Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung‘s efforts with the Galaxy Beam were valiant, but the device itself disappeared into the abyss with no real impact on the market. However, Samsung is trying it again, but this time they’re making a dedicated Pico Projector accessory built to be compatible with the company’s Galaxy line of products.

The Samsung EAD-R10 mini-projector is currently available for sale in South Korea, and all you needs to do to get it up and running is connect a MHL-supported Galaxy device to the projector and then you’ll be off to the races, projecting images with up to 20ANSI lumens and an nHD resolution (640×360).

The projector accessory features a loudspeaker, a focus control button, HDMI-out, and a 1650mAh battery, with a price of around $220. The device is about as big as a Galaxy S III, and it’s only about a half of an inch think, so it can easily fit into a pocket for portability purposes. It also has a full-size HDMI-in port so you can also plug it into laptops and other devices.

The device promises two hours of non-stop projecting, and hopefully that’s true, since most movies are usually an hour and a half to two hours long. We’re not sure if this new accessory will be hitting other countries or not, but even if it did land in the US, we’re not sure if the device would really take off, especially considering the $200+ price tag.

[via Android Community]

Samsung unveils Pico Projector accessory for Galaxy products is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When we talk about pico projectors, this particular niche market seems to be having trouble of breaking into mainstream consciousness. The thing is, how many of us actually need to make presentations to a small group of people in a room at a whim? If that is the case, carrying a pico projector makes sense, but a tablet would also be able to serve its purpose – albeit less effectively than having information on your presentation projected onto the wall or a viewable surface. The thing is, pico projectors lack the brightness level and battery life to last the distance, and the AAXA P300 pico projector intends to address at least one of the issues mentioned.

For starters, the AAXA P300 pico projector will feature a 300 lumens brightness which places it at the higher echelon for its device segment, not to mention carrying the ability to throw out images and videos at a far higher resolution count that most of the other pico projectors. I am referring to a 720p resolution, although its 75 minute battery life does leave plenty to be desired despite being in line of expectations for a pico projector. Still, it can be said to be an achievement considering how the brightness level has increased.

At point of publishing, the AAXA P300 from AAXA Technologies is deemed to be the “world’s brightest battery-powered pico projector” – anyone out there willing to dispute this statement? Share your thoughts in the comments below. What about the hardware specifications crammed into the AAXA P300? Well, it will come with a revolutionary new pico optical engine that does 300 peak lumens at a high definition (HD) resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, running on Texas Instruments’ DLP Technology.

Not only that, the Vibrant Color LED technology which is used to deliver dazzling color quality also touts an operating life of over 15,000 hours, where is said to be able to generate a viewing experience of up to 120”. A robust ARM processor runs underneath the hood, allowing it to handle high resolution 720p video, picture, and picture slide-show playback. We would advise you to hook this up to a power supply if you intend to watch movies with it, in addition to connecting a decent sound system since the dual 1-watt speakers would not be able to fill up a room with tub-thumping audio. So, any takers?

Product Page

[ AAXA P300 pico projector comes with superior specifications copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

So you think that the market for a portable mini projector is dead? Well, I myself did see it to be that way at some point in time, but perhaps I might be persuaded otherwise this time around with the announcement of the Lightplay projector from PhoneSuit. This is no ordinary pico projector, simply for the fact that it runs off the Android operating system from Google, something that you would normally see in smartphones, tablets and now, the digital camera (thanks to Samsung’s Galaxy Camera, of course). Well, the Lightplay Android-powered projector would certainly be one of the very first in such a market, and if it actually takes off in a big way, we could be looking at a new niche market.

Of course, being an Android-powered device, the Lightplay will definitely be able to hook up to the Google Play marketplace, giving you access to thousands upon thousands of software, apps, games, and content. Expect to enjoy hugely popular apps such as Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Netflix, and Facebook amongst others on the Lightplay itself. Of course, it will need some kind of hardware underneath the hood to make sure that your projecting Android experience will be a smooth one, and thankfully, the Lightplay comes with a 1GHz processor, where it is accompanied 8GB of internal memory, a Wi-Fi connection, a rechargeable battery, and a slew of accessories.

Being small enough to fit into the palm of one’s hand, most pockets or bags, the Lightplay’s optical engine is capable of projecting a high resolution display of up to 80-inches across diagonally onto most surfaces. Apart from that, remember how we talked about the included accessories? The Lightplay comes with a wireless keyboard and motion controller with 3 axis gyroscope technology so that you can make use of natural hand swipes and movement in order to match the touch interface that you have come to know and love on the Android platform.

The Lightplay can be pre-ordered now for $499 a pop, where shipping will commence from November 1st onwards.
[ PhoneSuit announces Android-powered Lightplay projector copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

While scanning through Panasonic’s booth at CEATEC 2012, we couldn’t help but notice a prototype of its world’s slimmest 100-lumen laser projector module (or OIU aka optical imaging unit, as the company prefers), which can beam out an 800 x 480 picture. It’s not clear when exactly we’ll see this 75mm-thick device getting into consumers’ hands, but there’s certainly room for improvement for the image quality. Likewise, the scan-type OIU (resolution at about 400 x 300) next to the slim projector is far from ready for mass consumption, as the company is hoping to actually shrink it down and integrate it into mobile phones. That said, the fact that this technology doesn’t require focusing makes it worth the wait — the light doesn’t go through an LCD filter like ordinary projectors do, and instead, it’s a single laser beam scanning out the picture, hence the name.

Also shown along side were the optical bay drive pico projector that’s already being offered by Fujitsu, as well as the PJ-SJ25U 854 × 480 DLP pico projector which was released in August this year. While the latter’s image quality was rather impressive even under the strong ambient lighting, we struggle to appreciate the ¥56,800 or $730 price tag. Anyhow, pricing is just a matter time, as always.

Filed under: Displays

Panasonic’s 75mm-thick, 100-lumen laser projector module claims world’s thinnest title originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Granted, a magical little smartphone is all the gadgetry most casual gaming fans require to get their fix, but when LaserVR’s Travis Haagen popped by our informal meetup at Portland’s Ground Kontrol to talk about Alpha Range, we couldn’t help but be impressed by the project. The game has a classic Asteroids / Space Invaders feeling to it, but Alpha Range is more than just another bit of mobile nostalgia. For one thing, you’re going to need a lot more than just your phone, including a projector (pico will do fine for your needs) and a tripod. You project the game field onto a the wall (in the case of Ground Kontrol, we taped up a few pieces of paper, which worked fine) and interact with objects using a laser point.

When your iOS device is facing the wall, its camera monitors the field, using computer vision algorithms to detect your laser shots in real time, finally discovering a novel use for laser points that doesn’t involve annoying rock bands or cats. Hitting the circular enemies will cause them to vaporize or perform other functions like opening up a black hole, depending on their color. The game was pretty responsive and incredibly addictive — in fact, we were a bit bummed when we finally had to put the laser point down. Such fun isn’t cheap, however — it’ll run you $8 from iTunes, on top of the price of all the accessories involved it getting it off the ground. Still, it’s nice to see an innovative take like this on a classic gaming scenario.

We’ve got a video of the Star Trek: The Next Generation-inspired game after the jump.

Continue reading Alpha Range iOS game requires a pico projector and laser pointer, we go hands-on (video)

Filed under: Gaming

Alpha Range iOS game requires a pico projector and laser pointer, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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