Aiptek Pocket Cinema V10 available for pre-order on Amazon

You know what trend we really love? Tiny projectors. We seriously cannot get enough of them. In fact, anything that is cool in regular size, is much, much better once miniaturized. It's not the first time we've seen the Aiptek Pocket Cinema V10: when we last spied it, it was getting ready to go on sale in Australia as the Mint V10 for $600 AUD ($414). Well, it's now available for pre-order on Amazon in the good old US of A, with a miniaturized price tag of $299.99. Russell Crowe is not going to be happy.

Update: The V10's gotten a very exhaustive review over at MetkuMods that you probably want to check out, if only to see the projector's packaging, which is intensely awesome. Needless to say, they love the portability of the device, but deem it not bright enough. Oh, they're also upset it doesn't have any games, which is weird and makes no sense.

[Via I4U News]

[Paul @ Nov 10th 2008 11:39AM]

Copy / Paste?

[Valicore @ Nov 10th 2008 11:45AM]

::sigh:: In a year or two every blank wall will be filled with youtube-esque videos. Oh, and that picture is creepy.

[BradS @ Nov 10th 2008 2:46PM]

Looks like Russell Crowe and James Van Der Beek had a love child.

[phlavor @ Nov 10th 2008 3:31PM]

It says to me, "This projector is for when you and your dog are in the middle of the desert just lying in the road around a blind curve contemplating whatever guys who use large amounts of hair product think about."

[Tony Bowman @ Nov 10th 2008 11:48AM]

i think this photo might be the best one yet.

[From My Cube @ Nov 10th 2008 12:03PM]

no way, Im still thinking the Michael Jordan/Macbook Air pic is the best

[kjb434 @ Nov 10th 2008 11:48AM]

Watch out! Russel will throw it at you!

[Das Boot @ Nov 10th 2008 2:18PM]

i'll catch.

[Kizorblade @ Nov 10th 2008 11:50AM]

"Is that a projector in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

[derX @ Nov 10th 2008 11:54AM]

Nope, just the projector.

[DoomGaZer @ Nov 10th 2008 11:51AM]

UUmmmm......pchop much? What was he supposed to be modeling there? Clothing? Dog food?

[Corey O @ Nov 10th 2008 12:00PM]

Yeah, where's the device?

[From My Cube @ Nov 10th 2008 12:03PM]

its clearly not on your spam-o-shit linked website

[Corey O @ Nov 10th 2008 1:23PM]

oh yeah, spam would also be if I left a whole bulk load of my links to each post....don't call me a spammer.

[Corey O @ Nov 10th 2008 1:43PM]

I could floss my teeth with yours

[SloMoe @ Nov 10th 2008 3:31PM]

Your link has nothing to do with the post... you're a spammer.

[KAIKAI @ Nov 10th 2008 4:19PM]

your site sucks

[Matthew Hilario @ Nov 10th 2008 4:23PM]

http://www.worldgonespam.com

[Benson @ Nov 10th 2008 12:31PM]

Hmmm... anyone know for sure what inputs this can take? Obviously at least composite (it says so), but was kinda hoping to nail one with VGA and preferably s-video...

Oh well, there'll be more of these before long, and maybe cheaper, too.

[Rekit @ Nov 10th 2008 12:46PM]

Russell Crowe doing an impression of Jason Priestly holding a tiny projector next to a dalmatian..........

:head explodes:

[Tugger @ Nov 10th 2008 1:05PM]

OMG It's Russell Crowe!!!!!

[Jon Acheson @ Nov 10th 2008 1:16PM]

Miniature projection, with accompanying miniature resolution.

Seriously, what good is a VGA projector?

[Benson @ Nov 10th 2008 2:53PM]

Well, some people insist on watching video on portable devices like the iPhone/iPod with HVGA, and the N810 with WVGA, so VGA obviously is satisfactory for some content. Mobile devices are mainly what it's good for, IMHO.

