It’s real. The Chinese have done it! Seeing past the blatantly iPhonish icons and interface, we really have to hand it to them for getting it out so fast. Behold the CKing Epoq EGP-PP01, the first commercially available cell phone with a built-in microprojector. We didn’t know its proper name when last reported it, but a lot more than just the name has emerged since then. This CKing marvel can beam out a 640×480-pixel image of whatever you care to project whereever you want to for up to 2 hours before asking for more juice. There are other features to complement the projector including a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, mp3/mp4 player with multimedia recording and playback, and USB support. The Epoq EGP-PP01 also boasts of a 2.4 inch QVGA  touchscreen and can be connected to any compatible DVD player or portable media player, although we are not sure how this little home theater accomplishes that. Too bad it supports only GSM 900/1800/1900 triband networks, because 3G support would have surely earned a bit more respect than what we have for it right now. There is no information on availability (most probably limited to China for now) but the price stands at $550, not much for a pocket theater if you ask us.

We’re surely designing smaller and smaller gadgets. Slimmer phones and faster netbooks seem to be part of the future. Do we need smaller projectors too? Sure we could use some. Get an Eee-like PC and a projector and mount your presentation anywhere. Mint Wireless created exactly such a projector. The V10 measures just 125 x 55 x 23mm but it will project a 50 inch image when needed.

The V10 will have a lifespan of up to 20,000 hours and it will be ready to use instantly when turned on. It can connect to any computer or it can project stuff from its 1GB internal memory or the SD slot.

The V10 comes in September and it will launch in Australia. It will cost you just about $600 but it certainly will improve your presentations from now on.

Optoma, the leader in projector technology, has announced its plans to bring out the first Pico projector based on a DLP Pico chip in the latter part of 2008. The projector will be on display in the ongoing InfoComm 2008 even in Las Vegas at stall #C909. European and Asian markets will first be targeted with worldwide availability later on in 2009. We have already seen what the CKing projector phone is capable of, so it remains to be seen whether integrated projectors or standalones which are smaller/roughly the same size of a cell phone is the way to go. Either way, we definitely like the idea of carrying a mini-theater around with us!
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3M will showcase a mini mobile projector next week in CES 2008. It’s LED-illuminated and ultra-compact as you can see on the picture. It can be used with practically any mobile device such as mobile phones and portable media players. It offers VGA resolution images and can project pictures up to 40 inches. Launch is expected to be in the next couple of months.

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