Review: Small Projectors With A Lotta Value

The CMP Channel Test Center wanted to know how vendors are striking the balance between the laws of physics and the laws of economics—specifically, the market's demand for ever-smaller form factors in projectors. Here's a catch-up on projectors from three different manufacturers:

InFocus IN15
The InFocus IN15 from InFocus Corp., Wilsonville, Ore., is pushing the envelope of ultraportability with its IN15 projector. With dimensions of 1.7 x 7.8 x 10.6 inches, it's by far the most compact projector the Test Center has seen in recent memory—maybe ever.

When the box was opened, it appeared to be empty. The device was so small and snug inside, it was hard to believe it was a full-blown business projector. At 3.9 pounds, it's not the lightest we've looked at, but it's still very light and definitely built for road warriors. Connecting it to the laptop and getting it up and running was simple; the height adjustment on the console (which uses a combination of a button on the side and a single leg on the bottom) is slick and easy.

When the device was tested against 18 calibration measurements on DisplayMate's testing suite, it passed 16 of them with no need to adjust any settings. (It did require some adjustment to a digital pixel setting and a slight adjustment to a grayscale setting, which we confirmed apart from the DisplayMate software by displaying some standard .JPG images onto the projection screen.) At its brightest, the IN15 reaches 2,500 lumens, which was fine. At its hottest, the IN15 reached about 170 degrees Fahrenheit, which is in the same ballpark as other projectors we reviewed. Its energy consumption was negligible. List-priced at $1,499, the IN15 is the highest-priced of those the Test Center looked at for this report. But when it comes to mobility, users certainly get what they pay for.

InFocus has a mature channel program, including Partner Central, a site that's fully dedicated to reseller partners and distributors. The Test Center is recommending this device because of its ultracompact design, its ease of use and its performance, where its sleek form factor more than offset the minor adjustments we made.

Bottom Line: The InFocus IN15 is ultracompact, easy to use and consumes very little energy.

ViewSonic PJ358
The ViewSonic PJ358 is small enough and light enough to take on the road and even pack into your check-in luggage. At 10.8 x 8.1 x 2.3 inches, and 3.9 pounds, it's portable—though not quite ultraportable—and has a carrying case. The device comes with an installation disk that assists with display configuration when used with a laptop. It's also built with some neat features, like a USB port for "PC-less" presentation of graphics and PIN-based security to restrict its use.

During testing, the projector (with a 1,024 x 760 XGA display capability and 2,000 lumens of brightness) was viewed using a laptop as its source. Using DisplayMate's LCD and projector calibration testing software, the PJ358 made it through each of 18 separate tests without needing any adjustment or recalibration. It uses little power, having barely budged our Kill A Watt electric usage monitor. But like almost all projectors, it did heat up a bit, jumping from 130 degrees F to 168 degrees after about 20 minutes of use; five minutes after turning it off, it cooled down by about 40 degrees.

Walnut, Calif.-based ViewSonic Corp.'s PJ358 is list-priced at $1,099 and ships both through the commercial reseller channel and retail, where end-user discounts are common. The CMP Channel Test Center recommends this device because ViewSonic maintains a solid channel program and because the device is solid, portable and allows a solution provider to deliver value to mobile customers.

Bottom Line: The PJ358 is solid, portable and lets solution providers add value for mobile workers.

NEC NP60
NEC Display Solutions Inc., Itasca, Ill., touts the NP60 as a mobile "lightweight powerhouse." After taking a look at it, it may be hard to argue with that.

The device itself is small and comes with a padded carrying case that travels well. Put through DisplayMate calibration testing, the NP60 needed no adjustment after being measured in 18 separate tests. Its small size, 9.7 x 7.1 x 2.9 inches, and weight, 3.5 pounds, may conceal its power: At 3,000 lumens, it's bright. It barely made a blip on our Kill A Watt power meter, although it heated up fast, jumping from 136 degrees F after five minutes to 164 degrees after 10 minutes. The device is plug-and-play, and laptop integration was simple.

The NP60 is list-priced at $1,299; for solutions that require graphics-intensive presentations for mobile workers, it's a good fit. The CMP Channel Test Center recommends this device because NEC is a channel veteran and, despite several reorganizations in the past several years, continues to offer traditional program benefits to resellers.

Bottom Line: The NP60 is ideal for solutions that require graphics-intensive presentations on the go.