Pico Projector Market Snapshot (April 2010)

Here is my first review of the Overall Pico Projector Market (including two Mini Projectors) for April 2010.

The goal is to look at pricing and performance, then group the products into broad categories.

My personal experience so far includes three projectors (listed under “Projectors” from the home page). I used many sources, including reviews, customer comments, manufacturer’s websites, and data sheets in order to form my opinion. I’m using Amazon affiliate links to display the projectors for two reasons: 1) they (potentially) makes me money, 2) they (usually) shows the current prices, making it easy to see how the market changes. If you have Adblock enabled, this report will look pretty boring. In this case, I think the ads actually ad value. The projectors I have reviewed so far are review samples (i.e. I don’t get to keep them).

Here are the categories. I could have included the laser projectors and the very latest models into one category, but since there is such a large price difference (from around $350 to $599), I made a special “ultra” high-end category. High End includes projectors that are the very latest, and unfortunately, not always shipping yet. Mainstream is where you find the projectors that have been on the market, should be in stores, available on-line and you might even have seen. Previous Generation are simply the older versions of the mainstream models. If you are looking for deals, this is the place to be! These are also the projectors you will find used on Craigslist and eBay.

1. Ultra High-End
2. High-End
3. Mainstream
4. Previous Generation
5. Mini Projectors

So, let’s get started!

If you have $500+ to spend and want the latest technology, Laser projectors are for you!

Pros: they are always in focus. This a big deal for pico projectors, since you are rarely using them against a pristine projector screen, but rather against a plain wall, closed blinds or whatever else is handy.
Cons: speckle. Speckle is like static in the image.

AAXA L1
Microvision SHOWWx

If you need a nice pico projector with the best performance, but don’t want to pay the early adopter premium, these are for you. Some may not even be shipping in volume yet, so watch out for “Backordered,” which I have discovered is often code for “Hasn’t Started Shipping Yet – but we’ll take your money anyway!”

These models are generally brighter than the “mainstream” projectors and that is the biggest reason for stepping up to this category.

AAXA P2
3M MPro150
Optoma PK201
Cinemin Swivel

If you want a pico projector, but don’t have a specific need or just want to try them out, these are a good fit. They are all second generation projectors, so the very early kinks have been worked out. They generally do what they say. The biggest thing to watch for is the low brightness. If you are serious about either showing a small image or using a dark room, then they should be fine. Dark, in this case means DARK. To put this in perspective, I would consider a movie theatre “light” because of all the exit signs, walkway lights and bright screen.

3M MPro120
AAXA P1
Optoma PK102
Aiptek V10
Aiptek V10 + Media Recorder

If you want a pico projector, but need absolutly the lowest cost, here are some older models that may be either on clearence new or can be found used (on Craigslist or eBay, for example):

3M MPro110
Optoma PK100

If you are not obsessed with the tiny size or having a battery powered projector, you can jump up to the next size class called “mini projectors.” These are like regular, full-size projectors, just small. They generally require a power source (a plug), have higher brightness than any of the pico’s and have a fan.

AAXA M1+
Optoma PK301
T20 Pocketcinema

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Tagged as: 3M, aaxa, Aiptek, cinemin swivel, l1, m1+, m1plus, Microvision, mpro100, mpro110, MPro120, MPro150, optoma, p1, p2, pk100, pk101, pk102, PK201, ShowWX, V10, wowwee