Amazon.com: MicroVision SHOWWX+ Laser Pocket Projector: Electronics

Product Details

Product Dimensions: 2 x 9 x 7 inches ; 1.6 pounds
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
ASIN: B004EKM5B4
Item model number: AA0123600-019
Batteries 1 Nonstandard Battery batteries required. (included)
Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
Date first available at Amazon.com: December 1, 2010

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Product Description

From the Manufacturer

With the MicroVision SHOWWX+™, the world’s first laser projector is now even brighter - our PicoP® display engine allows you to enjoy deep, rich color projection with bright and vivid laser images that are always in focus.

Even on curved surfaces. We call this ‘infinite focus’.

SHOWWX+ Features

The SHOWWX+ brings you a BIG picture from a small, quiet, and portable device. A single cable connection plugs directly into your iPod, iPhone, iPad, as well as other mobile phones and devices with TV-Out or VGA functionality.

Infinite Focus
Plug & Play
Thin & Light
Movie Capable
Wide Field of View
Wide Screen Resolution
Bright & Uniform

SHOWWX+™ Works With a Variety of Devices

The SHOWWX+ is compatible with a host of other devices that provide Composite TV/Video-Out, such as mobile phones, camcorders, digital cameras, personal video game and media players.

With the Nokia cable for SHOWWX+ you can enhance your experience by projecting directly from
your device.

You can also connect your SHOWWX+ to a laptop via TV-Out or VGA functionality by using the optional SHOWWX+ VGA Dock.

SHOWWX+ - a superior experience for Apple devices. A single cable connection plugs directly into your iPod, iPhone or iPad. A literal plug & play laser projector producing a practical big screen, movie-length experience. The MicroVision SHOWWX+ is made for iPod, iPhone, and iPad and was designed to connect to Apple devices in a way that meets Apple performance standards.

SHOWWX+ Apple iOS App

The SHOWWX+ works with some of your favorite iPhone, iPad and iPod apps. Any app with video out capabilities can be projected with the SHOWWX+

Technical Specifications

SHOWWX+ Laser Pico Projector Display Performance

Resolution: WVGA (848 x 480)
Brightness: 15 Lumens
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen
Focus: No user focus adjustment needed. Image is always in focus, even on curved surfaces
Refresh Rate: 60 Hz (nominal)
Color Gamut: > 200% NTSC
Contrast Ratio: > 5,000:1
Throw Ratio: 1:1 (projection distance/image diagonal)
Image size: 6 in to 100 in (150 mm to 2500 mm)
Projection Distance: 6 in to 100 in (150 mm to 2500 mm)
Regulatory: Class 2 laser product.¹

SHOWWX+ Laser Pico Projector Size & Weight

Height: .55 in (14 mm)
Width: 2.36 in (60 mm)
Weight (with battery): 4.3 oz (122 g)

SHOWWX+ Laser Pico Projector Connectivity & Audio

Easy and simple plug and play
Connects to iPhone, iPad and iPod products with a single cable
Composite adapter to other TV-Out devices via a dedicated adapter cable
VGA dock to most laptops, netbooks and MacBook via the VGA DOCK (sold separately)
3.5 mm stereo jack - audio pass through when supplied
Will operate off wall power when plugged into a wall socket

SHOWWX+ Laser Pico Projector Battery & Power

User replaceable battery
Up to 2 hours of battery life when fully charged
Charges via Micro-USB with wall charger

What’s in the box:

SHOWWX+ laser pico projector
Rechargeable battery
Wall charger
Cable for iPhone, iPad, iPod
Composite adapter
Storage pouch
Micro-USB cable
Wrist strap
User guide

¹ Per IEC 60825-1:2007 and CDRH 1040.10, 1040.11 with laser Notice 50.

*Apple is not responsible for the operation of this device or its compliance with safety and regulatory standards. Please note that the use of SHOWWX+ with iPod, iPhone, or iPad may affect wireless performance.

© 2011, MicroVision, Inc. All rights reserved. SHOWWX+ and PicoP are registered trademarks of MicroVision, Inc. iPhone, iPad, iPod, MacBook are trademarks of Apple, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Other registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Product Description

Enjoy movies, photos, presentations and streaming video up to 100" in image size with the SHOWWX+ laser pico projector. With the Microvision SHOWWX+, the world's first laser pico projector is now even brighter - our PicoP display engine enables you to enjoy deep, rich color projection with bright and vivid laser images that are always in focus. Even on curved surfaces. We call this 'infinite focus'.

Customer Reviews

3.4 out of 5 stars

(33)

3.4 out of 5 stars

See all 33 customer reviews

“ It does lack memory storage and HDMI I/O, but makes up for it with easy connectivity to ANY Apple product, VGA, and composite video source. ” Picopros | 3 reviewers made a similar statement

“ Crisp, clear, with eye-popping colors and very good resolution. ” P. Lio | 6 reviewers made a similar statement

“ I understand this is a tiny projector with dim light but I was not expecting it to be useless in a normally lighted office. ” Luwen | 3 reviewers made a similar statement

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

175 of 185 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but disappointing battery life December 30, 2010

By sandrine

I want to chime in given the overly optimistic reviews listed for this product. We've had the device for a couple of weeks now and I want to point out a few things that haven't been mentioned by other reviewers.

