Electronic devices continue to shrink in size, and video projectors are no exception. To date one of the smallest video projectors to reach the mass market is the 3M MPro 120 pico-projector. Small enough to fit in your hand and light enough to sit atop a flexible tripod stand the MPro is a marvel of modern technology, but don't expect it to replace that bulky old tabletop projector just yet.
Tiny Size, Tiny Light Bulb
Measuring just a few inches long the MPro 120 pico-projector is surprisingly full of surprises. The tiny projector packs inside it stereo speakers and a 12 lumen lamp. Yes, 12 lumens. Surprised? What can a scant 12 candle power really project? Well, in a darkened room it seems to do pretty well, making clear reproductions of images played from a laptop or other device using the included adaptor cable. Also a big plus is the reported 4 hour battery life under normal use.
Stereo RCA inputs are also found on the adaptor cable, making it a fairly flexible little piece of equipment, albeit not very bright. You won't be replacing your traditional 1000 lumen projector with this at any time soon, but for travelers or business people who need to do the occasional impromptu presentation the usefullness of this gadget becomes more obvious.
The biggest concern with this unit is the price when compared to other micro projectors in its class. When compared to the Optima PK102 the MPro seems, well, wimpy. For fifty dollars less than the MPro you can have the Pico102 unit that has four gigs of built in memory for storing images and other files that can be displayed without having to hook up a computer or other reader.
Other Considerations
Some other caveats to consider when looking at these pico-projectors is that in many cases the lamps are not replacable. When they burn out you have to replace the entire projector. In the case of the MPro 120 though this may not be a big deal as you will probably lose the projector before its 20,000 hour lamp life LED bulb burns out.
