There are tons of media players on the market, and a number of relatively inexpensive “pico-projectors” as well, but here’s a fun gadget that combines both into one cheap and compact little package that costs less than $100.
The USB Music Projector has a deceiving name, as it doesn’t project music at all – it projects still images and video, of course. Measuring just 2.67″ x 2.44″ x 0.78″, and weighing just 84g, this portable media player is small enough to be carried in your pocket or worn around your neck, but has a tiny projector built into it that can be used for impromptu video playback.
The gadget uses an LED light source rated for 20,000 hours of use, and can play video files in MP4 (H.264), MOV (H.264), AVI (H.264, MPEG 4, MJPEG). It’s also an audio player, with support for MP3, WMA and WAV files, and has a built-in speaker in addition to a headphone jack. It’s not clear how long you can run the projector on a single charge, but it does ship with an AC adapter for longer viewing sessions.
Storage is provided using a microSD(HC) memory card, and you can also connect to a PC using a USB cable to “synchronize projection ” whatever that means. I’m assuming they’re talking about some sort of display mirroring, perhaps through DisplayLink – or possibly just a PC remote control app for use with still images on the projector.
Specs aren’t provided for the projector itself, but I’d guess the resolution and brightness aren’t anything special, and you most certainly will need a darkened room to watch video. That said, the USB Music Projector sells for just $99(USD), which seems like a bargain in my book. You can grab one over at Brando if you’d like to check it out.
When it comes to the world of pico projectors, there are not too many notable players in the market. I remember when 3M came out with their version a couple of years ago – that was functional enough, but was the world ready for such a peripheral? It seems that when you fast forward to today, most folks do not even carry around a pico projector as there does not seem to be a real need in the business and corporate worlds. Well, there is always room for improvement, and this is where General Imaging jumps right into the picture with their handheld pico projector known as the ipico.
A bunch of smart folks over at the North Carolina State University has managed to come up with what they think could change the way liquid crystal projectors work – almost doubling the light efficiency in those projectors, to be exact. This might eventually spell the end of huge and possibly noisy cinema gear. At this point in time, conventional technology will pass unpolarized light through a filter, although the current process is said to be so inefficient that nearly 50% of the energy is wasted in order to keep things cool.
