BeamBox Essential G2 projector is tiny, available for pre-order
By Vladislav Savov 
posted Jul 20th 2009 8:33AM
posted Jul 20th 2009 8:33AM
posted Jul 20th 2009 8:33AM
The number of televisions estimated that sit unused in closets.
The EPA estimates that nearly 100 million unused televisions are currently taking up precious, beautiful space. (source: EPA, July 2008)
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Pretty bad ass
My AAXA P1 pico projector (http://www.aaxatech.com/products/kp190.htm) has better features and is a bit cheaper... but the main thing that confuses me is how you're supposed to access the 1GB of onboard memory? Does it have an onboard video/music decoder? If so, where are the buttons to control it? WTF?
No it doesn't. This has 20 lumens, yours has 12, this is lighter and smaller and claims to throw a larger image, the other specs are the same.
Woah! thats so cool :)
220 British pounds = 362.82400 U.S. dollars
That much for 640x480 resolution? Pass.
Rhymes with "Chucking Dastards..."
So once again, the European markup has been applied.
I just don't get it!
WHY do we Europeans have to pay a hefty premium for soft & hardware sold in Europe? It's not like we earn more money over here, we're not. so why this markup?
I mean, this thing has a MSRP of 240€, 220£ & $250
240€ = 340.878 USD
220£ = 362.237 USD
$250 = 250 USD
Those on mainland Britain have to pay $112.237 MORE than a US citizen
And for all the other EU countries have to pay $90.878 MORE than a US citizen.
WHY?
...and the irony? This is from a UK company (it seems).
to be fair a bit of a distortion is ok, because for example €240 in Germany would include 19 % VAT => price without tax €194 = $275.
Considering the Average US and UK income is almost exactly the same (30,000pounds to 50,000 US dollars) your argument and confusion are well founded
I'll blame it on PAL :-p
With the poor resolution/brightness and only USB connectivity/1GB onboard memory, I don't see the real use of this... especially at that price point.
portability?
I mean besides the obvious question of needing a portable projector, if you need one, I'm sure 20 lumens won't cut it in most scenarios. You'd probably need to black out the room and shut off all the lights to be able to see anything.
Did you really say 20 lumens of brightness? Your comment about usable images closer to 7.3 inches was spot-on in that case.
Wow, I'm just shaking my head here. 20 lumens?
I ordered a Beambox projector directly from their company and it came with a broken lens. They had me return it at my expense ($100) and they sent a replacement which would not run from AC power. Their customer service has been unable to help me, and no longer returns my emails. I would avoid Beambox at all costs due to their poor quality control and lack of customer service.
Price conversion fail. And 640x480 i could get with my old MobilePro 900c.... More at that :/
After a delay of a week or so whilst they sourced some cables which they had run out of, Beambox finally shipped my projector.
The Beambox Essential G2 arrived this morning but it does not work properly. When connected the display says "USB video NO signal" when connected to two different computers (one XP, one Vista). Neither system can recognize it as a USB drive properly - each time it gets an error message (USB drive not recognized) , and when I tried to switch to "USB Storage" on the projector itself, it says "please insert cable" - which is of course already inserted, seeing as it is required for power, this being a USB-powered device! Although it did connect once and the software successfully downloaded from the unit and installed, it does not work either. Occasionally I get a message asking me to install an old version of the software...how? It's not available anywhere on the Internet or on Beambox's website. In any event the version I did get caused a fatal error on my Vista desktop which led to a System Restore being necessary.
The instructions which came with the unit (a photocopied sheet) are quite obviously a very poor translation from a language other than English and make little sense. All telephone calls to Beambox went unanswered, and the LiveChat is permanently offline. Eventually I got a "helpful" email from Beambox asking if I had plugged in the USB cable and advising me to install a different version of the software...from where? There's no installation CD supplied or and no download link on their website.
The unit itself has a noisy fan and no lens cover, and can only be controlled via the supplied remote control - lose that, and the projector is useless (although, seeing as I can't get it to project anything other than its own menu, it's useless anyway). Additionally the brightness although advertised at 25 lumens is inferior to the 10 lumen brightness of Optoma pico projectors, and is essentially unwatchable except in pitch darkness.
I will be returning this unit to Beambox and seeking a full refund.