The MPro120 is 3M's second-generation pico projector and it's a distinct improvement over the MPro110, with a brighter picture, an LED light source rated at 20,000 hours instead of 10,000, and built-in half-watt speakers.
A pico projector is, as its name implies, a miniature handheld projector that's capable of casting a big image (3M says the MPro120 can project an image from 8in. to 50in.). The key to these pint-size projectors is that they use an LED light source that's very energy efficient. While Pico projectors come in different shapes and sizes, most cost between £200 and £300, and currently sport resolutions up to 640 by 480 pixels (so we're not talking high-definition). The MPro120 uses LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) display technology; others use DLP (Digital Light Processing).
We like the look and feel of the all-black MPro120, which is simple to set up and use. Weighing 154g and measuring 60mm wide by 120mm deep by 24mm high, it does indeed fit in a pocket (or easily slip in a laptop bag) and comes with a protective sleeve. You can prop the projector up at angle by flipping open the integrated flip stand (it's just a thin piece of plastic) or you can attach the included tripod to the threaded tripod mount on the bottom of the projector.
Out of the box, the easiest way to set up the projector is by connecting it to your notebook with the supplied connector or to a portable DVD player with the supplied composite AV cable (an RCA adapter). The MPro 120 also includes a rechargeable battery. Its rated life is 2 hours, which is exactly what we got out of it. Fortunately, it can also work under AC power as well using the included charger.
Using your computer, you can then project a PowerPoint presentation on the wall, and so long as you don't project the image too big (more than 26in. or so), you'll get a passable image, although these types of projectors simply can't compete with full-size projectors that offer significantly brighter illumination and higher resolutions. Go any bigger and you really need the room to be dark — and even then you're just not going to get the kind of brightness or sharpness you're used to with your notebook screen or traditional portable projectors.
The MPro120 has two brightness settings: High (12 Lumens) and Normal (10 Lumens). Most people will stick to the High setting unless you're trying to conserve battery life. Neither setting is terribly bright, but we the picture was acceptable in about the 24in. to 26in. range. Yes, you can go to as big as 50in., but the trade-off to going that large is a more washed-out image. You'll really have to play around with throw-distance as well as lighting conditions to find a size and image you're comfortable with.
At this point it's unclear whether these miniature projectors are designed for business or entertainment purposes (arguably, it's both), but either way it's disappointing that 3M didn't bundle in some sort of adapter for video-capable iPods and iPhones. An optional Apple adapter costs an additional £29.62 from 3M.
We used the optional adapter to project a few movies from an iPhone and the picture quality was the same as we experienced projecting content from a notebook. The big difference is that an iPhone is much smaller than a notebook and the whole package is quite compact and road-friendly. Again, although the picture quality isn't great, kids do seem to love having a movie projected on the wall rather than watching it on an iPhone or iPod Touch's screen (or a notebook screen for that matter).
We've seen a few other pico projectors in action and the image quality, particularly in terms of brightness, is similar for all of them. However, we did have a WowWee Cinemin projector, which ships with an Apple adapter, on hand for comparison purposes. Although the Cinemin offers lower resolution (480 by 320 pixels compared with the MPro120's 640 by 480 pixels), is only rated at 8 lumens for brightness, and its battery life isn't as good, we found the Cinemin's picture to be slightly better, with slightly deeper blacks (the Cinemin uses DLP technology). The MPro 120's picture was a tad sharper but we liked the colour better on the Cinemin. It's also worth noting that to get the picture to display correctly we had to set our iPhone to display in wide screen for the Cinemin and 4:3 for the MPro 120.
Before we get to a conclusion, let's quickly talk sound because it's an issue with these miniature projectors. This model has a couple of half-watt speakers integrated into the unit and that provides enough sound to watch a movie (you have to sit close to the projector), but as you might expect from such tiny speakers, the sound isn't all that loud or good (it's slightly better than you get from your iPhone's speakers). If you want to augment the sound, you'll want to connect better speakers to your audio source (or use your notebook's, if they're powerful enough).
Summing up, there's a lot to like about the 3M MPro120. It's very compact, offers significant improvements over the MPro 110, and projects a passable image so long as you don't blow it up too much.
That said, you just can't expect these types of miniature projectors to perform as well as a notebook screen or larger, less portable units that cost more and cast a brighter image. As it is, the MPro120 costs around £300 (without the Apple adapter), which compares favourably with the price of other pico projectors. However, the technology is advancing and we expect that next-generation models will not only improve but come down in price. Case in point: 3M has already announced a successor (in the US), the MPro150. That model will cost £243 and adds 1GB internal memory, a microSD card slot, and a USB input for transferring files from a notebook or netbook, letting you run entire presentations from the projector itself. Anyone interested in the MPro120 should probably wait for that model — at the very least, it should mean lower prices on the 120.
Specifications
| General | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 6 x 2.4 x 12 cm |
| Available colours | black |
| Extras | tripod, AC adapter, RCA cable, VGA cable |
| Projector type | mobile |
| Display technology | LCoS |
| Weight | 154 kg |
| Image | |
| Native resolution | 640 x 480 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 4 : 3 |
| Factory preset resolution modes | 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1200 x 768, 1280 x 800 |
| Brightness | 12 ANSI Lumens |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Speaker(s) | 2 x 0.5W |
| Packaged contents | projector, battery charger/AC adapter, composite video cable, VGA cable, Li-polymer battery, 3 x RCA F>F adapters, tripod, soft carry pouch, quick start guide, product safety guide |
| Optics | |
| Image size (max) | 50 in |
| Image size (min) | 8 in |
| Lamp type | LED |
| Lamp life | 20000 h |
| Service & support | |
| Standard warranty | 1 year |
| Video input | |
| Analogue video signal | component video, composite video, RGB |
| Analogue video input | mini-D-Sub (15-pin), RCA |
| Expand | |
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