We take a look at how a pico projector can benefit you in your profession.

Your name:
Alex

Your job:
Pharmaceutical representative

What does it involve?:
Traveling around my area speaking to physicians and other medical professionals about the latest drugs and providing drug samples. Sometimes I only have a small amount of time to talk to someone and in that time I have to relay a lot of information.

Which personal projector did you buy?:
Adapt 305

What is your favourite feature?:
I would say the portability, which is a major factor in my line of work. I’m on the road all day so in the morning I leave the house checking my pockets “Keys, phone, wallet, projector!”

How has it helped you?
I have a presentation with key points loaded onto the onboard memory, so I don’t have to carry around a laptop. The battery slides onto the bottom which means there are no power leads. I simply take it out of my pocket, switch it on and present. It can project onto any surface, a wall, table, ceiling, even my folder. It’s easier to catch the clients attention with visual aids and using the Adapt 305 is 10 times better than crawling about the floor looking for leads and waiting for my laptop to boot up. It’s a conversation starter too!

Would you recommend using a micro LED projector to others?
Definitely. The Adapt 305 helps me do my job quicker and with less hassle.

If you have bought a pico projector and use it for business or personal use, and you would like to tell us how you use it and where, then contact us and we will include you in the next case study!

This post was written by Katie. Want to talk to her? Do it here

Schools are starting to see the benefits of using pico and palm projectors as a means of saving money and space. This new trend has become a great way to engage pupils visually in all areas of the school and not just with a fixed overhead projector. The projectors give the flexibility to project onto any surface (or even each other) as a creative and engaging way for pupils to learn. As proven by one school, who has used the projector at a zoo to morph people into chimpanzees.

There are some clear benefits for teachers, as this new range of projectors takes up less space and doesn’t need to be professionally installed. Moreover, these micro projectors are more environmentally friendly (with no mercury and low power consumption) and can save thousands of pounds on running costs over the average life of a projector as they require no expensive lamp replacements.

A main interest comes from the number of new features which are being added to the mini LED projector’s. In addition to the increase in brightness and decrease in size, projectors are being released with features such as in built Digital TV. The new Adapt 450 Pro has 100 lumens of brightness, 1.5 hour battery, USB and SD card slot. Teachers can connect via these simple external devices to transfer hassle free into teaching to minimise disruption.

The new range of LED projectors were displayed at the TES Education Show 2010 in Manchester and have impressed the education community with amazing connectivity, portability, size and price. Clare Kelly, the Assistant Head at Dane Royd J&I, Wakefield, is a regular user of this new technology. “Last week the children were creating animations using digital cameras and were able to share them easily with the handheld projectors.” She says. “Children like immediate results and being able to show off their work to others. In this lesson, memory cards containing the animations were quickly transferred from the cameras to the pocket projectors. This meant children could easily share their work with the group or the whole class by projecting it onto tabletops, walls and even the ceiling. It’s an approach that has certainly improved speaking and listening, and the children’s presenting skills.”

The move over to LED will certainly increase over the next year as the LED revolution takes hold and schools search for best value as well as great features. There is a whole range of LED projectors available ranging from something that fits in the pocket such as theAdapt 305, the worlds brightest pocket projector, to mid range projectors suitable for presenting to the entire classroom or Casio projectors which are perfect for the school hall or connecting to smartboards.

For more information contact us or call 0845 121 8800 for expert advice on which projector is right for you.

This post was written by Oliver. Want to talk to him? Do it here

To see the Gadget Show video of the new Adapt 210, Adapt 450 and Adapt 450 Pro with Digital TV and the Adapt 305 click here

Please note that the Adapt 210 is no longer available.

After a 3 year wait the Microvision Show WX projector has finally gone on sale in the USA for a staggering $999 / £666 / €735. Whilst it might be going on sale at devilish prices (I’m sure those prices in sterling and dollars have some significance) it should come down in price to around £500 in the UK and will probably arrive in Q3 or Q4 this year.

Here’s our quick review of the show WX

Pros of Microvision Show WX pico projector

- its very thin and lightweight

- it has auto focus means its always in focus

- its widescreen (although this can be a problem actually fitting it onto some walls or screens)

- its the nicest design of any pico projector and in terms of style its up there with the iphone

- it has VGA connectivity as well as connection to ipods etc (but cant be used as a standalone device with no SD card or onboard memory)

Cons of Microvision Show WX pico projector

- the brightness is disappointing at only 10 lumens as when the lights are turned on or the blinds are not completely shut its very difficult to see. Pocket projectors like the Adapt 305 are significantly brighter in these conditions.

- its £300 / $450 / €330 more expensive than the Adapt 305 and 3M mpro 150 with far less features

- no micro SD slot or onboard memory

- takes a while to warm up and switch on compared to all other picos

- menu buttons are quite fiddly and its easy to turn it off by accident and annoying when you have to switch it back on again and wait an age

- there is quite a lot of speckling on the screen so you’d need to really show it on a proper screen rather than just any wall which you would do with a normal projector. This maybe why Microvision have decided to bundle a screen with it but clearly your paying for it at $999.

