640 x 480 resolution in normal or slightly subdued room lighting. Battery life is good too – over 2 hours on a single charge, good enough for all those holiday photos or a whole movie – or you can run direct from the adapter/charger.

Truly pocket sized, the SAPPHIRE Mini Projector 101 weighs only 103 grams, and a protective slide covers the lens to avoid damage in transit or when not in use. The package is complete with charger, tripod, video leads for PC VGA, composite video (digital cameras and some ‘phones) and an approved iPod / iPhone adapter.

So just plug in and play – shine and share ! .

From http://www.dcviews.com/press/sapphire-pico-101.htm

Aaxa M2 Micro Projector

AAXA Technologies has recently released their M2 projector which produces an impressive 110lumens with a native resolution of 1024x768. This projector is further enhanced with features like HDMI, a very nice addition indeed. A quick overview of the features in this projector are:

• 110lumens
• XGA 1024x768 resolution
• 2000:1 contrast ratio
• 15000 hour lamp life
• RBG LED light source
• HDMI, VGA, and RCA connections
• 1GB onboard memory with PMP
  
• Stereo speakers
• USB and SD Card readers

For the casual user, this projector is an excellent alternative to projectors that cost 5-10x more than this price. It is small and easily portable, yet can perform like the bigger projectors. Here are some videos found on the web:

Budget Pico Projector

Optoma releases the PK-100, a pico projector under $200~! You get what you pay for with this unit though, honestly, it would be worth $20 more to get the Aaxatech P1.

3M goes LCoS w/ MPro120

3M has released their 2nd generation pico projector, the MPro120. The most notable feature of this is that they've switched from DLP to LCoS.

Asides from that, not much has changed from the MPro110.

AAXA Technologies is pleased to introduce the AAXA P2 Pico Projector - the brightest pico projector on the market. Designed for the professional user, the AAXA P2 micro projector employs an ultra-efficient optical engine design, new LCoS chip, and high-power LED to achieve a stunning 33 lumen output at 800x600 resolution.

The AAXA P2 projector brings true business presentation capabilities to the micro projector market. With its ultra-efficient optical engine, the P2 can produce excellent quality images even in less-than-dark environments.* When used in darker environments the P2 can produce spectacular images up to 80".

Professional features include a direct VGA connector supporting up to 1280x720 resolution for laptop connection, an infrared remote control, dual 0.5 watt stereo speakers, and on-board gamma correction. Additional features include AAXA's popular MP4 player capable of decoding of video, audio, and images (MP4, MP3, WMA, AVI, WMV, JPG, GIF, TXT), 1GB onboard memory, and a microSD slot capable of reading up to 4GB cards.

The P2 is packaged into a pint-sized unit measuring 4.3" x 2.3" x 1" and weighs in at only 260 grams(**). The P2 projector easily drops into any pocket or brief case and is fully portable and battery powered for true business flexibility. Additional accessories allow the P2 to connect to Apple iPhone/iPod, Microsoft Zune, Sony Playstation Portable (PSP), and a wide range of cellphones from Nokia, LG, Samsung, and HTC.

Battery life is rated at 60 minutes (standard battery), with optional "super-thin" 35 minute and 180 minute batteries available.

MSRP is $349.00 and pre-orders will begin shipping on August 15, 2009

Cinemin WoWee~!!!!!

1 new entrant into the micro-projector realm that I've noticed is Wowee's Cinemin (Cinnamon, get it? har har har) projector.

WooWee’s Cinemin Swivel is a portable multimedia pico projector based on TI’s DLP projection technology. The projector features 480×320 resolution, 10L brightness and 1000:1 contrast ratio. As the name suggests, the Cinemin Swivel has an adjustable 90-degree hinge for ceiling projection.

At the size of a candy-bar phone, the projector can produce up to 60-inch image. Its built-in battery offers over 2 hours of operation. The Cinemin Swivel works with iPod players, iPhone as well as Flip camcorder, PMP and other multimedia products.