Pico projectors are growing more prevalent.  These are tiny little projectors that fit in the palm of your hand.  We’re now on the 2nd generation, and as quality improves, these things could be everywhere.

On the lower end of the scale is the Syba RCG projector.   Well, lower end on the price scale at least at about $100.  Don’t know about quality yet, it might be a winner.  It measures 3.75×3.125×1.75in and weighs 0.42 lbs, which is pretty teeny tiny.  It puts out 10 lumens at native 640×480 (VGA), but supports up to 1024×768.  Suggested projection distance is 1 meter for a screen size of 25″, but it can project up to a 40″ image at 1.5m.  It takes inputs from composite video (mini AV jack) and PC VGA (D-sub 15-pin) connection.  Powered by standard AC cord or plug-in battery pack.  Looks like this thing is perfect for plugging into your laptop for presentations, or for entertainment on the go.

More noticeable with their national ad campaign is the LG Expo.   This is a Windows based smartphone on the AT&T network (it has a tie-in with Avatar, the new James Cameron movie;  relation: unknown).  Snazzy new feature is the Smart Sensor, a scanner on the front of the phone that takes your fingerprint.  Only you can get into that phone, providing ultimate security and hopefully deterring theft.  I mean, what’s a mugger gonna say, “Gimme your phone and your finger”?  Even snazzier new feature?  A freakin’ projector!  That’s right, a projector on your phone!  That’s amazing technology if you ask me.  It says it can project up to 40″ and puts out about 10 lumens.  Plenty big picture, but it’s gotta be dark.  Cool, if you ask me, but that coolness comes at a price.  For one thing, the phone is $200.  The pico projector is optional.  It just clips on there.  That part’s not out yet and that’s gonna set you back another $180.  Whew!  That’s an expensive phone!

Then there’s the 3M MPro120.  It goes for about $300 on Amazon.  Probably the best image quality you can get out of a pico projector.  It puts out 12 lumens at a screen size of 8″-50″ in VGA, SVGA, XGA, and WXGA (1280×800).  There’s built-in sound that comes out of 2 half-watt speakers.  4 hour battery life, 2 hours in hign brightness mode.  The life of the LED lamp is about 20,000 hours with no lamp replacement, so I guess it’s disposable.  Once it craps out, time to get a new one.  Looks pretty nice, though.

Here’s hoping we get our hands on one of these to do an in-depth review.

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