The must have gadget of 2008 was the pocket projector. Made possible by the clever Texas Instruments EOM micro DLP chip, it was developed by 3M first and quickly followed by others with only small variations between them. Beyond those differences, it is very easy to spot the limitations of the devices by reading their common specs: VGA resolution and 10 lux. These both conspire to iimit the effective size of the display to around 20” which is already a lot if you consider the source of the image can fit in your pocket.

Of the available devices I chose the Aiptek V10 mostly because it could take an SD card and had a built-in memory, which made it completely autonomous. The idea is that you can load it with pictures or movies  and play it on its own without additional hardware. I also wanted to have enough connectivity options to play things from my iPhone. In addition to these, the Aiptek offered builtin stereo speakers, a better looking design than the 3M, the option to be charged from a USB port and a remote control. Of these, being able to charge it with USB power was by far the most desirable: one less adaptor to travel with. The remote control is fun but a gimmick and the loudspeakers can be useful, but are of course very limited.

Because of its slow processor, the V10 can only play one specific flavour of low compression Motion JPEG movies a limitation that  has thwarted many users. Aiptek supplies a Windows compatible conversion software to produce the exact specifications needed but it is an annoying additional chore. There is a single mini jack socket that can be a video in or out port, something that has to be specified in the built in interface and stumped me for a while. Once set, it accepts standard composite video and stereo sound without problems. The real issue though is finding a cable to bring the signal from the iPhone. The Apple interface is extemely bulky, long and provides 3 RCA/Phono plugs which must then be connected to the adaptor Aiptek thankfully supplies with the V10. A couple of other suppliers sell a small plastic connector that provides the iPhone with its own mini jack and a simple male to male cable will then connect the devices. Almost impossible to find, such a cable can easily be home-made which also allows one to select the appropriate length. Just make sure to choose the 4 wires version of the mini jacks.

I have used the V10 both for playing movies from the iPhone and displaying pictures from my portfolios. The projector can be quite useful for displaying movies if two or more persons want to watch in a quiet, dark room. It is quite fun to set it to display on the ceiling and watch a movie in bed. For images, I have found it very practical as you can whip it out of your pocket and within seconds show images on the first white wall available. The low quality of the image, however, is a serious limitation for showing off a portfolio. On the othet hand it would really work for a presentation or showing informative  rather than artistic images. The battery life is not very long at about two hours but will allow one to watch a full movie or show several presentations. I have found that the device retained its charge very well, which is extremely welcome

To conclude, I can’t say I am giving the device much use but I am glad to have it and for its low price, one doesn’t take much of a risk in buying and trying. Of course, this will be another rapidly moving field with new models sporting higher resolution already in the pipeline as well as a few specificaly  designed to fit under the iPhone. I would instantly buy a slightly higher resolution, brighter device i could plug directly into an iPhone.