We had the pleasure of checking out BenQ's Joybee GP1 pocket projector
back in March at CeBIT, and now the
bantam beamer is just about ready to ship here in the States. Starting now (like,
right now), interested consumers can plop down $499 in order to secure a place in line, ensuring that you'll be one of the first on the block to take possession of the planet's first LED-based PJ with a USB reader. Specs wise, you'll find a DLP projection system kicking out an 858 x 600 resolution, 100 ANSI lumens, a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, a built-in 2-watt speaker and VGA / component / composite inputs. Five bills sounds a little steep for what it is, but hey, it's a 1.4 pound projector -- did you really expect it to be economical?
posted May 23rd 2009 7:41PM
No battery on this thing? I looked at the spec sheet and said nothing on battery life. What's the point of a pocket projector without the option of a battery?
Given that this puts out 10 times as much brightness as the tiny pocket projectors, I imagine it must require an AC adapter.
Five bills honestly isn't that bad. I'm always surprised at how cheap Picos are considering that with most electronics the tinest ones are usually the most expensive.
amen sister. just don't buy a TV and you're in good shape!
Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but this is the first I've seen a projector in this class break 800x600 -- I don't think $500 is bad either.
The Dell mini m109s has the exact same resolution, wouldn't be surprised if it was the same DLP hardware.
This does have twice the lumens of the Dell, but is that worth the extra cash?
Dell has their 15% off coupons regularly, you can pick their mini projector for $350.
Why are pico-projectors so hawt all of a sudden? In a phone, it's awesome, but all by its lonesome it seems pointless, unnecessary, especially when a similarly priced TV is so much better (I'm guessing).
Great if you're travelling, i.e. sales rep or equivilant position and not everywhere you go has a suitable project. 1.5 pounds is a measley 680 grams - this thing is lighter than most textbooks I have.
Combine this with a netbook and you've got a portable presentation solution. I can't say I'd ever need one but it sounds like a great idea to me.
Having a projector in a phone would be fantastic though, and I look forward to the day that it enters mainstream handsets.
I don't see a point in having a pocket sized projector that is only 100 lumens. You probably can't see that thing in the dark, and the only reason I could see wanting a portable projector is for business presentations...and those aren't in the dark.
100 lumens can't be seen in the dark? Do you realize that the movie theatres' standard maximum brightness is only 16 lumens, right?
They have them at Costco in Montreal, i play with one 2 days ago and they are pretty good. Resolution is descent for up to 60 inch screen. But the touch controls are not responsive and confusing. They are 699$ in Canada.
Is that in Canadian or US dollars?
$499 looks good to me.
I looked at a sample. At 40" it is fine. At 60" in a lit room the images lose their color depth. Playing movies or images directly from a USB flash memory stick worked a treat. Not needing a PC or DVD player is cool.
This is not the first led projector. 3M has a palm sized LED projector that has been for sale since september of last year.
Yes, but this is the first that can play directly from USB drives.
i was able to pick one of these up when the order form on the BenQ site screwed up i guess and let people order. i took my window of opportunity and got out like a bandit.
in any case, 100 lumens is surprisingly bright because i guess they go by lamp rating? and since this does use DLP all of the light is projected instead of my old projector which was rated 1000 lumen, but is not that much better than this BenQ.
the resolution is low, sure. but really it's good enough for what i intend to use it for (Experiments~!).
i can't get my videos converted properly to use the USB playback and still have sound in em. all of my conversions thus far have gone mute. I wonder if they included any conversion software in this disc. i haven't looked into it yet but that would be rad if they had some kinda omni converter in it.
hmm what else... oh yea, my universal remote doesn't want to "learn" button functions from the BenQ remote that comes with the projector .
overall i still remain impressed by this thing. worth 5 bills if you have a use for one. not so much if you are looking to just grab any old projector. if you're not swayed by the 55w power draw, or the 20,000 lamp life get something else :D
Nope, this is not the first LED-based USB-housing beamer. The LG-HS102 has been doing it for at least six months, and the HS101 for another six months before that. I use one and love it. It projects a 110" 16:9 image from about 11 feet. Not bad at all for 500 bones.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/LG_HS102G_Pocket_Projector_Review.htm
Oooh, getting close to what I want. A bump to 720p native, throw in a HDMI input (or two) and you've hooked me. Bump up the lumens and I'll stand in line for one.