Product Review: Pico Play – A Portable Projector For Your iDevice

"Pico Play" is a new portable projector, that is compatible with your iDevice. As you can see in the above image, Pico Play is actually smaller than an iPhone. However, don't let that put you off. This handheld projector is a powerful accessory, and one that works very well. Overview The projector is compatible with Apple's line of iDevices, including the iPad and iPhone 4. You can play videos from the Camera Roll or Photos app, and users can also load YouTube and project videos found online. Alternatively, a built in SD adapter allows users to insert an SD card into the projector, and play media from the card. This is ideal if you have a video camcorder that can record onto an SD card. As you can see in the above image, Pico Play features a small kickstand, which means you can set the projector on a desktop and project on a nearby wall. Above the lens is a wheel which adjusts the focus of the projector. On the top side of Pico Play are several buttons, via which users can navigate the projector's menu. Here, aspects such as "brightness," "contrast" and "color" can be adjusted quickly and easily. The Good Pico Play's best feature is its size. What I love about this awesome projector, is that it can fit inside my pocket, and connect to my iPhone in less than a minute. With Pico Play, any surface can be turned into a TV screen; all you need are a few sheets of white paper, or even just a bare light surface. Considering the device is so small, the quality of the image produced by Pico Play is remarkable. For the past week, I've been showing off the projector to as many people as possible, it's that great an achievement. I love that iPhone owners can shoot a video (in HD on their iPhone 4), then immediately project it onto a wall. When you think about it, this takes home movie sharing to a new level. Before, you might have hooked up your iDevice to a TV in order to show off your latest holiday videos. Now, you can hook it up to a projector. What's more, Pico Play isn't just about the iPhone. What makes it special, is that this projector can link up to an iDevice, but users can also connect the device to DVD players, consoles, and other AV devices. The Bad What you need to remember here, is that Personal Projector (UK) who handles Pico Play has a wide variety of portable projectors. Some of them are more expensive, and others aren't iDevice compatible. If you're looking for a serious, high-end projector, then Pico Play isn't it. The device retails at the bargain price of £99, and the projector's main feature is its iDevice compatibility. With this in mind, there are a few aspects of Pico Play which aren't so great. The built in speaker is not ideal. Chances are Pico Play owners are going to want to hook up some external speakers to the the device when using it. Obviously, this reduces the portable aspect of the projector somewhat. If Pico Play had better speakers, it would be perfect (and probably bigger, too). Overall Overall, Pico Play is a great little projector. If you're looking for a serious device, I wouldn't recommend this one. However, if you're looking for a portable projector you can hook up to your iPhone, this is it. Pico Play (£99) is available from Personal Projector, and they ship internationally.

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