Late last year, I had a look at the AAXA P4 pico pocket projector. It was a handy little gadget that even had Windows Embedded under the hood. Continuing to move forward, AAXA Technologies has now introduced two new additions to its pico projector family: the P4 WiFi and the P4-X.

Both of these take on much the same form factor as before, but they come with a couple of notable changes. The AAXA P4 WiFi, as its name clearly indicates, now boasts WiFi connectivity. This works in tandem with the Windows CE operating system to give you more flexibility for projected presentations on teh go. They’ve also upgraded the brightness from 80 lumens to 100 lumens, using Osram’s new converter green technology. Sold as a combo with the keyboard-mouse unit, the AAXA P4 WiFi will be retailing exclusively through the AAXA website for $399.

As a more budget-friendly option for consumers, the P4-X is a little cheaper at $299. It doesn’t have Windows, but there is a mini-HDMI port that is good for 720p videos, as well as pictures, text, and music. You get 80 lumens in DC mode and 60 lumens in battery mode leveraging DLP tech from Texas Instruments and Vibrant-Color technology from AAXA. Battery life is rated at 75 minutes.

See the full press releases below for more info.

AAXA Technologies Introduces the World’s Brightest WIFI Pico Projector
The new AAXA P4 WIFI Pico Projector features WIFI connectivity and 100 Lumens of Brightness
Santa Ana, CA May 1, 2012

AAXA Technologies, the leading manufacturer of Pico projectors, has announced the release of the P4 WIFI Pico Projector, a mini-projector featuring WIFI connectivity and a 100 lumen light engine. The P4 WIFI is AAXA’s latest revision of the popular P4 Pico Projector model. The new P4 WIFI enhances mobile capabilities by adding 802.11 WIFI connectivity to the existing Windows CE operating system. The previous Texas Instruments DLP powered light-engine is improved with Osram’s new “converter green” LED technology which boosts brightness from 80 to 100 lumens. Combined with AAXA’s proprietary Vibrant-Color™ technology AAXA claims the P4 WIFI can deliver “high brightness and deep colors for a rich viewing experience up to 80”.

Powerful Mobile Device

“The P4 WIFI is the most powerful and fully-featured projector in its class. Designed for today’s on-thego executive the P4 employs a robust Windows CE 6.0 processor, a fast WIFI connection, 2GB of onboard memory and is capable of playing 720p videos, high resolution pictures, and supports an array of 3rd party apps including Microsoft Office mobile, internet browsers, Adobe PDF viewer, mobile games, and a variety of other Windows CE applications. Coupled with the wireless keyboard and mouse the P4 WIFI can function as a true mobile computing platform! Additionally with the P4 WIFI’s 1-watt speaker the P4 can serve double-duty as a standalone multimedia system.

True Pocket Projector
At less than 5.6” long, 2.7” wide, and 1.2” tall the P4 is a true pocket projector and includes a premiumgrade lithium ion battery capable of 75+ minutes of operation. Additional features include an advanced wireless keyboard and mouse, adjustable tripod, 1280×800 VGA input, Micro SD Card slot, USB on-the-go, composite video input, and 3.5mm headphone jack.

—

AAXA Technologies World’s Brightest Battery Powered Pico Projector gets 720p HD with HDMI connectivity
AAXA’s P4-X Pico Projector now comes with HDMI and a lower price point
Santa Ana, CA, May 17th, 2012

AAXA Technologies Inc, a global leader in pico projection technology, has unveiled the updated version of the brightest battery-powered pico projector on the market. The P4-X now includes a mini-HDMI digital input allowing high-definition digital video and audio sources to be connected. The portable mini-device now packs more functionality than before while still maintaining the diminutive form factor that enables the P4-X to fit comfortably in a pocket. The heart of the P4-X is the high-brightness optical engine incorporating 15,000 hour LEDs, Texas Instrument’s DLP technology and AAXA’s Vibrant-Color technology. The P4-X’s high-brightness optical engine is capable of delivering 80 lumens in DC power mode and 60 lumens in battery mode – almost double the battery brightness of most pico projectors. The operating time is 75 minutes on a built-in lithium ion battery or unlimited when plugged into a wall outlet.

