
Aside from group songs, 20 questions, the license plate game and an occasional Mad Lib, portable DVD players are a godsend when traveling with kids. When we don't have the players our girls beg to borrow our iPhones to watch reruns of Hannah Montana or The Suite Life. Usually the novelty of watching their shows on the iPhone wears-off after about 30 minutes and it's back to boredom. At 480x320, the screen is too small for watching a half hour show, let alone a feature movie.
Relief is here in the small form factor of the Pico Pocket Projector by Optoma (model PK-101). This portable DLP projector is roughly the same size as your iPhone, but can project an image up to 60 inches in size! With a 1000:1 contrast ratio and an LED light source that lasts over 20,000 hours, the Optoma Pico can project on nearly any surface from 10” to 102” away, making it perfectly suited for on-the-go entertainment or presentations for work.
The Optoma Pico's lithium ion battery only lasts 1.5 hours (but the unit comes with 2) and is recharged via USB or included AC power adaptor. The Optoma Pico works with iPod, iPhone & iTouch with the bundled connection kit. It also supports Camcorders, DV-Cams, Digital Cameras, DVD Players and other video players enabled with standard composite AV Out (a composite cable is also included).
Pros
For about $300USD, the Optoma Pico is an excellent choice for on the go entertainment. The ability to project onto any surface, such as the back of an airplane's tray table or a piece of while foam board you can keep in the car makes it a nice alternative to carrying around a DVD player. It's also fun to play iPhone games such as Crash Bandicot using the Optoma Pico.
Cons
On the downside, the Optoma Pico does not connect to notebook computers, PCs, PDAs, cell phones, or other devices unless the device has composite output. Also the battery life is fairly short-lived. But the positives are it's quality picture, small size and fair price.