Thursday, December 27, 2012

This cool device lets you project the small screen of your cell phone onto the wall...a tiny projector with a big picture.

As consumers switch from laptops to tablets and smartphones, the makers of projectors are adapting.
Brookstone has come out with an HDMI Pocket Projector, which connects to multiple devices through an HDMI cable for a variety of uses, including presentations, videos, slide shows and games.
Measuring 3.8 inches by 3.9 inches, the compact projector is about the size of a thick piece of French toast. But Brookstone found room for a powerful Digital Light Processing chip from Texas Instruments, which it claims can project high-definition images up to 1080p at 60 inches diagonal on a flat surface.

The projector, which costs $300, comes with a three-inch HDMI cable, and micro and mini adapters. It has a rechargeable battery, which offers up to two hours of playback on a charge.
I tested the projector with my iPhone, which, like all Apple products, needed a special adapter. The connection was pretty simple, and within seconds, the screen of my iPhone was projected on the wall of my living room. The projector does not replicate the screen of all devices, however.
I tried the projector on a variety of applications, including playing with apps and watching YouTube clips and episodes of “The Simpsons” and “Planet Earth.” In each instance, the picture was remarkably clear and the colors bright from about three feet away, but even at eight feet the picture maintained most of its clarity. The device was surprisingly quiet when running and cool to the touch.
The only downside was the sound, which was weak and tinny coming from the projector’s speakers. The projector has an auxiliary jack that would enable the use of external speakers, but that defeats the purpose of having a pocket projector. You want it to work as a single unit; if you need to carry attachments, you might as well go back to using a laptop.


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