New Pico Projectors Put PowerPoint, Movies, and More in Your Pocket

The days of schlepping big, heavy projectors may finally be over. 3M's new MP160 and MP180 projectors are compact and lightweight enough to ride in a pocket. A roomy, slightly oversize pocket, maybe, but, hey, it's trenchcoat season. You should be covered.

I'm going to focus primarily on the MP180, which at $399 costs just $50 more than the MP160 but offers so much more. For starters, it comes with 4GB of storage and a microSD slot, meaning you can stock the thing with your PowerPoint files, videos, and the like. Imagine giving a presentation without a PC.

The MP180 also has a color touchscreen interface, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, stereo speakers, an audio output, and a built-in MP3 player for some reason.

All this fits in a gadget that measures 1.3 by 2.5 by 5.9 inches (HWD) and weighs 12 ounces.

As a projector, the MP180 can produce SVGA (i.e. 800 by 600) images with 30 lumens of brightness. The previous-gen model, the MPro120, topped out at 12 lumens. Its built-in rechargeable battery lasts for two hours, according to 3M.

If you travel a lot and wish you could lighten your load, the MP180 could be the answer to a prayer. On paper, it looks like pure pocket gold.