3M reveals MPro110 pocket projector: ships this month

[spookshow]

Small, lightweight and flexible: With the Micro Professional projector 3M MPro 110 sets projection specialist 3M mainly on the target group of professionals, who often are the presentations but do not take so much technology.

But for multimedia technikaffinen friend is this innovation for many situations an interesting alternative to small displays many digital devices: Depending on the lighting conditions of 3M brings MPro-art LED technology an image diagonal up to 1.27 meters (50 inches) on the wall.
A quick presentation or even the joy of a podcast in the hotel rooms on a small display in need - the MPro110 a reliable partner mobile projection applications.

With 152 grams and a size of 11.5 x 5 x 2.2 cm (L / B / H), the Micro projector, however, the dimensions and weight of a commercially smartphones. A cooling by fans is not necessary to its operation was absolutely silent possible. The lithium-ion battery is the boy even more mobile: up to 1 hour, the MPro110 also without electricity clear. That makes him especially for use on the spontaneous interesting: A business contact, which is coincidentally, an interesting theme to the man in conversation, and you would like to visualize spontaneously: The MPro 110 allows its owner quickly and projecting anywhere. Operating he is ready after a few seconds - and just as quickly it disappears again in the jacket pocket.

"As a leader in mobile projection technology, 3M with the MPro110 a new market segment begun," says Friedrich Saemann, Verantwo rtl icher for projection in the area of 3M Canada Co. "People are becoming more mobile," said F. further Saemann "and thus increases the demand for mobile applications of high-quality multimedia devices.

In addition, the MPro110 particularly anschlussfreudig: With a full VGA port convinced it when working with a laptop and his video connection (RCA) opened him the wide world of digital applications. Digital cameras, iPods, games consoles or mobile phones with video output - the boy from the home 3M beamt what the user wants: Photos, videos, PowerPoint presentations or even a video game to relax.
The market introduction of the 3M MPro110 is for early October 2008. On the website of the manufacturer (www.3M-Minibeamer.de) already gives you for the first devices to register and will in the coming weeks about the reference opportunities. The estimated recommended retail price is between 398.00 and 349.00 Euro Euro.

About 3M

As forschendes multi-technology company 3M produced thousands of innovative products for different markets. Particular strength is the diverse and often combined use of more than 40 own technology platforms, which are always new application solutions for customers. With approximately 24 billion U.S. dollar turnover per year worldwide 3M employs about 75,000 people and has offices in more than 60 countries. Further information: www.3M.com.3M reveals MPro110 pocket projector: ships this month.

[spookshow]

That’s projector, not protector. But geeks will rejoice nonetheless. The pocketsize projector has been the Holy Grail of gadgets for many years, and now we’ve got it. 3M sent us one of their first samples of their MPro110 mini projector a few weeks ago (but asked us to keep it on the down-low for a while). I immediately plugged it into a DVD player and watched Blackhawk Down on my desk—literally, on it, as I aimed it at my white Ikea desktop. (Ah, to be owned by a Swedish company.) It also worked on the wall, on a piece of 8.5-by-11-inch printer paper and on the back of my colleague, Doug.

3M had been planning to make a formal announcement in a few weeks, which is why we held off talking about it. But their German division got so begeistert about the new product that they just spit out their own announcement.

Images were discernable up to about 11 inches across, even under our bright fluorescent office lights. But they were definitely faded. And some movie scenes were downright indecipherable. The same went for photos. I’m pretty sure the prototype 3M loaned me at CES in January was brighter as I was able to demonstrate it during a presentation under bright lights to a few hundred people. But I’ll have to do more tests to know for sure. (Even if it’s less than ideal, kudos to 3M for making it work.)

[Dr. V]

In a dark room, it could project a big enough image to be the ultimate cheap-o home theater. The projector will sell for a mere $359. It doesn’t have a speaker, so you’ll have to get that separately. But really, how good could a microscopic speaker jammed into this thing sound, anyway?
The MPro110 is pretty basic looking on the outside—just a grey box. But it gets the job down. A VGA input lets you plug in a laptop; and the composite video jack will take output from a digital camera, PSP, iPod, iPhone, or most any handheld device (though video-out is still pretty rare on cellphones). A thumbwheel on the front allows you to focus.

So many companies have been promising pocket projectors with exotic technologies—from Microvision with its lasers and microscopic mirrors, to Texas Instruments with DLP chips (and lasers) to Light Blue Optics with holograms (no kidding). It’s funny that 3M just swooped in and grabbed the market while its competitors still haven’t gotten past trade-show demos. They made do with an LED lamp and little LCoS screens—a variation of the LCD tech that’s been in digital projectors since the early days.

The standalone projector goes on sale September 30. In a year or so, 3M hopes to squeeze it into cellphones.