Media Powerhouse
The P4-X Pico Projector lets users spontaneously share photos, videos or other digital media with family and friends anytime, anywhere. With its powerful ARM-based MP4 Media Player the P4-X can play 720p videos, pictures, and even text and music. The P4-X also accepts a variety of media inputs including mini digital HDMI, VGA, and composite video. The array of inputs enables the P4-X to connect to Android devices, Apple devices, tablets, blu-ray players, laptops, game consoles, and a multitude of other digital devices.

A True Pocket Projector
There’s always room for the P4-X. At less than 5.6” long, 2.7” wide, and 1.2” tall the P4-X is a true pocket projector that fits comfortably in a laptop bag or briefcase. The P4-X epitomizes mobility with a premium-grade lithium ion battery capable of 75+ minutes of operation anytime, anywhere. Coupled with the onboard media player and speaker, the P4-X can double as a pico projector or an all-in-one mobile multimedia center.

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Samsung is expected to come out with a lot of exciting products at MWC 2012. But their newly unveiled Galaxy Beam handset might not impress you when it comes to the specs, although it has one trick up its sleeve. The device features a built-in pico projector.

The new device is an updated version of Samsung’s Galaxy Beam which was shown off at the Mobile World Congress in 2010. And in case you are pondering, Samsung is not the only company which has dived into the idea of a projector in a phone. Have you heard about the LG eXpo projector phone?

The original Galaxy Beam was only slated for Singapore and it came with Android v2.1, a 3.7-inch screen, and a 9 lumens projector. The updated version runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and features a 4-inch 480×800 TFT display, a 1GHz dual-core processor, 8GB of internal memory (there’s a microSD slot for cards of up to 32GB), a 5MP rear shooter, a 1.3MP front camera and a 2000mAh battery.

That’s no HTC One X, but those who are buying this device will be looking forward to playing with its 15 lumens projector. Although that is not enough to blind anyone, it is more than enough for projecting pictures, videos, and other media onto flat surfaces. And, according to Samsung, it can display images up to 50-inches wide.

Unfortunately, we haven’t got any hints regarding the price tag and availability of the Beam. We will keep you updated. The Beam is expected to be launched in a number of countries.

And yeah, almost forgot. According to the device’s landing page, the handset has 6GB of RAM. That’s most probably a typo, but maybe not, since it could take some serious memory to power a projector.

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Ever wanted to project your iPhone 4 66-inches across your ceiling? It’s now possible with the new MISEETX. But that’s just one small function for the world’s first fully integrated micro-computer. It also boasts pretty much every input and output port you would ever need, a Intel Atom 1.6 GHz, 66-inch HD Pico projector using DLP, along with a touch screen, Wifi, and a “Virtual Laser Keyboard” which is as responsive as it is cool. The mouse also packs a virtual keyboard inside. They will sell for around $600, no date set for release yet.

[ CTX ]

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Earlier this year we had a look at the decidedly diminuitive AAXA P1 Jr. pico projector. That thing was really tiny, but it only pumped out ten lumens of brightness. That might be good enough for some circumstances, but there are other situations where you want more brightness without having to lug around a full-size projector.

That’s where the AAXA P4 pico projector can come into focus (terrible pun intended). It really isn’t that much bigger, but it packs quite a bit more of a wallop when it comes to what a little pico projector can do.

Features and Specs

The AAXA P4 is being touted as the world’s brightest battery-powered pico projector. There may be brighter, but they need external power sources. In the case of the P4, you get an impressive 80 lumen LED light engine to go along with that DLP projector. This gives you up to an 80-inch image, which is easily big enough for most boardrooms.

You get “vibrant color technology” with 15,000 LEDs, as well as the 75+ minute battery, integrated media player, and Windows CE Embedded. That last point is particularly important, because it means that you can run PowerPoint presentations and use other Windows CE apps without having to connect to a separate computer. The 2GB of internal memory is useful in that regard too, but there is a microSD slot in the front, as well as both a USB and micro-USB port in the back. Naturally, this pico projector will take external inputs too, including VGA and composite (via the provided adapters).

What’s In the Box?

