Home Media Store

While viewing images or video on a cell phone screen, camcorder display, and so forth is useful, it's not really something that is conducive to sharing with others. Sure you can pass the device around, but using a projector or connecting to a TV is still the better way when you want a group of people to enjoy or learn from the images and video you have stored on your device. Of course toting along a full sized projector or having a large TV on hand at all times isn't always possible either.

Pico projectors have been a good solution. They are palm sized and yet allow the user to project images, with audio, without requiring additional equipment. Many of them can project images as large as 80", 100" and larger.  The next step in the evolution however, is to of course include these miniaturized projectors in the devices themselves.  Certainly, there are a few camcorders out there with this capability. Sony has their PJ50V, PJ30V and PJ10 and for those on a budget, there is the pocket camcorder with a projector from 3M, the Shoot N-Share CP40. Beyond this, the pickings are slim.

Cell phones with built in projectors are hopefully coming, but there aren't any available at this time.

However, for those with an iPhone or iPod with video capabilities there is the option of a sound system/dock/projector that may be a reasonable solution until built-in pico projectors become the norm.  Optoma, a well established brand in the projector business, now has the Neo-i which is a iPod dock that includes a good audio system with 16 watt stereo audio with digital sound processing and Bass Reflex. It also includes a DLP projector with a LED light source providing 50 lumen brightness. It allows users to enjoy music and video with images projected up to 120" in size.  Images can be displayed on any flat surface, although certainly a light colored wall is the best option.

Dimming the lights and keeping the projector within several feet of the projector gets the best results, but detail is pretty respectable with 2,000:1 contrast ratio.

This device comes with a remote control and a battery pack. It offers HDMI and VGA inputs as well for connecting other devices. Although originally priced around $599 it's can be found online deeply discounted at this time.