Pocket-size Projector may be a Standard-setter

The Boston Globe

February 2, 2009

A new LED “pocket projector” might be setting the standard for bring-your-own projectors, the kind many folks truck to their boardroom presentations and lecturing gigs, to avoid conflicts between their PCs and their hosts' hardware.

That's because the device, the BenQ GP1 Pocket Projector, weighs only about 1.5 pounds and fits in the palm of your hand. Its LEDs are also brighter and more energy-efficient than traditional projector bulbs, according to Billerica-based Luminus Devices.

Luminus, which is making the GP1 Pocket Projector's LEDs, says its diodes will last for the life of the projector. (Traditional bulbs frequently burn out and are expensive to replace.)

The Pocket Projector also includes Texas Instrument's DLP technology, a combination of microscopic mirrors and a color wheel that produces millions of colors.

But the projector, available for $500 within a few weeks, according to Luminus, is intended for more modest uses than lecture hall presentations. I imagine that owners of GP1 Pocket Projectors will be pointing them at upright tray tables, headboards, and dorm room walls.

For example, Luminus and BenQ are talking up the device as a great tool for displaying documents and images from hand-held devices and memory sticks. They also suggest the GP1 will make an excellent output device for watching videos and playing hand-held video games.