Overall, the Microvision Show WX is beautiful design but overall its disappointing considering the 3 year wait and that many other competitors have now produced far superior products. Couple the lack of brightness with the enourmous price tag its really hard to recommend this projector when projectors like the 3m Mpro 150 and the Adapt 305 are cheaper, brighter, have more connectivity, are easier to use and are quicker to boot up.

Realistically the Microvision Show WX is a mid range rather than a top of the range mini projector and there are many projectors at around £290 / $430/  €320 whcih would equal its performance but if you want the best projector for less money then the Adapt 305 is still the number one choice pocket  projector in the world today.

Ooops, well this was slightly embarrassing. On yesterdays Gadget Section of The Hour on STV, Scotland’s ITV,  the technology review didnt go quite according to plan when the guys tested the Adapt 305 on Live TV. The poor little projector got knocked off its pedestal by a popcorn machine and bounced off a hard floor in the studio.

The presenter cleverly recovered by saying it was a good drop test and it proves that this projector was very well made..amazingly the Adapt 305 still works perfectly. Check out the video here (3.15 secs into the video http://tinyurl.com/ybvje3u).

For more detailed video on the Adapt 305, its features and why its the number one pocket projector in the world click here

New laser projectors will come onto the market this year but as the recent article in todays New York Times suggests they have a long way to go before they become useful and affordable.  You only have to look at the latest laser products coming out of the US which are still in their infancy to realise its going to be at least next year before a true laser product comes to market which appeals to the whole market.

According to the New York Times the lasers are suffering from speckly picture quality, flashes of blank screens, file conversion problems, resolution challenges when switching from your laptop to the pico, are difficult to use and with poor speakers. The worst of it all, is it costs $600 and by the time that gets converted into euros or pounds it will be £600.  Importing anything into the EU results in large import duties of 14%, plus at least 17.5% vat plus shipping and handling charges which makes it not worthwhile for a consumer or business to import them in low quantities.

So it begs the question why anyone would pay twice the price for a laser pocket projector which has half the resolution of the world’s brightest LED pocket projector, the Adapt 305.

None of these issues occur with projectors like the Adapt 305 which is currently voted the world’s best pocket projector as it has twice the lumens (45), accepts most file formats without conversion, has 4gb of onboard memory and micro sd slot and has connections for just about everything you can think of including standard VGA. The extra brightness, improved storage, ease of use and the fact its $150 or £150 cheaper suggest you’d be mad to go for laser right now unless of course you like dressing up as Luke Skywalker and pretending its a useful Lightsaber…

Personal Projector has some great new offers on a range of Aiptek pocket cinema projectors. Stocks are extremely limited on the Aiptek models so dont delay in ordering as this will be the last chance to purchase high quality pocket projectors at these prices.

Aiptek V10 Plus -  When launched this projector was £320 and is now on a very limited offer of £215 plus vat and it includes a spare battery worth £20 to give you double the battery power when your out on your travels as well as giving you the extra memory power over the V10 and ability to record video directly onto the projectors own memory.

Aiptek V10 - Was £299 when launched and is now an unbelievable £185 plus vat for one of the best ever selling pocket projectors - its a complete bargain but hurry and buy now as stock will go fast at these prices.

Aiptek T30 - Was £286 now £199 plus vat. Huge savings on one of the brightest pocket projectors available. Superb for connecting to an iphone or DVD.

Benq GP1 - Save £100 - reduced from £450 to £349

Contact us on +44 845 121 8800 or email us for more info.

The Personal Projector is sale is now on.

We are offering micro / pico / mini / pocket projectors at the best prices on the web. See our entire range of pocket and palm projectors from Adapt, Aiptek, 3M, and Benq. These are the lowest prices ever on pico projectors.

www.personalprojector.co.uk

Christmas Top 50 Gadgets 2009

There are some great gadgets in this years Web TV Gadget Show Christmas Special 2009 and a pocket projector entered the list for the first time.

If you’re looking to do some research on what to buy for xmas then look no further and check out the videos and see the products in action.

In terms of micro / pocket / pico / mini projectors the only one to make it into this years list is the Adapt 305 pocket projector which comes in at number 45 on the Gadget Show 2009 xmas list.

To find out more and see the video of the Adapt ADPP 305 in action click here

Adapt 305 with VGA and micro SD card

The new Adapt 305 pocket projector is due for release 30th October.

T3 magazine recently voted this the best pocket projector on the market (overall winner). This new projector is revolutionary in terms of brightness, storage, video formats and connectivity and will be exclusively available at Personal Projector.

Up unitl now if you wanted to purchase a pocket project you had to choose between either a projector with a pass through connnection to a laptop (like a traditional projector such as the 3M) OR choose a stand alone projector which had onboard memory/SD card (such as the Aiptek)…well now you can have both in the Adapt 305. (more…)