The Other End Of The Projector Market

The pages of Live Design—not too mention this column—are frequently peppered with high-end projectors that almost daily become brighter and higher in resolution. In an effort to relieve the constant stream of $60k media monsters, today we present the other end of the projector market: the $200 Micro Projector from www.DrinkStuff.com, an absolutely incredible example of how diverse the display technologies market has become.

While the Micro Projector’s 480x240 resolution isn’t going to replace your HD front end anytime soon, its output guarantees that this is a strictly “lights out” unit. With four AA batteries as power, playback from an onboard SD card player, and the total size and weight of a fancy remote control, I’m sure someone will find a use for the Micro Projector any second now. Heck, at that price I can think of more than a few uses for a bunch of Micro Projectors.

The strangest part about this is that by releasing this projector, DrinkStuff (a company that essentially markets novelty gadgets, kind of like a low-end SkyMall) beat some of the biggest technology companies in the world to the punch. Samsung, 3M, and Sony are all developing super small projectors, principally designed for use in cell phones and portable media players. Even smaller, brighter, higher resolution than the Micro - but with higher estimated starting prices.

Plus, sometimes it’s just fun to be first.