Tech Review: 3M MPro 120 Pocket Projector

Pocket projectors are an emerging technology - small, portable video projectors that fit in your pocket. They can run for up to a couple of hours on battery power for true portability.

I've only seen two of these, and only had one to truly evaluate. My impressions are that they all suffer the same weaknesses, and unfortunately, they have relatively few strengths.

- These are low resolution displays. The 3M projector tops out at 1024x768.

- You need to be able to control the lighting of the room, it has to be dark.

- The picture size is limited, with the image blurring and washing out over the size of a large desktop display

- Reading text on these is generally not a pleasing experience

Playback of video clips seems to be the area in which these devices shine, but then, it's easier and clearer to huddle around a laptop display than to project a small image in a darkened room. If, however, you have a portable video device (a video camera, an iPod, etc.) and want to display playback to a few people in a controlled environment, these could be useful products.

The 3M MPro 120 Pocket Projector projects at 12 lumens, and includes a VGA adaptor for laptops and a composite adaptor for AV sources. You will need an additional video out kit for use with an iPod or iPhone.

This is still a new class of product, and I expect to see improvements in the months to come.

The projector is priced at $350.