Optoma's DLP PK101 pico projector up for pre-order at $399.99

"Coming soon," huh? Soon, indeed. Optoma's DLP-based pico projector, which is formally known as the EP-PK-101 (or PK101 in some circles), is now up for pre-order at Amazon. So, just how much will you pay for a 4-ounce beamer that you can carry in your left front pocket? If your answer is anything less than $399.99, you're out of luck here.

[Via I4U News]

[Aguiluz @ Dec 31st 2008 6:14PM]

OUCH! That's expensive.

[Taylor. Yes, Taylor. @ Dec 31st 2008 6:20PM]

Umm.. it's the second cheapest projector on the market. 3MMPro is a bit cheaper i think.

Normal projectors are at least $800ish.

Still, given the limited utility of these small projectors (because of how dim they are... i have the Dell pocket one), it is a bit expensive, but for one of the first ever to market, it's not bad.
-Taylor

[oGMo @ Dec 31st 2008 6:36PM]

Are these any good? I'll check out reviews, but ... I want one to make a highly portable RPG map projection table like this:

http://www.penpaperpixel.org/tutorials/tabletopprojection/

Doesn't really have to be particularly high resolution either. $400 + some parts could be a bit cheaper, but on the other hand, it's well within possibility... with the added benefit that it's portable.

[Brian @ Dec 31st 2008 6:23PM]

Why would i ever present at a place that can't afford a projector?

[Jason @ Dec 31st 2008 6:41PM]

Because your selling stuff that's cheaper than projectors?

[M7 @ Dec 31st 2008 6:28PM]

Umm...there are PLENTY of decent projectors (2300 lumens, 2200:1 contrast ratio, XGA resolution) below 500. They just don't fit in your pocket. But IMO they are MUCH better options, unless portability is that big of a concern for you. Me I'll take something I can see with a much bigger brighter screen. But that's just me.

[Wolfticket @ Dec 31st 2008 9:26PM]

If portability isn't a PRIMARY concern why on earth would you even be looking at a tiny battery powered projector you can fit in your pocket?

[a ham sandwich @ Dec 31st 2008 6:38PM]

is that a projector in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? :P

[KilgoreTrout @ Dec 31st 2008 8:49PM]

Neither, it's a knife with which I'm gonna cut your balls off.

(And that tired joke came out also last time Engadget showed a picoprojector)

[a ham sandwich @ Dec 31st 2008 9:40PM]

o did it? damn. in that case, i retract my comment. sorry, everybody. :(

[mogulheart @ Dec 31st 2008 7:02PM]

I have seen numerous articles on these projectors and as a regular sort of non-tech guy I ask your indulgence to ask a couple of questions. Do some of the "smart" phones (like the iphone) have a jack where I could project whatever is on the phone on a wall? Like photos/video or web sites. Is it possible for a company to build a docking station that would allow the phone image to be projected on to a flat "white" screen maybe the size of a laptop?

Thanks

[mark @ Dec 31st 2008 7:24PM]

@mogulheart
can't speak to other phones, but you can get an AV cable from Apple that lets you send the video (and stereo audio) out through the dock connector to either component or composite video there are 2 cables available. One of the Optoma selling points is you could use it to show the contents of your ipod on the back of the seat in front of you on a plane. As far as I know, video out is only supported for real video (or video podcasts) so you can't, for example, show a browser or anything else. with the cable, you could send the video out to anything with either component or composite "ins"

regarding projection. yes. If you watch the MacWorld keynote when the phone was initally announced, Jobs has real video out (shows the whole phone screen on a huge screen so the audience could see it). the phone he was using was connected via what looked like a standard dock cable - a docking station would be trivial (i assume Apple used special software on the phone and a mac to pull it off though)

[kenc29 @ Dec 31st 2008 7:24PM]

Yeah, you can get a cable that goes from the iPhone's 24pin connector to a standard video out with audio cables too. Or, a component out with R-G-B cables and audio out. Then run a Quicktime slideshow or your photos or Youtube or whatever.

