What’s Hot.
Small size; better color display than competitors
What’s Not.
Image quality; focus capabilities
The bottom line.
Although named the Micro Professional Projector, the MPro110, a fun gadget with room for improvement, is better suited for personal use.
My mother always said that the best things come in small packages. While I wouldn’t say the MPro110, 3M’s addition to the new pocket projector category, is the best thing to ever happen to the projection world, it certainly is a fun little gadget to have around. At 2.0 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches (wdh) and 5.6 ounces, the MPro110 literally fits in your pocket. That’s a pretty small package.
3M claims that the MPro110, which features LCOS and LED technology, should operate for up to 10,000 hours. This mini-projector works with computers, cell phones and PDAs to project just about anything anywhere you want, provided it’s a really dark place, like maybe the wall of a cave in the middle of the woods. But, hey, if you have your iPhone and the MPro110 and get stuck in a cave at night, you’ll have the ability to watch Old School yet again. Just another reason for me to buy the iPhone . . . .
Anyway, the MPro110 comes with a rechargeable battery that really lasts about 30 minutes. Easy to set up, the projector uses additional cables to connect to a computer, power source and composite and VGA sources. Many users complain, however, that the VGA cable is too stiff and tends to move the light projector out of place. The MPro110 doesn’t include audio capabilities so you will need to find an additional source to present with sound.
The MPro110 includes just three controls: on, off and focus. Unfortunately, the focus wheel has been reported as quite flimsy and difficult to use effectively. The projector does include a tri-pod screw, which is helpful. Since the projector cannot be elevated itself, you will need to use a tripod or place the projector on a table edge to prevent the bottom of the image from being displayed on the table itself.
The image quality is about what you would expect from a first-generation device like the MPro110. It’s good, but not great. It best displays images from 4 feet away, which creates about a 20-inch screen. If you want larger images, the MPro110 can manage it, but at about 6 feet away (40-inch screen size) you will start to lose detail. Despite accepting a higher resolution input, the MPro110’s resolution output doesn’t surpass 640×480. The brightness and contrast are okay, but, as mentioned, you’ll need a room that’s very near pitch-black.
All in all, the 3M MPro110 is better suited for personal entertainment use like projecting movies. Business users, if looking to present in a board room, will probably be disappointed in the display size and image quality. Still, the MPro110 packs a nice little punch into a fun little package.
