10 years ago if you had thought about projection, and projectors per se you would probably have thought about the cinema, perhaps the regular multimedia projector that offers low resolutions (typically the best back then was 640x480 - a resolution now beaten in most modern mobile phones such as the Apple iPhone). But in the last 10 years technology manufacturers both big and small within the audio visual realm have been researching and developing the idea of a hand held micro projector.
The first generation of micro projectors were launched mid to late 2008/early 2009 and we are already starting to see a wave of 2nd generation pocket projector's being launched, such as the 3m mpro 120 and the AAXA P2 pico projectors. This highlights the increasing velocity of developments within the realm of micro projectors. While the first generation of micro projectors offered limited resolutions all below 640x480, we are now starting to see much higher resolutions.
The second wave of micro projectors launched are featuring much better resolutions such as 800x600 and there are even hints of higher, near-HD resolutions. The technology behind these developments include laser based visual drivers, which couple red, green and blue lasers into a single module together with a mirror based (MEM) system to provide a clear, bright and automatically focused laser projection. LCD based pico projectors have also been bolstered by the news that Syndiant, a tiny lCD producer based in the USA have managed to make some huge resolution lCD display's smaller than 1 cm in size - these tiny displays will allow microprojector manufacturers to produce higher resolution pico's in increasingly smaller sizes.
What then will the third wave of pico projectors look like? 2010 is likely to be a great year for the pocket projector - with a HD micro projector that will fit in your hand quite likely to feature, a longer battery life is also likely, powered by newer battery technologies like li-ion. Other features that will probably spring up in the third generation of micro projectors will be things like wi-fi support, larger on gadget memory and increased brightness and contrast ratios. The third generation of the handheld projector will be one truly epic gadget and the development around the technology will mean a lot more different types of gadget's will start using embedded pico projectors as they become smaller and more efficient, don't be surprised if you see a net-book with a pico projector embedded by the end of 2010! Micro projectors are likely to be the biggest technology of 2010, if you ask me!
David G Wood [http://www.microprojector5.co.uk]Micro Projectors @ microProjector5.co.uk [http://wiki.microprojector5.co.uk/index.php?title=Main_Page]Pico Projector Wiki
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Micro-Projectors-and-Pico-Projectors---Biggest-Technology-of-2010?&id=3110677] Micro Projectors & Pico Projectors - Biggest Technology of 2010?
Related Links:
http://astore.amazon.com/3m-mpro150-20
http://astore.amazon.com/3m-mpro120-20
http://astore.amazon.com/mpro150-3m-20
http://astore.amazon.com/mpro120-3m-20