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3M Launches First Pocket Projector
Posted by
kdawson
on Sun Sep 14, 2008 08:31 PM
from the gadget-holy-grail dept.
from the gadget-holy-grail dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Popsci.com has a writeup on 3M's new pocket projector, the 3M MPro 110, set to launch on September 30. 'In a dark room, it could project a big enough image to be the ultimate cheap-o home theater. The projector will sell for a mere $359. It doesn't have a speaker, so you'll have to get that separately. But really, how good could a microscopic speaker jammed into this thing sound, anyway?'"
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Submission: 3M Launches first Pocket Projector by Anonymous Coward
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They also have... (Score:5, Funny)
a lollipop with a Batman projector built-in, in case one has the need to summon the Caped Crusader. I saw it at 7-11.
Re:They also have... (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Am I the only person ... (Score:2)
No.
As I was scrolling down toward the bottom of the page, I saw that and quickly scrolled back up thinking "Huh? Pocket protector"? (Well, it is "News for Nerds", right?)
Re:They also have... (Score:5, Funny)
I read it as "rocket projector", and I thought it was amazingly awesome. Like, a projector that flies across the room, shows a 1 second video, and then kills the C.F.O.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
First line in TFA:
"That's projector, not protector. But geeks will rejoice nonetheless."
only 640x480 (Score:3, Interesting)
Not going to be much of a cheap hometheater setup at that resolution.
Re:only 640x480 (Score:5, Insightful)
That's why they called it a Pocket Projector rather than a Home Theater Projector.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
It's a step. Projectors for decent home theater are priced pretty nicely now. I think a good 720p projector can be had for about $1000 these days.
Re: (Score:2)
Not going to be much of a cheap hometheater setup at that resolution.
As others have pointed out, it's a pocket projector, not a HT projector. Also DVD resolution is only about 720 x 480 dropping down to 352 x 480 at LP. While not perfect, nothing to sneeze at considering the price. It would be ideal to catch a vid while camping.
Re:only 640x480 (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, the ideal while camping is to have no electronics at all apart from a cellphone for emergencies only. IMHO, that is.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, the ideal while camping is to have no electronics at all apart from a cellphone for emergencies only. IMHO, that is.
That may be your ideal, however that doesn't make it the ideal.
Camping serves many purposes, top among which is it's the cheapest form of lodging even if in the states there are heavy restrictions on doing it.
Another purpose it serves is recreation. There are a ton of natural wonders that either don't have services near by, or are just outside the reach of civilization. This may include lakes, hot springs, beaches, mountains, valleys, and certainly many others. However, this doesn't exclude camping for i
Re:only 640x480 (Score:5, Informative)
Nope. 720 Ã-- 480 for NTSC and 720 Ã-- 576 for PAL.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Isn't that for widescreen? Don't the 720 pixels get squished down to 640 for 4:3?
Re: (Score:2)
What is recorded 4:3?
Even if you have an old tv, get the theater version, "fullscreen" versions cut out a lot.
Re:only 640x480 (Score:5, Informative)
No.
720 x 576 is 4:3 PAL where the pixel aspect ratio is 1.06
16:9 PAL is 720 x 576 where the pixel aspect ratio is 1.42
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
And only 11 inches across
That's under bright lights. They said it was a lot larger with the lights turned down, but they didn't say how big of a picture it was.
Re: (Score:2)
I think I'll stay with my Epson projector.
While it's neat that this stuff is small, it's really not anything close to what's required for true home theatre projection. Even my old Benq projector didn't do so well at a native res of 800x600.
I really don't see the need to wank on about how this is a cheap alternative to home theatre projection. You'd be better off with a CRT TV over this device.
First? Not a chance (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, wait that was pocket projectors? I'm sorry. I was only off my one consonant.
Re:First? Not a chance (Score:4, Funny)
Er, 3M makes rocket fuel? Definitely news for nerds.
Oh, wait. That was pocket projectors. I'm sorry. I was only off by one consonant.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re:First? Not a chance (Score:5, Funny)
We've had them for a long, long time.
Oh, wait that was pocket projectors? I'm sorry. I was only off my one consonant.
I know! 350 bucks and I STILL have ink on my shirt!
That'll teach me to glance at the subject line.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I'm sorry. I was only off my one consonant.
Make that two now.
Re: (Score:2)
Not if I'm happy to see you.
damn nerds (Score:2)
Almost won the UberGeek award (Score:3, Funny)
Anybody else read that as "3M Pocket Protector"? Because with those specs, that would be AWESOME!
Re:Almost won the UberGeek award (Score:4, Funny)
Anybody else read that as "3M Pocket Protector"? Because with those specs, that would be AWESOME!
3M pocket protectors have been with us for many years. To make one, take the sleve from a 3M floppy (5-1/4in) and fold it in half. Fill the front with pens and the back with your calculator and you are all set.