Opening up the box, you find just about everything that you need to get started. There’s the pico projector itself, of course, as well as a wireless remote, mini-tripod, composite adapter cable, VGA adapter cable, and mini-USB to USB adapter cable. Not shown is the power cable, but that’s included too.

Optionally, you can add the Rii mini Bluetooth keyboard, which certainly comes in handy when you are navigating your way through Windows CE Embedded. Indeed, some form of wired or wireless keyboard (and mouse) becomes necessary if you want to dig into the true Windows environment of this pocket-sized device.

Is It Really That Bright?

In short, yes. The most common complaint about pico projectors is that they are not powerful enough for everyday use. While this certainly won’t hold a candle up to many of the full-sized projectors out there, it more than easily handles itself even in less than ideal conditions. The colors are reasonably saturated, the contrast is quite good, and the brightness allows you to project videos, slideshows, and presentations in rooms where there is still some ambient light.

You can see a brief demo in this YouTube video I shot in a restaurant. It was the middle of the day and the restaurant was reasonably well-lit, but the image still came through clear. Yes, it does appear to be a little washed out, but that’s to be expected and even full-size projectors would have that kind of effect in that kind of environment.

It is possible to go brighter with something like the AAXA M2 Micro Projector, but that is not as small and it requires an external power source. The sheer versatility and portability of the P4, coupled with its higher level of performance, make it a valuable tool for executives on the go.

User Interface

The home menu on the P4 consists of six icons: video, picture, music, source, setup, and desktop. These are easily navigated using the controls on the projector itself or via the provided IR remote. The desktop is how you get full access to Windows CE; getting back to this home menu is a shortcut on the Windows desktop.

This is all very easy to understand and I found the interface to be reasonably responsive. Switching to the different sources — if you wanted to connect a game console, DVD player, or notebook PC for instance — is also easy enough. The interface for playing actual media files felt a little sluggish at times, though, but getting through the menus was fine.

Loading Up and Playing Media Files

One level deeper within video, picture or music from the main menu, you’ll find the ability to choose the source of your files. This includes the internal memory, the microSD slot, and the USB port. Putting files on the internal memory is done with a microUSB cable and the P4 will appear as an external drive on your computer.

Theoretically, you should be able to access the files on a USB drive, but I had trouble with this and it did not appear to work for me. I followed the instructions in the user guide and created the specified folders, but that didn’t work either. My hope is that this is either an early production unit or there is a firmware update that can rectify this, as having on-the-fly USB media access is huge for a portable device like this.

Conclusion

The on-board fan can be noisier than I would have liked. The one-watt speaker is quieter than I would have liked. Even so, I can’t help but to love this little AAXA P4 pico projector. The portable package is convenient and the 75+ minute battery should be able to last you though most presentations. It would be nice if you could charge via USB, rather than being forced to use the regular wall plug though.

It’s not the cheapest thing in the world with an MSRP of $399 (currently on sale for $339), but it’s not terribly expensive either. The Windows CE environment is versatile, the various inputs give you flexibility, and the built-in media player is a definite bonus. The 80 lumen LED light engine doesn’t hurt either.

[Aaxa Tech]

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Designed for the iPhone 4 (though it will presumably work with the iPhone 4S too), the Pocket Projector looks basically like a bulky case for the smartphone that happens to pack a DLP pico projector inside. The native resolution is just 640×360 pixels, but it can project an image of up to 50-inches from a distance of eight feet. That shouldn’t be too shabby for a short video or brief presentation.

It’s not the brightest thing in the world at 15 lumens (LED lamp), nor will it be particularly loud with its 0.5-watt speaker, but at least it’s something. The 2100mAh internal battery on the Pocket Projector doubles as a backup battery for your iPhone too. And yes, it’ll work with any app that supports a dock connector-style video-out protocol. It ships in two weeks for $230.

The post Brookstone Issues iPhone 4 Pocket Projector Accessory appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

There may be other pico projectors that are brighter, but they’d require an external power source. With the P4 from AAXA, you can do it off a battery and have your PowerPoint presentation ready to go anywhere you are. Just bring along the laptop.

