Hasta La Gadget!

Life can sure be confusing for a teenager in this fast-paced techno-world we live in. Without the proper guidance, a kid could find himself unplugging someone’s life support, or going to jail for borrowing the neighbor’s WiFi. Hell, if old man General Tommy Franks (retired) has his way you won’t even be able to hang out behind the Safeway and enjoy a six pack with your fellow juvenile delinquents without being tracked via GPS! So it warms our hearts when we do hear of a youngster that’s bucked the odds and done something constructive. For example, a 13-year-old named David Baker has received a patent for his Light Beam Delivery System, a pico projector that fits in a pen casing, and works by combining three RGB lasers with an optics assembly that creates a light ray that is then shined through a rotating disk to the screen. “When the light goes through the lenses,” he explains, “they take each light pixel and shine it onto a screen or wall. The lenses run back and forth until it fills the screen. This process repeats 30 times per second to make it appear as though you’re looking at a solid image and not a series of pixels, and you have the image projected.” And where did he find the inspiration for all of this? “I was sitting in church thinking about how to make projectors easier to handle and I just thought of it,” he says. Here’s to daydreaming during mass!

[Via About Projectors]

Filed under: Displays

Teen invents pen-sized pico projector while your kid’s busy beating up honor roll students originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We first spotted WowWee’s Cinemin Swivel pico projector back at CES, when it was announced along with the Stick and Station models. If you forgot, the little DLP guy boasts 480 x 360 resolution, an adjustable 90-degree hinge (so that you can easily project onto the ceiling), and a three-hour battery life. It’s just gotten some official release and pricing information for the UK, anyway, where it’s going to make its first appearance this September. The Cinemin Swivel will retail for £349 (about $571). There’s no word on release or pricing for the Stick or Station yet, but we’ll keep you posted. Until then, check out the gallery of shots we got back at CES.

Gallery: WowWee Cinemin Swivel, Stick, and Station pico PJs hands-on

Filed under: Displays

WowWee Cinemin Swivel gets UK launch, pricing info originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We had the pleasure of checking out BenQ’s Joybee GP1 pocket projector back in March at CeBIT, and now the bantam beamer is just about ready to ship here in the States. Starting now (like, right now), interested consumers can plop down $499 in order to secure a place in line, ensuring that you’ll be one of the first on the block to take possession of the planet’s first LED-based PJ with a USB reader. Specs wise, you’ll find a DLP projection system kicking out an 858 x 600 resolution, 100 ANSI lumens, a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, a built-in 2-watt speaker and VGA / component / composite inputs. Five bills sounds a little steep for what it is, but hey, it’s a 1.4 pound projector — did you really expect it to be economical?

Filed under: Displays

BenQ’s $499 Joybee GP1 pocket projector up for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 May 2009 19:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Outside of Samsung’s W7900 Show and a few nondescript prototypes, the projector phone sector has been largely stagnant. Thankfully, it seems at least one no-name company is looking to make a name for itself by developing yet another entrant. The LitPhone, designed and showcased by China’s own SCT Optronics, is a GSM handset that sports CMMB TV tuning, a touchscreen and a built-in projector with an undisclosed native resolution. Furthermore, the company also demonstrated its USB-powered PCLit mobile projector at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, which debuted alongside Join Technology’s JP77 and WE3 Technology’s WE8626. Have a glance at the whole bundle down in the read link — just don’t get those hopes too high about a US release date anytime soon.

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Home Entertainment, Portable Video

LitPhone projector phone, new pocket PJs surface in Hong Kong originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every week we consistently get another couple new pico projectors to tell you about, and since the market for these things can’t possibly be big enough to support all these releases the only possible explanation is that people are continually losing the things. Assuming that’s the case, Ever Win’s EWP1000 could be your next misplaced projector. As such it has fairly forgettable specs, including 10 lumens of brightness, VGA (640 x 480) resolution, projection sizes of between 5- and 50-inches, and about 80 minutes of battery life on a charge. About the only thing distancing this from the competition is its Ferengi-inspired styling, giving it a more notable look than most others and possibly making it perfect for your next Tongo party. But, with no price or availability, we won’t blame you if you don’t remember this tomorrow either.

Continue reading Ever Win’s EWP1000 is another pico projector

Filed under: Displays

Ever Win’s EWP1000 is another pico projector originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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