3M's MPro110 pico projector hits the streets for $359 a pop

With the holidays at hand, all these improbably-small projectors we've been seeing around for the past year or so are starting to land in force, and 3M's MPro110 is certainly a contender. The little unit shoots a VGA image onto screens as large as 50-inches (though we wouldn't recommend it), with a long lasting LED backlight backing it up. We got an up-close look at the thing last night, and have a few quick notes: the image is about as dim as you'd expect, and looks exponentially better the smaller the area you're trying to project on -- at about 30-inches in a decently lit room the image was insufferably dim, but at around 17 or 18-inches we were getting some pretty good definition brightness. The projector autofocuses plenty fast, which is clutch for a "handheld" projector, but it does get fairly warm despite its LED usage. Overall, we can't fault the projector too much, with a $359 pricetag and a "paperback book" form factor, but the application is certainly limited at the moment, and we're guessing these will be getting a lot better in the future. The MPro110 is now shipping.

Gallery: 3M's MPro110 pico projector hits the streets for $359 a pop

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[Larry @ Nov 12th 2008 11:24AM]

This is for the dim witted CFO's that like to use smoke and mirrors anyway....I guess that marketing is not very bright too.

[green_link @ Nov 12th 2008 11:29AM]

this is going to be another fad niche like those mini internet laptops

[htd @ Nov 12th 2008 11:32AM]

do you mean netbook? that's sold more than tens of millions now. but I dont really see a market for pocket project, just like those expensive MID/mini-notebook.

[Stiv @ Nov 12th 2008 1:51PM]

I see what you did there.

[Wwhat @ Nov 12th 2008 11:37AM]

Haha, let me buy stock in that company, these things will be going like hotcakes...

[Foolio @ Nov 12th 2008 3:23PM]

Sure thing. The ticker symbol is MMM.

[Craig McCasland @ Nov 12th 2008 11:43AM]

I gotta tell ya... Realtors are gonna buy these things like hot cakes for in-home presentations! That's the market. Maybe MLM types too.

[Warhorse @ Nov 12th 2008 12:12PM]

I think you are correct

[Joel @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:46PM]

Hey I think you're onto something. Maybe not realtors though, I don't think they have much money right now.

[bonifide @ Nov 12th 2008 11:44AM]

The opportunity for these small projectors is use with Iphones, Ipods and PDA's, you want to watch video or if you just want a bigger display for web browsing or email. I can see a time when the external resolution is higher for the projector output, so one could really take videos on the road for the kids.

[seanchk @ Nov 12th 2008 11:56AM]

I can see a huge market for these. A full size projector is fine if you want to always watch movies in the same fixed place, but what if you want to be able to watch something elsewhere in the house. I'd love to be able to just project onto the nearest wall and watch a movie. I don't even expect or need it to be 50", 30" or so would be fine.

[themovielife @ Nov 12th 2008 12:28PM]

Good thing you'll have this small projector, since your hands will be full, lugging your DVD player all over your house.

[seanchk @ Nov 12th 2008 12:32PM]

I was thinking more of using it with an Ipod, or my Iphone... or even a portable DVD player.

[josh @ Nov 12th 2008 12:00PM]

I really want one.

I think i'll wait for the MPro120 though...or whatever the next rev will be.

I want double the lumens, and I think that's doable, given that you can get a decent 100 lumen, wide-spectrum LED from OSRAM these days for about $50 (and that's retail). I don't know the diminishing returns on this, but I don't think 18-20 lumens out the lens is out of the question if they used one...

[DarkLight @ Nov 12th 2008 8:30PM]

The SSC P7 high-power LED is $30

And it does 900 lumen at full intensity

[Chan TheJunction @ Nov 12th 2008 12:02PM]

Cool Gagdet, but i have to wait till it gets cheaper

[Aaron @ Nov 12th 2008 12:07PM]

VGA sucks

[themovielife @ Nov 12th 2008 12:30PM]

That guy's hand must be really big if the projector is the size of a paperback book.

[edward @ Nov 12th 2008 1:30PM]

I am getting close to getting one of these. Not quite at the price and performance I am looking for but close.

[Fanfoot @ Nov 12th 2008 1:56PM]

So, about those marketing applications. Wouldn't it be easier to just turn your laptop screen around if the usable display area on this thing is only 17" or so? Seems like those people need to wait for the next gen units before they bite...

[johnzilla @ Nov 12th 2008 2:35PM]

Yeah, because turning your laptop around so you can't see the screen but everyone else can is the best way to give a presentation. It would be much easier to just turn it back around when you needed to change slides. And then turn it back around to face the other people. And then turn it back around when you needed to change slides. And then turn it back around....

[Ben @ Nov 12th 2008 2:49PM]

You can a better looking one for $350 at BeamBox.co.uk.

[GingerFox @ Nov 12th 2008 4:13PM]

i dont get how this can be practical when its supposedly so dim, i would want to be able to see what im projecting, or is that just me being crazy?

[霽月瀛台 @ Nov 12th 2008 9:49PM]

No word on the resolution?
Engadget is helping 3M to cover its ass or what?

[DarkLight @ Nov 13th 2008 1:43AM]

What part of VGA didn't you understand?

(If you really didn't understand - look up the definition of VGA)

[ScorpioBreeze @ Nov 14th 2008 6:41PM]

Was the "insufferably dim" test being shot against a screen or just the wall?