[jarcher]

This is a joint HT/V + perhaps Apple question, but here goes:

Home Depot is selling these iPico handheld pico projectors for the iPhone for only $90.  I know these are very low power, but just wondering if anyone has experience with this model in particular or pico projectors in general and if they are even worth the $90 investment.

It's more of a play thing - and I guess I could buy & return - but just wanted to sound folks out before.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/860533/PROJECTOR-IPICO-HAND-HELD/

http://www.amazon.com/General-PJ205-Handheld-Personal-Projector/dp/B008OPTQ76

[jarcher]

In case anyone's still following this : I did end up buying it.  Honestly it's not bad at all for the price - just $90 at Office Depot - and for the features.  Obviously w/ 12 lumens you need to use it in a very darkened room.  But the sharpness is decent and really the only thing that's left me wanting is better color saturation as the contrast ratio is pretty low (100:1).  I don't even find the internal speaker to be that bad if you're sitting close.  You can always use your headphones via the i-device as well.

I couldn't find anything else cheaper w/ better resolution (960 x 540) and that had a native 16:9 aspect ratio. Many non iphone specific pico projectors expect you to use a composite video adaptor / cable which just isn't going to deliver high resolution (haven't seen one yet in the sub $200 range w/ a hdmi or mini-hdmi either). 

On first trial have got over 1hr so far w/ out battery warning light coming on.  Of course you could leave it plugged in to the wall.....

Because I have an LCOS main home theater projection, the fact that this one is also a LCOS was a bonus for me.  Most of these pico projectors are DLP.

Functionally I'd say it's better to rest it on something as unlike some of the "sleeve" style projectors, the iphone just rests on top w/ just the 30 pin connector holding it in place.  It also gets a bit hot to hold.  The 30 pin connector does move up & down, so I could see it working for other i-devices that are thicker than the iphone 4 - such as the 3GS or ipad.

So far it's also worked w/ any app that supports video out - which includes netflix & slingbox, but not apps such as HBO / Cinemax Go which defeat the video out.  It also has a native app for projecting web browsing, photo / videos, facebook, etc.  Just be aware that it won't project anything just because it's on screen - it is "app" centric.

Anyway - for $90 it's a nice impulse buy and potential gift for the gadget lover w/ an iphone 4, 3GS, many i-touches or Ipad 2 or earlier. Could be fun for camping trips as well, though the idea of camping is to get away from tube time, isn't it?

[Bob in St. Louis]

That's pretty cool. I love tech like that.
It says it'll do a 50" image. Although I'm having a hard time believing that would create an acceptable picture.

Neat though. 

[jarcher]

That's pretty cool. I love tech like that.
It says it'll do a 50" image. Although I'm having a hard time believing that would create an acceptable picture.

Neat though. 

Believe it !  50" no problem.

I just tried it w/ my 96" stewart studiotek 130 & it's definitely viewable.  Sure, even a $4-$500 DLP epson is going to look at lot better, but that's not really the competition.  It's really mean to be used in scenarios where you might not otherwise have or use anything big screen - camping, traveling, etc.

You do have to understand & accepts its limitation, mainly very low light (output & necessary conditions).  But then again, I've found just about every projector, new or old, really needs very dark conditions to work best.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Cool!
If I was an "i____" user, I'd say that I'd probably get one.
But alas, I'm not a smartphone user.