[ManekiNeko @ Nov 10th 2008 1:18PM]

On a more serious note, has Aiptek ever made anything that was worth buying? All signs point to "no."

[DarkLight @ Nov 10th 2008 5:21PM]

Yes.

See the reviews (real ones, not press ones) of the ActionHD (the one that does 720p60)...

It's pretty damn f*ing good for it's price

[Troels C @ Nov 10th 2008 1:31PM]

If you can use it at a beach, I bet the beam can kill...

[MarbleMind @ Nov 10th 2008 1:42PM]

RUSSEL CROWE!!! YAAAAAAAAAY, YAAAAAAA-

*looks around*

*slowly lowers arms, clears throat*

(With sepulchral voice): Now that's a rather pleasant price tag for a pico projector.

[RichardBronosky @ Nov 10th 2008 3:10PM]

That's a very Corey Feldman looking Russell Crowe
http://www.vh1.com/sitewide/flipbooks/img/movies/people/f/feldman_corey/150x223.jpg

Also, Woot.com had a mini 640x480 projector this weekend
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=6411

[Cassini @ Nov 10th 2008 4:52PM]

"Oh, they're also upset it doesn't have any games, which is weird and makes no sense."


Laura, if you notice, they put an eye-winking emoticon following that listed con, indicating they were joking.

[Japala @ Nov 11th 2008 5:22AM]

Thank you for pointing this out. Yes, it was a joke but a fair point/suggestion as there is no reason why this device couldn't have games as the CPU is fast enough to play videos and the device has directional buttons that could control the action. You carry it around with you and perhaps someone would enjoy a round of gaming...

[Kalleking @ Nov 10th 2008 6:21PM]

I tried this a month ago.. Worthless piece! 10lux lamp + VGA - you can see output in complete darkness. You can play content from SD-card only. So its not like playing directly from Mediaplayer or Qtime! The videos have to be converted with enclosed software.
It could only be used as an alternative to lcd picture-frames at the best.

[Clint @ Nov 10th 2008 9:25PM]

Why only 10 lumens when we have tech out there like this:
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/490/
Or why not these older news 420 (or 240) lumens that Engadget themselves mentioned over a year ago?!
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/21/seoul-semiconductors-420-lumen-led-puts-the-sun-to-shame/

I think I speak for most people, that if you could pack in even one of those 420/240 lumens LEDs and double the battery size (to counter the increased power draw), it would make for a far more desirable product. $299 isn't that bad, but for the performance, it's really not all that good either. Might as well just make a box with a big magnifying screen (like those things on the back windows in campers as a poor example) and use your phone to do presentations :P

[Kristan @ Nov 12th 2008 7:55AM]

You can buy these right now - never mind pre-orders :)

http://www.personalprojectors.co.uk

[Paul @ Nov 24th 2008 1:19PM]

Just got a Aiptek PocketCinema V10 that I pre-ordered from Amazon. I'm charging the battery right now. However I ran a quick test with it connected to my iPhone via Apple composite video adapter. It works.

[David M Williams @ Nov 25th 2008 4:24AM]

Ahh ... but try using the included software to convert some DivX TV shows into the device's ASF format and see if they'll play for you when saved to the device's built-in memory. They didn't play for me, despite repeated attempts and nor did I get sound when connecting an A/V device ... http://www.itwire.com/content/view/21853/532/

The first unit I bought didn't even power on and was deemed faulty and replaced.

I'm guessing Aiptek don't spend a lot of money on quality assurance.

[Macca @ Jan 15th 2009 12:08AM]

You're right. Russell Crowe is not going to be happy. He is one of the few big stars who absolutely refuses to endorse, promote or participate in advertising for commercial products.

He has said, numerous times, that he feels it's breaking a covenant with audiences to be a story teller, not a salesperson.

If his people see this... whoopsie. Put your legal people on speed dial.