Gone are the days when projectors often rhymed with heavy-duty optical devices since you have the option to pick the lighter version. The kind where you can easily carry it from one place to another. Just like their bigger brothers, the portable projectors can be used for both business or leisure such as casting movie/series contents or image presentations.
What To Look For When Buying A Portable Projector?
Given the facts that projectors do not generally come cheap, it is important to take a few things into consideration before purchasing it with your hard-earned money. Here are some of the tips below:
i) Picture Quality
So, are you using your projector primarily for movies or presentations? If you are particularly fussy for the former, you might want to look out for a projector that comes with a higher native resolution at Full HD (1920 x 1080) or 4K (3840 x 2160).
ii) Brightness
Here’s the general rule of thumb when picking a portable projector: the more lumens it has, the brighter the image it’s going to be. This is particularly important since the higher rating of lumens mean you can project your image clearly even if you are not in the dark room.
iii) Connectivity
Generally, the more connectivity a projector offers the better. Some come with both wired and wireless options while some others only have wired varieties. Depending on your usage, you might want to consider popular options like HDMI, USB, Bluetooth and WiFi. So, depending on your respective needs and budgets, here are the 8 best portable projectors worth considering for.
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Sporting a space-saving form factor reminiscent of a canister, the Anker Nebula Capsule II boasts a wealth of features including a durable lamp life up to 30,000 hours and reasonable brightness at 200 ANSI lumens. It also comes with 1280 x 720 native resolution as well as DLP technology for both crystal-clear and stunning high-definition projection.
And that is not all, as Anker Nebula Capsule II allows you to cast various contents from over 3,600 apps such as YouTube and Twitch while the built-in 8W speaker is loud enough, given its portable size and price combined. Connectivity options are just as versatile, with the likes of Chromecast and HDMI regardless of laptop, Blu-ray player or smartphone.
Small but mighty, this Epson EB-S41 is a portable business projector made suitable for the likes of meeting and conference rooms. It comes with an incredible brightness up to 3,300 lumens with a high contrast ratio of 15,000:1, meaning you don’t have to worry about dim-looking PowerPoint presentations in front of your client(s) and office employees.
Other key highlights include a sustainable lamp life up to 10,000 hours if you switch the projector in eco-mode, an auto power-on function once it successfully detects its projection signal using USB or VGA cable while the horizontal keystone adjuster is made easy for quick screen alignment.
Enjoy cinematic experience at the comfort of your own home with the ViewSonic X10, which features a vivid 4K resolution and a crisp brightness up to 2,400 LED lumens. For the latter, it claims to sustain up to 30,000 hours of usage while the combination of HDR10 and Cinema SuperColor+ technology offers a dynamic range of colour and details.
The ViewSonic X10 even includes built-in dual integrated speakers from the renowned Harman Kardon, which promises lifelike sound quality. Other key features to look out for include the frame interpolation technology that helps to minimise motion blur seen in fast-moving images and a built-in WiFi that supports screen mirroring including Android and iPhone devices.
Weighing at a mere 240g, the Canon Rayo S1 doesn’t skimp on features -- all of which are crammed within its compact-size form factor. It can last up to 20,000 hours of lamp life at 100 lumens with a 3,800mAh battery capacity sustainable at 2 hours max.
The Canon Rayo S1 also comes with an onboard 4GB memory for storing the likes of videos and presentation slides while it has a tripod mount for propping up the projector. Finally, it supports both iOS and Android, thanks to its easy-to-use wireless connectivity.
At 497g, this lightweight projector from Asus is portable enough to fit most palms and also made it easy for storage even in your backpack. But don’t let its small size fools you since Asus ZenBeam S2 features a brightness of 500 lumens with a lifespan of 30,000 hours and supports HD resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.
It has a built-in battery of 6,000mAh capacity that can sustain up to 3.5 hours of continuous usage while the battery itself is doubled as a power source for charging a mobile device, thanks to the combination of 5V/1A power output and USB-A port. Connectivity-wise, it supports both wired (USB-C & HDMI) and even wireless as well from mobile devices.
First things first, the PC speaker-like form factor makes it less like a projector but the truth is, the Anker Nebula Mars II actually offers the best of both worlds: a portable DLP projector with 300 ANSI lumens that has a durable lamp life up to 30,000 hours and a built-in dual 10W speakers.
For the former, it can project a stunning image at 1280 x 720 HD resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Given its portability, you can use it both indoors and outdoors with long-lasting battery life at 4 hours max. You don’t have to worry about connectivity either since it supports the likes of USB, HDMI and WiFi.
Upon the first glance at the Epson EF-100B, the two-tone finish that sports black exterior with bronze accents on the front makes it the projector all the more classy and exclusive. When comes to the features, it packs a brightness of 2,000 lumens using the 3LCD laser diode technology that offers you punchy colours and vivid details.
The lamp life itself is durable enough at 20,000 hours while you can enjoy crisp HD resolution at 1280 x 800. It also comes with a built-in 5W speaker and connectivity options including USB and HDMI.
Thinking of owning a portable projector but tight on budget? Here’s one for you: the budget-friendly Acer C202i that is lightweight enough at just 350g. At 854 x 480 native resolution, it is decent enough for casual movie viewing and image presentations while the inclusion of LED lighting boasts a durable lifespan up to 30,000 hours.
Despite its small form factor, the Acer C202i still manages to cram sufficient connectivity options such as USB and HDMI ports. The battery life is worth noting as well, with a whopping 9,000mAh capacity that can last up to 5 hours of usage.