Micron Technology PoP Video

The Apple iPhone excels at many tasks, but when it comes to sharing photos and videos with a large group of friends, the small 3.5-inch screen just doesn't cut it. The Micron Technology PoP Video ($99 direct) is a nifty little pico projector that will help solve your image-sharing woes. It features a portable design that connects directly to handheld iDevices (iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S and 3rd-Generation iPod Touch or later) to project images at qHD resolution onto nearly any surface. It can't compete with full-fledged projectors, but for the price, it's an easy and effective way to quickly share images, videos, and even most websites.

Design, Features, and Setup
Among the smallest pico projectors available, the PoP Video measures 0.6 by 1.8 by 4.4 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.5 ounces. The comparable Optoma Pico PK120?($250, 4 stars) measures 0.7 by 2.0 by 4.2 inches and 4.4 ounces. On one end of the PoP Video is the LED light source, which can project an image at 960-by-540-pixel resolution. That's better than the PK102's 480-by-320-pixel resolution and the 3M Pocket Projector MPro150?($385, 4 stars) with its 640-by-480-pixel resolution. The PoP Video gets its name from the built-in 30-pin Apple dock connector that pops up out of the back end of the device. Popping the dock up also reveals a micro USB port for charging with the included cable. Along the right side is the power switch, which also doubles as the focus slider. On the left is a single LED that glows red, yellow, or green to indicate battery life and connection status. It's an extremely simple and streamlined design, but the construction quality feels a bit flimsy, with too much wiggle room in the pop-up dock. ?

Setup is simple and straightforward: Pop the dock up, slide your iDevice into place, and a prompt will appear to install the free PoP Video app. The app provides six options for projecting content from your Apple device: YouTube, Web, Photos, Videos, Facebook, and Magnifying Glass. The YouTube option is great for sharing the latest viral videos you find, while the Photo and Video options let you share images and videos stored locally. The Web option brings up a browser and the Magnifying Glass projects whatever is in front of your rear-facing camera.

Performance and Conclusions
The LED light source on the PoP Video is only rated at 5 lumens, compared with the 11-lumen rating of the PK120 ?or the 15 lumens ?of the MPro150 , but the folks at Micron claim an effective lumen output of 10. For its intended uses, the picture looks pretty good, though fairly dim. You'll definitely want to turn off as many lights as possible for best results, but when the room is dark, images look detailed and colors look pleasantly saturated. Contrast is a bit low, and the focus slider is difficult to tune precisely. The optimal projection range of 5 to 50 inches is a bit optimistic. At the lower end, images look suitably bright in rooms with moderate lighting. However, when you start going bigger, the image washes out unless the room is made very dark.

Settings within the app can adjust Gamma, Contrast, Brightness, and Sharpness. There is also an Enhance slider, which appears to affect both contrast and color saturation using what Micron calls the "Visual Enhancement Engine". The results are good and I mostly left the Auto-Enhance option on, as it made somewhat-dim images a bit easier on the eyes.

There's no speaker, but I found that the iPhone 4's speaker was loud enough in most cases?again this product is not meant for sitting down and watching, say, a full-length film. On that note, I tested battery life by playing back the longest YouTube videos I could find and the PoP Video exceeded the two hour mark, which matches Micron's claim. However, keep in mind that the PoP Video is meant to be used handheld, and setting it down on a flat surface can lead to overheating. I saw a heat warning after about two hours of continuous playback when lying flat, but when propped up a bit the heat was not an issue.?

iPhone owners feeling envious of the built-in projector on the Samsung Galaxy Beam?should look no further than the Micron Technology PoP Video. You won't want to count on it for extended viewing sessions, but as far as sharing your videos and images with a large group of friends, the PoP Video excels and does so at a reasonable price point.

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