Tech review: 3M LED micro projector - MP410

Dubai: 3M’s new LED micro projector — MP410 — is ideal for streaming content from your smartphone, tablet or laptop.

It measures just four inches in width and length, and stands just an inch tall. It also features 1GB of memory, a microSD slot , USB port, HDMI, VGA connection, and is capable of projecting images at WXGA resolution.

The MP410 is not just a business tool and is perfect for personal use whether showing movies in the lounge or using while travelling. It weighs just 375 grams.

The positive side of the projector is that it has an instant on and off and excellent connectivity options.

As with all our LED projectors, it’s ready when you are. No need to wait for boot up or purchase expensive replacement lamps or replace filters. It connects to almost any device, including smartphones, iOS devices, laptops and other AV devices.

The great thing about the wireless streaming option is there is no need to take your laptop with you when doing your presentation as you can present directly from your mobile phone with the optional wireless adapter so you can control your presentation from across the room.

The palm-sized projector has an impressive 20,000 hour LED life, a brightness level of 300-lumens and HD-image output of up to 100 inches diagonally even at 15 feet away from the wall.

The projector has a 16:10 aspect ratio.

During my testing, I ran a video from my laptop for about an hour, and the projector did get quite warm. I also tested some pictures and MP3 songs from my USB drive. It gave a resolution of 1280×800 pixels.

The picture is gorgeous and video plays very smooth and fast.

The menu system is somewhat intuitive for those familiar with modern electronics although there are some advanced features worth reading about in the manual. There are a lot of options available in the menu that one comes to expect from a modern projector including mirror imaging and image flipping to project in all sorts of environments.

The negative side of the projector is that its sound quality is not very good. Depending on the environment and ambient noise, you may have to use some external speakers. I’ve never been one to use a projector as a sound source anyway, so I didn’t see this as much of a problem. However, I would suggest external speakers for watching a movie.

It supports MOV‚ MP4‚ AVI‚ MKV‚ DIVX‚ WMV‚ WMV3 video formats and MP1‚ MP2‚ MP3‚ WMA audio formats.

You cannot fix the projector to the ceiling as it does not have a remote control, so it has to be set on a table. You also need to purchase the optional WiFi dongle and wirelessly stream your content.

It is priced at Dh2,699