Mitsubishi has announced the upcoming availability of a new breed of truly portable projection devices: portable projectors.
At just one pound, this new palm-sized technology opens up a whole new universe of opportunities for future projectors new applications and use.
While this new entry from Mitsubishi remains too dim for traditional projector applications, "it's just right for quick, easy, and temporary setup in a dim room for watching a movie, playing video games, or giving a presentation to two or three people".
Though the new Mitsubishi projector will start to sell commercially only in a short while, this is one of the first entries in the new field of portable projectors.
This new type of projectors may not indeed be suitable for traditional presentation applications, but it definitely opens up a whole new set of possibilities for new and innovative uses.
The new portable projector by Mitsubishi is small by definition: with a footprint of only 1.9 by 4.9 by 3.9 inches (HWD), is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and, at one pound, light enough to be carried around without becoming a burden. Note that the one-pound weight does not include the external power block or optional battery.
The key engineering feat behind the PocketProjector's small size is the projection engine which combines DLP technology with LEDs.
Differently than most traditional DLP projectors, which depend on a spinning wheel to color white light in the primary colors red, green, and blue the new PocketProjector from Mitsubishi utilizes three LEDs that generate a sequentially colored light from red to green to blue.
Also, Mitsubishi estimates that the LEDs utilized will last an average of 20,000 hours, far exceeding the 3,000-hour life of typical projector lamps.
The Mitsubishi PocketProjector also sports a native SVGA 800-by-600 resolution, and full connections set including standard computer video output, S-Video, and composite video input. This allows for the PocketProjector to be a suitable friend both for small presentations as well as for watching together a movie, a live sport event or to engage in a video game battle over a big enough battlefield.
Setup is rather straightforward and the first reviews out there suggest to replace the default 0.65-pound external power block with the optional 0.75-pound rechargeable battery ($200 street), which is rated at 2.5 hours. Not a lot but certainly enough for many applications.
According to PC Magazine Labs the PocketProjector is capable of projecting an image as large as 40 inches diagonally and in a dimly lit room up to 26 inches.
Street price is estimated at $799.00.
