95 Lumen WVGA Pico Projector

Using on a MacBook Pro. Used Mac MiniDVI to VGA adapter (not included) to connect to the VGA cable supplied with the projector. Will eventually get a MiniDVI to Mini HDMI cable for normal use but the VGA quality was excellent. In a normal daylight room with overhead florescent, the brightness was sufficient on battery power to view the display on a white wall 8 feet. At 25 feet, projection is still good and size of picture is good, but blinds to block sunlight coming in. On the power adapter, it is noticeably brighter. If you are using this for a business meeting in a small conference room where you can dim the lights, it should be good enough to get the job done. If a large meeting room where a larger size is needed, worse case you may have to run it off a power adapter and shade the ambient light. In my opinion, it rivals the bigger and bulkier units. Note I was also running on battery power out of the box, not sure if they recharged it or not at the factory. It came with a mini to standard USB cable, about 6 inches in length, a cable for component video connectivity into a phone connector (TRRS) that is on the receiving side for the projector, a 3 foot mini VGA (projector side) to VGA standard cable, 1/8 inch. There is a headphone port 1/8" TRS. I did not test the audio quality because I tend not to use audio in my presentations beyond my own voice (I figure if I am not doing the talking live, what is the point of me being there?). It comes with a small remote. Not sure I will ever use that since I tend to control my presentations through the keyboard on my machine. It also comes with a flexible three point leg tripod that is 4.5 inches tall before adjusting the legs. It is packed in decent box worth keeping it organized in if you don't end up using some other kind of bag box. I will probably get a small camera/aluminum box to carry it in. The power adapter has about 4.5 feet of cable length. It outputs 12vdc at 2A, cylindrical jack with outside negative. 1/8" diameter. Shipped with a glossy two sided business card for tech support to ensure customer satisfaction. 714 area code number, email address, hours of operations, street address of AAXA Technologies. Looks like they are seriously interested in satisfied customers. The 32 page users guide is 3.5" X 5" in size, full of pictures. I did not actually read it, or need to, but given the amount of pictures it looks pretty simple if for some reason someone really cannot figure out how to use the device without it. I found the device to be pretty intuitive. When powered on it gives the option for using the mini SD card (not supplied but a port for one is on the front of the device), USB, VGA, HDMI, Composite or settings. It was pretty simple to navigate through by going left and right (not up and down). There is a back button, ok button, up, down, left, right, power on/off, and manual rotation focus control. To power on/off, hold the power button down for a few seconds. Pushing it with immediate release sends power to the unit but it does not stay on. The size is as the picture shows. It fit nicely in my hand the very same way. 5.5"X2.75" by just over 1"… weighs about as much as my mouse and iPhone held at the same time (I know, technical….but I did not have a scale. In short it is light). Given all that I really like it and it will do the job I need it to do. For the price I could have probably got an entry level larger projector, but the whole point was that I don't want to lug around a whole projector especially on a plane. The negatives. The fan is a bit loud, but I was in a room by myself when I tested it and no other noise. It is likely not any louder than any other projector that I have ever used. The room was measuring 40dB with the device off, and 54dB with the device on. The difference between a quite home or whisper conversation and a normal or quiet conversation. Talking at my normal volume, the meter was at 86dB. The meter I am using is an iPhone app, so it's likely not accurate or calibrated but based on the reference points of normal ambient noise and my normal speaking voice, you should get an idea of how loud the fan really is (I have good ears so it sounded loud to me relative to no room noise..but not so loud one cannot talk over it or find it too distracting in a large room…I was standing right next to it). The lens assembly is recessed in the unit so one should never accidentally touch it unless they go out of their way to stick a finger down 0.75" diameter hole in the front that leads to the lens. Still, a cap would be nice just to keep dust out. Then again, there are a lot of airflow vents on this device, so can you really keep dust away from it? Speaking of airflow vents, you can see the circuits through them which means they did a good job in packaging everything…just do not spill anything on it. Some have said it lacks in features that other pico projectors have for playing multimedia without a computer. I'm not sure the benefit of being able to put a powerpoint on a USB or SD card and playing it off the projector. If I am projecting, I'm probably trying to cause the audience to respond in some way or ensure they are informed. Not knowing what questions they may have in advance, I'm going to have my laptop or other device with me anyway. Bottom line, I am pleased with the purchase because it is going to do what I need it to do: Project big enough and bright enough to conduct business meetings while being compact enough that I can easily put it in my carry on with my laptop.