Portaprojector!

There’s a lot of bewildering terminology out there–and thus a lot of confusion–regarding this new mobile electronic device.  What we here choose to refer to as a portaprojector, goes by many other names: pocket projector, pico projector, micro projector, nano projector, cell phone projector, iPhone projector, iPod projector, etc.

This diversity of names simply reflects the newness of this class of devices, and thus the lack of consensus among manufacturers and buyers.  But make no mistake, all of these appellations refer to various formulations of the same basic idea: a portable, pocketable video projector; a device of a thousand uses, from travelling business presentations to dorm room theaters.

Portaprojectors are still very new to the market.  As time passes and they are more widely adopted, a definitive name for the product class may emerge.  But Portaprojector.com will remain your definitive source for news and reviews on these fantastic little devices.

An interesting new development in portaprojectors from a company called Light Blue Optics: their device, called the Light Touch, will project an interactive touch screen on any flat surface. From Businesswire:

Light Blue Optics today announced its first product – Light Touch™ – an interactive projector that turns any flat surface into a 10” touch screen. Light Touch™ not only frees multimedia content from the confines of the small screen, but also lets users interact with that content in the same way as they expect to on their other hand-held devices – using touch technology. Light Touch is a reference product and will be made available to Light Blue Optics’ OEM customers and other strategic partners. An invite-only product launch will take place tomorrow evening (6 Jan 2010) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 10) in Las Vegas.

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Light Touch™ incorporates LBO’s proprietary holographic laser projection technology (HLP™), creating bright, high-quality WVGA resolution video images that are always in focus. HLP™ enables extremely wide throw angles, resulting in large images being created at close proximity to the projector’s aperture. HLP can also correct for distortion and optical aberrations in software, enabling novel table-top projection. A unique optical architecture delivers a Class 1 laser safety classification making HLP™ and devices that incorporate it eye safe.

Light Touch™ includes an infra-red touch sensing system that transforms the projected image into a virtual 10” touch screen. The user can control the projector and interact with multimedia content and applications simply by touching the projected image. Light Touch™ runs Adobe Flash Lite 3.1, leveraging a large existing developer community and enabling the rapid development of innovative applications. WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity enable device to device communication and applications that connect directly to the internet such as social networking, multimedia sharing and electronic point of sale. Light Touch ™ is equipped with 2GB of onboard Flash memory and has a Micro SD card slot that supports up to 32GB. Light Touch™ can be wall powered or battery operated, with a run-time of 2 hours before recharging is required.

3M has just announced their latest pocket projector, and it seems to be a rather impressive device, with a bevy of innovative features. From PCMAG:

Today 3M launched its MPro150 Pocket Projector, the first projector in the 3M pocket projector line to feature built-in memory and removable micro SD card, as well as a full suite of applications for business and recreational use. It has a rated brightness of 15 lumens and a 2-hour battery life.

The MPro150, which Uses Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) technology, projects 8- to 50-inch still or moving images at VGA resolution and a 100 percent color gamut. The display screen has program icons to keep track of documents loaded to the MPro150; a status bar to gauge power, volume, etc.; and a favorites folder, for managing your files for presentations. The LED light source has a 20,000 hour lifetime.

Two integrated, half-watt stereo speakers help transform the MPro150 into a self-contained presentation device for business or entertainment, while an audio output jack enables connection of external speakers as well as headphones. Memory and connectivity include 1 GB internal memory, plus removable micro SD card, Mini USB port, VGA, component and composite connector. Included in the package are the lithium polymer battery, micro SD card, computer cable, video cable, RCA adapter, USB cable, AC power adapter, tripod, quick-start guide, protective sleeve. Available optional accessories for the MPro150 include: adapter cable for iPod, iPod touch, or iPhone, component video cable, presentation binder with screen, and car charger.

The 3M MPro150 Pocket Projector is expected to begin shipping in February, at an estimated street price of $395.