The AAXA P4 Pico Projector is powered by a 750MHz Windows CE mobile processor, but how bright is bright? Well, it gets an 80 lumen high-contrast optical engine by way of Texas Instruments’ DLP. This works in tandem with AAXA’s Vibrant Color tech, utilizing 15,000 hour LEDs and an image of up to 80-inches (but only in low light conditions).

Rounding out the specs are 2GB memory, included tripod, 1280×800 VGA input, microSD slot, composite video input, 1-watt speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, 720p video support, and support for 3rd party apps like Office Mobile, Adobe PDF viewer, and other Windows CE apps. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery is good for 75+ minutes. MSRP is set at $399, but that’s been reduced to $339 for current pre-orders.

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When was the last time that you really needed a DVD drive on your computer? What about a CD-ROM? Even Blu-ray Disc drives aren’t all that useful anymore, since we’re shoving everything onto USB flash drives and downloading things from the Internet. So, Fujitsu is making better use of that space.

The new Lifebook S761/C and S771/C notebooks give you the option of ripping out the optical drive and replacing it with an integrated pico projector. This sounds infinitely more useful, particularly for traveling execs who need to make sales presentations on the go.

The smaller of the two is the Fujitsu Lifebook S771/C with its 12.1-inch (1280×800) display. Power comes by way of your choice of either a Core i3-2310M or Core i5-2520M processor, backed with 1GB of RAM (really?!) and 160GB hard drive.

The Lifebook S761/C is the larger of the two, but it’s still a very compact notebook PC with a 13.3-inch (1366×768) display. You can go really low with a Celeron B810 processor, but you’re probably better off with either the i3-3210M or i5-2520M chip. As with the S771/C, you only get a gig of RAM and a small-ish 160GB hard drive.

As with so many other Fujitsu products, I’m going to assume that you get some business-grade build quality but at a business-grade price. Find them in Akihabara or somewhere else in Japan in a couple of months.

[Akihabara News]

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/04/fujitsu-lifebook-s761c-p711c/

The post Fujitsu LifeBook Notebook swaps Optical Drive for Pico Projector appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

We’ve seen plenty of pico projector technologies surfacing as of late, and with the introduction of pico lasers, they may now be up to Apple’s standards. This new patent recently surfaced over at Picopros, it shows the Apple patent entitled, “Display System Having Coherent and Incoherent Light Sources.” That’s not as sexy as the sounds of MacBook or PowerMac, but i’m sure Apple is working on the name if and when this gets released. The application suggests the use of laser-based projector technology, making it more powerful and efficient than the LED light variety. The most interesting bit about this patent is that it suggests the pico projector would be integrated in other devices, I wouldn’t go so far as seeing Apple put this in an iPhone, but I could very well see it inside a MacBook Air or Pro. Perhaps a LaserBook is on the horizon.

[Read]

The post Apple Pico Projector Patent uses Lasers: LaserBooks Coming Soon? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

They seem to be putting these pico projector things in all sorts of products these days. We’ve already seen them in digital cameras, for example, and now they’re infiltrating the portable media player market too with the Sceptre Luna.

That’s the more interesting part of the news. The product itself looks very generic with a grey box and some basic media controls. However, there is no on-board display whatsoever, keeping you guessing as to the tunes pumping into your ear. The projector part can be used to show videos and slideshows, but that’s not all that useful when all you want to do is see your playlist… especially in public.

Running through the rest of the specs, you find no internal memory at all. Instead, it comes with a 2GB microSD card, which can then be upgraded up to a 32GB card should you feel so inclined. The projector itself can make for an image up to 50-inches across the diagonal from a distance of up to 99 inches. The other downside? The battery will only last an hour if you want to use the projector, not even giving you enough to get through a regular Hollywood movie.

Sure, the Sceptre Luna is an interesting idea, but its execution still leaves a lot to be desired. Check it out for $170 at QVC, Amazon, Walmart, NewEgg, Target, Sears, and K-Mart.

[via Sceptre]

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Pico projector’s are relatively new to consumers. They haven’t gained a widespread adoption yet, simply because not many people can imagine the possibilities of carrying one around. At nearly anytime and anyplace you can pull up a 50″ screen on a wall and begin presenting, displaying or projecting a video.

