Do you ever find yourself annoyed with the fact that you have to buy additional accessories and complementary tools to maximize the use of a product? For example, purchasing a projector doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you can open it right out of the box and display whatever you want. Often times consumers will find that they need additional cables and adapters to display a projection from their electronic devices. Sure, projectors these days come in compact sizes and are very portable, but the fact that the inputs require users to have an adapter of some sort readily available poses a red flag for some. Most pico projectors today have HDMI inputs, which then require adapters if users are to display multimedia content from a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. In a way, this can defeat the purpose of convenience, and ultimately introduces a problem with the product’s pitch.

It seems as though Asus understands this issue, as they recently introduced their latest product–the E1Z, an LED projector that links to an Android device solely through a microUSB connection. They’re calling this “the world’s first.”

What To Expect

Interestingly, Asus has not yet revealed intricate specs such as the brightness, resolution, and the product’s availability. What we do know is that it boasts a 100% NTSC color gamut and a full RGB color spectrum support, both of which should create a vivider video-watching and game-playing experience. It can also serve as a 6,000 mAh charge station, as it has a rechargeable battery. The E1Z will most likely be around $200, as informed by Engadget.

The real question here lies in how the E1Z compares to its competitors. Yes, it does feature a microUSB connection, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is a revolutionary product. Sure, it provides users with an easy connection method, but users can get a substantially better experience with a different product using an HDMI adapter.

Assuming the E1Z is sold at $200, Asus looks to be putting out an affordable and easy-to-use projector for the traveling family or the entertainment enthusiast. It’ll definitely be a product worth experimenting with. Whether or not other competitor companies will follow in Asus’ direction of developing an adapter-free projector remains to be seen!

Now that the iPhone 6 has been out for a few months, we have noticed a whole bunch of users exploring different methods of utilizing its many features. One particular use has caught our eye, and it is using the iPhone 6 as a primary video output with an LED pico projector. With the influx of streaming apps and services, from Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube, to Chromecast, Kickflip, Liveleak, Ustream and more; streaming mobile video seems primed to take a bite out of cable’s stranglehold on live content. Anyone who has had to deal with cable companies customer service is ready to cut the cord, and this generation of mobile devices and applications are making it easier than ever.

The iPhone 6 is a perfect example of a piece of hardware that can be used to set up a New Media Order, and provide users the flexibility of having a high definition video stream from anywhere. Now, couple it with a portable, powerful pico projector, and suddenly the iPhone 6 goes from having a 4″ screen to having a 100″ screen which you can display anywhere. Imagine setting up a rooftop movie night with your friends and being able to carry everything you need in your pocket. Or creating an impromptu marketing display you project onto any wall at will. Or setting up a “Face Time” conversation, Star Trek style, with a huge projection on the wall of your spaceship (or basement, whatever is available). There are limitless applications for the technology once people are aware of its capabilities and we would like to show you how easy it is to set up an iPhone 6 with a pico projector today.

What do I need?

First, you will need an iPhone 6 and an Apple Lightning Digital A/V Adapter. The digital AV adapter is a critical piece of equipment which is what allows the iPhone to connect to a wide variety of devices using HDMI. Second, you will need an HDMI cable to connect from the adapter to whatever device you want to use your iPhone’s video output on. Third, you will need a pico projector, there are a wide variety to choose from but some of the industry leaders are AAXA Technologies, 3M, Optoma, and Phillips. Finally, you need a place to project your video, this can be a screen, a wall, a ceiling, or pretty much any flat, neutral surface.  The photo below demonstrates practically everything you need to amplify your iPhone’s screen size by 25x.

For the purpose of our demonstration, we used an AAXA Technologies P3-X Pico Projector with native WVGA resolution and the ability to turn your 4″ iPhone screen into an 80″ screen. This is a an ideal projector because it very portable and at about 70 lumens, it runs quietly and without much heat thanks to the LED bulb technology. Also, it has a lithium ion battery which is good for about two hours of projection on a full charge. Plus, it can fit in your palm and only weighs about 10 oz pounds, making it portable enough to use practically anywhere.

Don’t just read it, see it!

Check out the video below for a demonstration of how to hook the projector up to an iPhone 6 to play Netflix, Youtube, Hulu or whatever. With technology like this, it makes cutting the cord and throwing away the TV an ever more realistic prospect.

We get most if not all of our projector news from people that we follow on twitter and recently we came across something very interesting.

