Casio Laser LED Projector

This projector really is the future of projection whether its for business, travel, training, education or just for pleasure.

Casio XJ series is a true revolution in projection and is the first laser combined LED projector offering a staggering 2,000 lumen brightness. With 20,000 hours lamp life and no loss in image performance over its lifetime, you will save at least £500 - £1,500 on bulbs over 3 years. Power costs are also reduced and the projector is practically maintenance free with no need to change filters etc.

The Casio XJ’s ultra thin and lightweight design means it is truly portable allowing it to easily squeeze into your laptop bag.

The product is also available with USB and WLAN so can work as a stand alone projector and will be available in widescreen format too from mid May.

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.

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…