Sanwa's ultra-cheap pico projector available, probably worth the money

We're kind of fans of pico projectors around here, even if finding a way to justify spending big cash on them is occasionally a little hard. Sanwa's just unleashed a cheap little pico that may just be worth the money. There's nothing terribly standout about the Sanwa 400 PRJ-001 -- a Himax LCoS projector with a 640 x 480 resolution, USB connectivity and the little guy weighs in at only 85 grams. The best part of the story here, is of course, the price -- for $119, well, maybe we'll grab two. We can't be sure it's the cheapest pocket projector in the history of micro projecting, but it's pretty close. Hit up the source link to buy one for yourself.

[New Reformation Posted Jan 17th 2010 8:20PM]

@touchmygadget

It looks like the talkboy® of pico projectors.

[catfood Posted Jan 17th 2010 8:33PM]

Can I plug my Wii into it? Or is all video/pic come's from the the onboard 1GB Storage? Or do I feed it video via the USB? Can someone tell me? THANK YOU!

[RikF Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:00PM]

@catfood Video and power for this little guy go via usb, so no Wii activity I'm afraid.

[catfood Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:06PM]

@RikF
Thanks for that info. Does this mean I can send video via USB from my PC? If so, is it still 3D accelerated? (Could I play Doom3 or any modern PC game thru it?) Sorry about all the questions.

[ilikespie Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:44PM]

@catfood i believe it is software accelerated, so no, no modern games.

(correct me if i am wrong please)

[Keni Posted Jan 17th 2010 8:38PM]

This is interesting, but i'd like to see how it performs before I buy something.

[Chefgon Posted Jan 17th 2010 8:57PM]

I have absolutely no idea why you'd want one of these even if it was free.

[Sibuna Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:38PM]

@Chefgon Thirty-three letters: pocket projector.

[versii Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:05PM]

I bet it only runs at 2 lumen. :(

[RikF Posted Jan 17th 2010 11:22PM]

@versii 10 according to the spec

[givemeyourshoes Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:08PM]

no mac support. And yeah, at this resolution I would have no use for this anyway, but the price is nice.

[givemeyourshoes Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:46PM]

@fatslug I think I we are a dying breed ;)

[viper24 Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:09PM]

purchased. this should be great for little projects and hacks.

[gp Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:35PM]

What, no buttons and/or joysticks?

[CRA1G Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:46PM]

Cheap! But I'm still holding out for Microvision's SHOW WX laser-based PP...not having to worry about focus/keystoning, etc. is a big deal, IMO. Plus, you get to have frickin' lasers in your pico.

Today, picoprojectors; tomorrow, sharks (or at least ill-tempered, mutated sea bass)

[Tony C Posted Jan 18th 2010 7:37AM]

@CRA1G Good luck with frikkin lasers being $119...

[quickgiant Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:49PM]

http://translationparty.com/#6129969

[bolezhinkov Posted Jan 17th 2010 10:54PM]

@quickgiant

I dont understand. I am trying my own phrases now.

[chucky3456 Posted Jan 17th 2010 9:59PM]

I would be in for one almost instantly if it was iphone compatible - think of the guerilla marketing you can do with it.

Example:
I'm a micro budget filmmaker, and I strike up a conversation at a bus stop in moderately dark conditions - pop out the projector, and bam. I have a fan.

[Astro Posted Jan 18th 2010 11:11AM]

@chucky3456 Check out the elevator pitch potential with the Show WX. http://www.microvision.com/pico_projector_displays/application_scenarios.html

[MaTdg Posted Jan 17th 2010 10:03PM]

Video over USB, no thanks.

I want standard video inputs so I can hook up my portable mediaplayer, cellphone, digital camera, etc,....

[blland Posted Jan 17th 2010 10:30PM]

1. 16x the resolution
2. replace monitors with one projector
3. ...
4. SANWA PROFIT!

[mklein Posted Jan 17th 2010 10:31PM]

@touchmygadget How so on the flimsy comment? Looks like a decent bendable tripod to me...not like there's much weight to support. Just flex the legs out some more, etc.

[artist Posted Jan 17th 2010 11:07PM]

crapgadget?

[artist Posted Jan 17th 2010 11:18PM]

@viper24 it IS a hockjob

[zano Posted Jan 18th 2010 12:10AM]

Not to rain on the parade, but:

(1) This is not a new release; it's 4 months old - they just knocked $100 off the price (was no one buying?). (http://2aja.sl.pt)
(2) There's no battery; it's plug-in or no-picture.
(3) It has a whopping 10 lumens brightness; a big deal for pico projectors in 2008, not so much in 2010.

[dhhouse Posted Jan 18th 2010 1:12AM]

I just checked and it's $179 at Amazon. Where would you be able to buy this for $119?

[givemeyourshoes Posted Jan 18th 2010 4:13AM]

@dhhouse Crazyness, when the post first went up, the Amazon link did indeed point to a page that had it listed for $119. That seems to be gone now. Not that you wanted to buy this right?

[dhhouse Posted Jan 18th 2010 11:30AM]

@givemeyourshoes ...lol. Not really looking to buy it, just researching right now.

One of my right-brain hobbies is landscape painting. I'd like to find an inexpensive projector to use to project photos I take onto canvas once in a while. For that purpose it doesn't have to be a great projector.

[scld Posted Jan 18th 2010 7:45AM]

I wanna see one of these things with multi-screen functionality. Duct tape a few of these puppies together for HD projection on the cheap :-p

[hashish16 Posted Jan 18th 2010 4:53PM]

I know I am dreaming, but I hope this thing has keystone adjustment. My dream is the mount this on my dash for a heads up display with my CarPC. Shine this on a tinted surface and you'll get the coolest car mod. Sure daytime will be an issue, but you guys see where I'm getting at.....

[billyschaefes Posted Jan 18th 2010 4:54PM]

Can someone please provide me with a link to this? I tried amazon, and nothing turned up. Maybe Im just stupid. Probably the latter.

[PlanetTimmy Posted Jan 18th 2010 7:00PM]

Two of these + some polarizing film + polarized glasses =

Sub - $300 3D, flicker-free display.

Nice.

[viper24 Posted Jan 19th 2010 1:43AM]

@viper24 UPDATE: DO NOT BUY. ONLY DOES STATIC IMAGES.

Hi, good day! Thanks for buying our mini projector on Amazon.
Hereby we need to clarify some issue about the description of this product
as a warm reminding aheadly.

There are two features that we neglected to show on product description:

1.This mini projected can't be used independentely,
which only can be connected with USB port or computer.

2.The display document format, we recommand to play static state one,
which is depending on the original design feature.

Please note them, and if you can accept it, we'll send the goods to you asap.
But if not, please help us to cancel the order, sorry for the unconvienece
aroused to your side. Thanks a million for your kindly understanding.

Thanks again for your cooperation.
------
Dear Customer,

Good day! Thanks for your buying our mini projector on Amazon.

But I'm so sorry to tell you that we can't send the goods out for some technical problem. And we can't send you a item with shortcomings.We have draw the projection back from all the list.

Could you please help us cansel the order, sorry for the unconvienece aroused to your side.

Thanks a million for your kindly understanding.