This is Keecker, noted as being the worlds first “Homepod”.  We had never heard of a “Homepod” before and were intrigued, what we found was definitely surprising, but we’re just not sure HOW useful it will be.  Keecker is shaped like an egg, it’s fairly large (About 2 feet tall and 3 feet around), and has wheels on the bottom that allow it to move.  It sports a 1000 lumen LED projector, 3D surround sound, a high res camera, a 1TB storage drive, air quality sensors, WIFI, and runs Android 4.3.  It can move around on it’s own similar to a Roomba and can drive to any room in your home via a command from your smart phone (given that it’s on the same floor), it also has a charging station that it can drive to to charge it’s self.

Keecker has a unique motor that can control the angle of the projection that it emits,  this allows it to project anywhere from low parts of the wall up to the ceiling.  It can project as close as 2 feet and automatically adjusts it’s keystone and its focus.

With all of it’s built in sensors and camera it is also a good home automation/security device.  Although it has not been confirmed yet, there are apps available to android that allow for motion detection from cameras and also to communicate with a nest and change temperature etc.  Apps like this could automatically automate your home and control things like your thermostat, lighting, and even watch out for home invasion.

The Keecker definitely has a lot of functions and can be a useful device in certain situations, but now for the bad stuff.

Even though it is literally the most mobile projector in the world, its still very immobile in many senses.  It’s slow moving and must use sensors to look for walls and other obstacles, this can create a fairly long travel time to where you need to use it.  Also for any building that has a set of stairs, the unit will need to be physically picked up and moved up or down the stairs.  The unit clocks in at 25 lbs and can’t really be considered light, for some people this could actually be a problem especially if they would like to use it in an upstairs meeting room or perhaps in an upstairs bathroom.  Right now the most mobility the unit has is to dodge people and objects in it’s way while it’s travelling around.

As cool as it seems, the Keecker just really feels like too much technology crammed into one thing and many of those things seem like afterthoughts if anything.  A mobile projector was the original goal of the Keecker and its original prototype was very true to this, basically a motorized scooter with a projector strapped to it.  Over time more and more technology was added to the unit that brought it to where it is today, a giant egg shaped robot that drives around your house to deliver entertainment to anyone in it’s way.  Cool? Yes.  Functional? Maybe not.

Another big factor that we’re considering is the price, although not yet released based off the Kickstarter reward pricing we’re guessing it’s somewhere between $2,000 and $2,500 which we unanimously decided was just too much to pay for a roomba projector.  But either way, it’s definitely blog worthy, and if a giant egg projector robot is something that you think your business or home could benefit from, check out their kickstarter page and even consider donating to the cause!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/keecker/keecker-the-worlds-first-homepod

In our next blog we’re going to be covering the new HP Sprout, the worlds first projector/3d scanner/computer all integrated into one!

The BMW M5 has had a pretty sweet HUD integrated into it’s dash for a couple of years now. It’s mostly used to show your speed, RPMs of the engine, and navigation. Although it’s use is limited it’s still a pretty cool concept and if you’re anything like me leaves you wishing this feature was in more cars and that you also had an M5.

However for those of us who just can’t afford a $94,000 car, not all hope is lost thanks to Navdy.

Navdy is a pico projector built into a small unit with a screen that can add a HUD to any car with an OBDII connection.  Navdy can do things like reading your text messages to you, Video Chat, Navigation, and even reading information from your cars computer.  All of this is packed into a compact hands-free unit aimed at making driving in the age of cellphones a much safer activity.

Don’t just take my word for it, check out this video that Navdy made, it should fill in any questions you have about what it can do.

For those of you who just can’t keep their hands off their cell-phones while driving or for those of you who just like to keep your eyes on the road at ALL times, Navdy could be a pretty nifty gadget for you, and might just save you some money on tickets.

The technology that it employs is a fairly simple concept however the implementation of it is what makes it special.  It is basically a small projector that projects backwards onto a mirror which then reflects onto a piece of glass.

What makes it cool is that it seems to work just as well if it’s in dark conditions or light conditions, this is a technology that Navdy will not release details on and it is what makes it’s product stand out as surely other companies are soon to jump on the bandwagon with an idea like this.

Right now you can pre-order a Navdy for $318 including tax, however the company claims that this is a promotional early price and that the actual retail price of the product once it is out will be 40% more.  So if this looks like something you would want it’s probably a pretty good idea to order now while it’s almost half off.

As Navdy gets closer to release we will cover more as more details come out and also provide some news on if there are any competitors coming out of the woodwork looking to compete with the unit.  But for now, adding a HUD to your car is not far off, and you won’t have to spend  $94,000 to do it.