[Levi @ Dec 31st 2008 7:30PM]

I would love to hear some practical uses for this thing. It's obviously not for home use, as there are better options. So what, then? so you can project your iPhone movies on to the back of the seat in front of you on an airplane?

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII dno't get it. I used to be a gadget person, but even the useless USB printer toaster was more interesting than this. And more practical.

[Sheppy1 @ Dec 31st 2008 7:59PM]

This is already out in the UK and it's £350

[helleop @ Jan 1st 2009 3:52PM]

Its £240 in PC world (UK retail store)

[KilgoreTrout @ Dec 31st 2008 9:01PM]

Not just the iPhone.
You can do that with every phone with TV out.
Right in front of me are a Samsung Omnia and an HTC touch HD that both offer this possibility, actually all HTC models offer TV out (at least those sold in Europe) my old Nokia N95 -8gb came also with the cables to connect to the TV or projector, or pC monitor, so did the older N95 and I think all Nokia N series and I'm pretty sure that many other phones offer TV out capability, most of them surely providing a better result than the Iphone, which Apple has provided only with a subpar camera and no DTV-B , showing its absolute neglect of multimedia capabilities on this device

[Epiphany @ Dec 31st 2008 10:50PM]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9159206&st=optoma&type=product&id=1218039110416

Best Buy has had this for weeks.

[Noah @ Jan 1st 2009 12:39AM]

Lame, I already have a 4oz. beamer near my left pocket.

[npChaos @ Jan 1st 2009 1:44PM]

Yeah, it too has been heralded as small and compact, light and unobtrusive. Unfortunately for you, describing it as a "4oz beamer" also means you won't be including the phrase "coming soon." :D

[TimeKeeper @ Jan 1st 2009 9:25PM]

You can get pico projectors at TekGear for $299:
http://www.tekgear.com/index.cfm?pageID=90&prodid=612§ion=209&nodelist=1,209

[Jeff H @ Jan 6th 2009 6:50PM]

this item was very hard to find in the USA, so I ordered one from Canada. My total cost with shipping was $501. the box arrived two weeks later, even though I paid for Express shipping. The projector was supposed to be the North American version as promised by the seller, Shark Systems. I called them before ordering. I had a prior conversation with Optoma wherein I learned about two versions of this product...one for Europe/Asia and another for North America (US). The US version is supposed to include an iPod cable as well as a volume control cable. My projector arrived without an iPod cable and the volume control was missing too. I phoned Shark Systems and they instructed me to contact Optoma. My emails to Optoma direct me to the seller for the missing parts, even though it was brand new in a sealed box. Hmmm?

I took it out of the box, charged the battery and fired it up. Since the iPod cable was missing, I had to connect my 120GB iPod Classic via the lo-res composite cables (red/white/yellow). I played several minutes of "Goya's Ghost" and "Into The Wild". I chose these two movies because Goyas Ghost has a lot of dark & black scenes while Into The Wild has a lot of bright white scenes. Sadly, it didn't matter because the predominant hues (tints) were a bluish-green caste. I switched the source to a COBY portable DVD player with Dark Knight and Planet Earth via lo-res composite cables included. Again, the whites looked greenish while the blacks looked blue.

The screens that I projected onto were a Da-Lite and also a 30" Nuvi. Then, I tried projecting onto different flat surfaces around the house and the most impressive in terms of color, contrast & sharpness was the side of my white refrigerator. I played Led Zeppelin's "The Song Remains The Same" on the side of my refrig and it looked nearly true! Odd...I know..

So, all in all as the first reviewer...I gotta warn, don't waste your money unless you really wanna impress friends/family with "cutting edge" tech. Truly, the image quality was a 2 out of 10 and the customer support was even worse.

One final note, the iPod cable only works for Video iPods that are older like Gen 5, Gen 4...it will not work with 80GB/120GB/160GB Classic! This info is found in the manual, the photos on Optoma's website are misleading. I have placed my PK-101 on eBay for sale...I will continue to use my Cinego D-1000