This is not going to replace your LCD TV, nor will it replace your full-sized projector. This will go along in that ever-shrinking gadget bag of yours, giving you an enhanced sense of mobility and that cutting edge ability of blasting a film on the wall at any time.

We’re only months away from these devices becoming integrated within many mobile phones, tablets, and other devices. We saw camcorders packing pico projectors at CES, we also saw the reference design for a new type of pico projector, the MicroVision PicoP laser display. These devices in essence are evolutions of the Aaxa P1 Junior.

Hardware
The Aaxa Technologies P1 Jr. is very small and lightweight. Aaaxa says it’s the world’s smallest LCOS pico projector with onboard MP4 player, and that’s not hard to believe.

Inside is a 10 ANSI Lumen LED bulb. It’s life is approximately 15,000 hours, which is quite typical for LED. It’s capable of projecting an image from 10-50-inches, has a manual focusing lens, a 1 Watt speaker, 5V, 2000 mAh battery giving 1 hour of use, Mini USB port, SD Card slot, measures 105mm x 56mm x 20mm and weighs just 126g. Inside the box is a composite A/V cable for outputting video from your mobile device, iPad or iPhone (adapter required), DVD player, PSP, or what have you, as well as USB cable, charger, and a small tripod.

It feels solid enough to not feel like a complete toy, but at $110 what do you want? The fan is a bit noisy but it is there to keeps things cool and since it’s LED, you have instant-on and off capabilities.  The fan is situated on top and the speaker on the bottom. Sound from the speaker is audible, I wouldn’t say it is “good” either. If the speaker was perhaps placed on top and the fan on the bottom it may have made for a better sound. The manufacturer rates it at .5 watts, I opened it up and discovered it was a 1 watt speaker. Not a huge difference, but it’s probably better than a .5 watt.

Connection via Mini-USB does not charge. This was a disappointing fact that I could not have it run off my laptop power, or a small power pack via USB. The battery must be charged off the 5V power adapter and it takes 3-4 hours to get 1 hour and it’s just another thing to carry along.

The button and controls are small and relatively easy to use so long as you don’t have bear paw hands. The D-Pad style control gave me some difficulty, I suspect it was software lag rather than hardware because moving it in the direction I want was no problem at all.

Software
The Aaxatech software is fairly decent but could use some improvement. I had issues with file formats in playing video, as well as displaying very large images from my DSLR but that was my fault. Keep in mind this is a Pico Projector, video resolutions and image sizes will have to be smaller than we are used to seeing on a desktop; think mobile phone size. NTSC and PAL are supported at resolutions up to 720×480. Video compression is a bit nitpicky, and has to be DivX; XViD; MPEG-2; MPEG-4 or AVI; MP4; MPG; 3GP; RMVB; RM; VOB; DAT. It also plays MP3 compressed with AAC, MPEG2 or MPEG4. JPG images are only supported.

Playing videos was good. Although pausing, fast forwarding and things like that were not the greatest. Sometimes crashing the video app or just not responding at all. This could have been due to the file size I was using as smaller files seemed to respond fairly well.

Image Quality
This thing is tiny, it’s only 10 lumens too, so keep that in mind. The image it projects is somewhat pixelated and has good contrast. It is definitely watchable and in a dark room you can enjoy a nicely sized screen on any brightly painted wall. The larger you go the more pixels you will notice, also the farther you go obviously the picture will be darker. The optimal size I found was around 30 to 35-inches for a not so pixelated look with a decent amount brightness in a semi-dark room. If there is too much light in the room it will of course looked washed out. That also depends on the quality of the source video or images you are playing.

Bottom Line
I really liked the SD card support – being able to just pull up videos and images on the card was easy and convenient. I think battery life needs to be improved as well as sound quality but a worthy sacrifice for ultimate portability and convenience and on par with other pico projectors out there. Not able to charge via USB was the biggest downfall. At $110 you won’t find any 10 lumen LED projector better than this.

Special for our readers: If you wan’t to go a bit brighter, but still stay portable, Aaxa has two specials on right now for our readers if they buy the M1 or M2. The P1 Jr. is already discounted.

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