Recently, popular gadget blog Engadget ran an article that was headlined with 3M’s MPro 120 pocket projector fights the good fight at CEATAC.  I’m not certain why they chose to word it that way, but it sounded like they were not impressed with the current market on pocket projectors. 

I can understand that, because the pocket projectors is not a market that hasn’t really taken off yet, but only because the technology is relatively new.  Considering that the tech world changes every day, it is hard to believe that most people don’t have one of these by now.  I believe the bigger plan is to put these projectors on cellular phones.  The tech required from it is pocket-sized, but not that small. 

The Engadget compared the 3M MPro 120 to another, more expensive projector, the SHOW WX.  Having never had any pocket projector before, I found it very easy to set up.  All it took was plugging it into my laptop where you plug in an external monitor.  I had to go into the Windows Control Panel to make it work from there, and hook the projector up as if it were a separate monitor. 

From there, I was able to take anything on my computer and put it on my wall.  The image was fifty inches in diameter maximum, and it was a little like going to the movies.  The tiny projector came with a miniature tripod to stand, but the sound was not quite good.  I highly recommend the Sharper Image Indoor Outdoor Wireless Speaker or some sort of external speaker. 

I found that I was able to take anything on Hulu, expand it to fullscreen, and it felt like I was watching a movie in the theater.  Oddly enough, I tried putting in a DVD and doing the same trick on Windows Media Player, but it didn’t work. 

Also, you might discover that you can’t really project your iPod video files from the MPro 120 with just the MPro 120 alone.  You’ll need to get some attachment cables for that. 

As for the power, it can be charged via outlet for a few hours, and a full charge is good for four hours.  Speaking of power, the energy saving LED light lasts 20,000 hours.

If you like this, feel free to head over to the 3M website and lay down $385.00 if you want a 3M MPro 120 pocket projector of your own.