By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
With the sheer amount of content and entertainment that most mobile devices can carry, Pico projectors are the ideal companions for enjoying this content on a larger scale and on-the-go.
Celluon's PicoAir projector is incredibly tiny. At 7 ounces and with a very thin profile, it can be easily slipped into a shirt pocket or tossed into your gadget bag. We showed it to various people while asking them to guess what the device was and nobody guessed that this was a full-featured pico projector. It is very easy to confuse this with a sleek smartphone charger or external battery.
Build quality is reassuringly solid and gives one the confidence that the PicoAir can be taken anywhere. As a frequent traveler (and projector aficionado), I often bring my ASUS projector along with me but since I've been using the PicoAir with my LG G4, it's more than sufficient for most of my needs.
This pocket-sized projector can generate a 720p HD image in 16:9 wide screen and it doesn't require manual focusing which is a feature even larger, more expensive projectors don't offer. While getting it wirelessly connected via DLNA proved tricky, using Miracast was a straightforward way to connect and once mated to a device, it is easy to start projecting text, images and photos.
Key to the experience is that it connects wirelessly through Miracast on Android devices. Sounds magical but it really is only as good as the Miracast implementation on your device. It took us more than a few tries and devices to work through the pairing function of the Cellulon PicoAir projector and at times I wished I could simply plug it in to get it to work. There's another device from Cellulon, the PicoPro, which integrates an HDMI-in port, which makes it more versatile.
Once connected wirelessly though and in a completely darkened room, the PicoAir really does feel like magic. Picture quality is reasonably bright and watching slideshows as well as streaming videos from YouTube (in HD no less) was quite a treat. The ultra quiet, fan-free operation makes you forget that you are using a projector and the ability to quickly project and mirror images on you device is so convenient.
I am an avid Slingbox user and the combination of the Celluon PicoAir, the Slingplayer app and my LG G4 smartphone makes it dead easy to watch TV shows and sports events from back home anywhere I am. The PicoAir's 2.5 hour battery life is generous for such a tiny device and the fact that it takes a microUSB connector means I can simply plug it into my monster Mophie power pack and project away.
Celluon's PicoAir micro projector completely delivers on the promise of wireless portable pico projection not just for images but also for video. It's an ideal companion for smartphone or tablet users who are heavy content consumers provided their devices have DLNA or Miracast compatibility.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5