Parent
Even older were IBM pocket protectors. (Score:3, Informative)
- Staple two IBM tab cards together along one narrow and about 3/4 of two long sides.
- Fold down the top of one card.
- Stuff in pocket.
HR Violation (Score:5, Funny)
I tried showing one of my female colleagues my pocket projector.
Anyone hiring?
Specs (Score:5, Informative)
The article didn't list any specs but a little digging found this:
3M MPRO 110M
640x480 Resolution
LCoS Technology [wikipedia.org] (supposedly similar to DLP)
VGA and composite in
150g weight
Considering how small 1080p DLP chips are, and now that they're using LEDs as lightsources, I was suprised that a DLP model wasn't first to market...
That said, 3M has a smaller model for cell phone use: here [pocket-lint.co.uk].
Re:Specs (Score:5, Informative)
Spoke too soon. I knew some friends at TI had mentioned seeing prototypes of compact DLP projectors. Seems they're already marketing them to cell phone companies:
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/9849/10873/hands-on-dlp-mobile-phone-projector.phtml [pocket-lint.co.uk]
Soon... very soon we'll have our tricorders!
Parent
Smart phone presentations? (Score:3, Insightful)
Something like this would be great when combined with a Windows Mobile version of Powerpoint or an iPhone version of Keynote. One more step towards eliminating the need for laptops. (Next up, docking stations for smart phones.)
Smart phone interface! (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Put it in a laptop? (Score:2, Insightful)
It'd be a nice laptop feature to have though, once the technology matures a little bit.
Good for DIY multitouch setups (Score:4, Informative)
Good for DIY multitouch setups
http://www.google.com.au/search?q=multitouch [google.com.au]
Who needs sound? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Who needs sound? (Score:5, Funny)
Who needs sound when you project goatse from your cellphone on a crowded bus?
Who needs a projector when you can setup a wifi hotpoint with everything redirected to a local cache of goatse.
Parent
What's their market for this thing? (Score:2)
I can't imagine what the market would be for this thing. Even if the brightness isn't a problem, the resolution is too low for almost any worthwhile use I can imagine. 800x600 is about the lowest I would want for even the simplest tasks.
Re: (Score:2)
I can't imagine what the market would be for this thing. Even if the brightness isn't a problem, the resolution is too low for almost any worthwhile use I can imagine. 800x600 is about the lowest I would want for even the simplest tasks.
Well, I can "imagine" LP resolution DVDs, even regular SP dvd with some down sampling. I can really imagine a simple power point presentation being MORE than adequate at 640x480. Not that you don't have a point. WinXP hardly supports 640x480 anymore, in fact it's a bit of a pain if you want to output to a TV.
April Fools to Reality in 6 months (Score:2)
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/01/1342225
Microscopic Speakers Sound Great (Score:5, Informative)
SoundAndVision.com (_Stereo Review_ magazine's website) is giving audiophile raves to a $180, 5.6 inch, 9.5 ounce portable speaker called Foxl [soundandvisionmag.com]. So the answer to the question is that for about $500, a projector and the Foxl could make a microscopic kit into a hugely entertaining movie theater.
Killing things (Score:2)
I know people are complaining about the resolution, but honestly, the only time I want a bigger screen than my monitor is to play huge Quake III Arena on my wall.
(Yes, I know, but it suits my gaming needs. So sue me.)
nothing really new here (Score:3, Informative)
Re:nothing really new here (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, as another poster pointed out, what is groundbreaking is that this is the first uber-small projector to actually be "for sale". As I understand it, all the other "small" projectors are expensive prototypes used in large corporate peeing contests at trade-shows.
Chevy Volt anyone?
Parent
so now that this is the ultimate projector... (Score:2)
does that mean regular projectors will come down drastically in price?
didn't think so.
Seriously isn't that how it works? New tech is way expensive and old tech drops in price? This pocket projector seems downright reasonable for what it is.
uh.. nice.. but kinda useless (Score:2)
I'm trying real hard to see how useful this gadget will be, I mean, up to 11 inches widescreen right now is kinda of .. "ahem" limiting. Laptops typically have 14 inches screens and up anyways, so, I can't see how this mini projector can compete with that.
But I suspect that when they can do something like 1280 x 1024, where you get about 3 feet of widescreen view , then it will be truly a useful device to use for meetings.
Cell Phone Terminal Services Client (Score:2, Interesting)
With this and a virtual keyboard [virtual-la...yboard.com] and mouse, you can carry your laptop in your pocket.
What, your laptop doesn't fit in your pocket? Would you settle for a cell phone running something like ThinStation [sourceforge.net] and a cellular-internet hookup? Remember, "The network is the computer."
Re: (Score:2)
...because I'm pretty sure 11 inches wouldn't be very useful.
That's what she said!!!
Uh, what were we talking about?
Re: (Score:2)
Me too! I thought it was a historic article and about the first one from the 1930's or whenever.