The image quality is good given the size of the device and the brightness set to its highest value is sufficient. The projector suffers from severe pincushion distortions, and there's no way to correct for this via any of the limited menu settings, which is quite surprising. There's also no keystone adjustment, or any other image geometry adjustment for that matter. This includes the size of the image. When other reviewers say that the size can be adjusted, that simply means that you can increase or decrease the distance to the screen to change the image size, since the projection opening angle is fixed. Somewhat annoying, but not a deal breaker.

While we are at missing features, the device doesn't have a threaded hole to attach it to a tripod or any other means of attaching it to anything. This wouldn't be so bad if the device wasn't that lightweight due to the plastic housing (which could be considered a plus, but it feels cheap) and came with a very short and stiff iPod connector cable. The moment you reposition the iPod / iPad, the projector will move; there aren't even rubberized feet underneath the device. Clearly, not too much thought was put into this. According to the Microvision website, the VGA connector comes with a threaded hole for tripod mounting. I would have hoped that there was some sort of mounting plate available as an accessory to mount the actual projector as well. Right now, I'd recommend using a universal iPod / iPhone car mount.

The really bad part is, as somewhat feared, the battery life. Set to the highest brightness (there are 3 brightness settings) and standard color mode, one gets about 60 minutes out of a fully charged battery. That's not enough to watch a full-length movie, obviously, and we are considering returning the device for this reason. Yes, you could plug the device into the wall or buy an extra ($30) battery, but that takes away some of the ultra portability. We'll test it once more on the next lower setting to see if we can make it through a 90 minute movie. If not, the device goes back. The specs claim up to 120 minutes of battery life ... maybe when you display an image of a black panther at night;-)

---------------
Update: We tested the battery life on the next lower brightness setting and still only got 60 minutes of continuous play out of a fully charged battery. We'll try to return the product.
---------------

One reviewer pointed out that since the device uses lasers to operate instead of an incandescent bulb, he would never ever have to replace a bulb again. Well, true, but lasers do have a MTBF as well, and there's no way to replace them in this unit. I wouldn't count the absence of a replacement option as a plus.

Just our two cents. Think about the money you are about to spend and whether you really need such a portable device. Laser projectors are certainly the future, but maybe there needs to be some more competition to perfect the product.

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Update: We just found out that the seller, DBROTH, doesn't accept any open-box returns unless the device is DOA. Our bad about not looking into the non-existent return policy. I wouldn't recommend purchasing from DBROTH.
---------------

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55 of 59 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Game-Changer December 26, 2010

By P. Lio VINE™ VOICE

I received this projector for Christmas and I am utterly blown away. The disclaimer is that I have long been a fan of projectors and we have the excellent Panasonic PT-AE700U, a spectacular home projector which was incredibly well-received when it debuted a few years back.

That said, I did not expect anything too remarkable from something 1/4 the price of my home projector and 1/20th the size... but, boy was I wrong!

A few things about this unit:
First, it's about the size of an iPhone and that includes the battery. This is absolutely incredible and showing it to people, they say: "Where's the rest of it?!"

Second, unlike my home theater projector, this uses laser technology so it is always in perfect focus. Let me repeat that: IT IS ALWAYS IN PERFECT FOCUS. This is mind-numbingly cool and is a game-changer in and of itself! Focus is one of those things that you fiddle with almost every time you start the projector, but here it is always perfect. Amazing!

Next, because of the lasers, there are no bulbs to burn out--an expensive and annoying feature of traditional projectors.

So, in theory, this is an astounding piece of technology, but what about the image quality? Well, I am delighted to report that it is superb! Crisp, clear, with eye-popping colors and very good resolution. It also fortunately looks great with video, with a rapid response that really looks perfect.

What are the negatives?

Well there are two: the first is that it is bright but could be brighter. In a dark room, it looks amazing, even projecting to over 100 inches on the ceiling! But if there is some ambient light, it gets faded fast at larger sizes. That said, keeping a small and concentrated image--say 30 or 40 inches, it looks pretty great and would be a much better way to show photos, videos or slides than on your phone or even iPad.

The second is that the resolution is really good, but not quite as sharp as a home projector. Given the source material (phones and even iPads), however, this works out well.

I am thinking that this is the direction things will go. With low prices like these already, and with increasing brightness each iteration, I am wondering when these will replace LCD and Plasma TVs--I think it really is just a matter of time. For now, this is an incredible unit for anyone who needs to present to small groups on the go: sales folks, executives, and even teachers for smaller groups. For just a few hundred dollars, you are a totally self-contained AV service. This is going to make a very big splash, I think.

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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars SHOWWX+ December 27, 2010

By LP

Pretty happy with this upgraded version. Using this toy mainly for watching streaming video movies from Netflix. Good for up to 40 in. on the wall in semi-dark env. Linked via s-video from laptop to composite video on the projector. Bought an s-video to rca convertor.

Pros:
-ultra compact
-adjustable image size and color
-always in focus
-no noise

Cons:
-poor for viewing text (almost can not view any words in MS Word doc from VGA docking to laptop)

Looking forward for HD and brighter laser pico projector in the future.

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