I couldn’t agree more with the email description of Vivitek’s Qumi Q5 LED pocket projector; it’s made for work, travel or play. And the company states it’s the first pocket projector to be 3D-ready via DLP Link.
Given all the places you can use it, compatibility is the real plus. It projects digital content stored in just about any device including smartphones, tablets, laptop or desktop computers or directly from video or still digital cameras.
Now that you know what it can do, using it is as simple as turning it on.
The DLP lamp-free projector is built to last over 10,000 hours without a loss of light, over 30,000 hours overall and with an output up to 500 lumens. I didn’t put that many hours into it, but when I do I’ll let you know the status.
Until then, you just connect it to your device through a choice of connections (audio-out, AV-in, DC-in, HDMI, USB input, and a universal in/out port) and play away. It can be projected on a conference room wall for a presentation or against an outside wall for a movie night.
It measures 6.3-by-1.3-by-4.0-inches and weighs 1.1-pounds so it can fit in your pocket, but just don’t sit on it.
Other specifications include an internal 2 W mono speaker, a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 and it has a fixed (non-zooming) lens.
Also available is the Q7 ($799) with 800 lumens and the Q7 plus ($806) with 1000 lumens.
Details: vivitekusa.com, $440 red, yellow, blue, black and white
Boombot personalized and portable
There’s no denying the choice of portable Bluetooth speakers is endless, so when you’re shopping for one, consider the price as well as what features stand out.
In the case of the Boombot REX Build-A-Bot, it’s probably the most personalized and customized portable Bluetooth speaker. You can choose the color of the speaker body, grill and bracket and have your own photo or logo printed permanently on the speaker grill.
As for the speaker, it measures 3.3-by-3.3-by-2.1-inches and according to the company it’s rated as the highest power-to-size ratio speaker in its class, which I couldn’t argue with.
Inside the water-resistant speaker is a rechargeable battery good for about 8 hours of sound, an internal microphone for hands-free calls and a bass woofer.
Having your own personalized photo on the speaker is really cool. When ordering, just upload your digital image to the site (the highest quality will give the best results) for the front facing grill and choose the colors of your grill, body and bracket.
The Boombot comes with a one-year, no-matter-what warranty, which I’m told includes accidentally running over the speaker with your car.
The results are outstanding and make it stand out like no other I’ve seen.
Details: boombotix.com, $79.99
Grain Audio earbuds give great deep bass
I’ve tried many earbuds that claim to be great looking with even better sound and they fall short in the latter of the two. My thought is that too much time is devoted to looks over sound.
That’s not the case with the Grain Audio wooden in-ear headphones (model IEHP). They sound and look great and fit comfortably in your ears (four ear-tip sizes included for getting the right fit).
They have a stylish finish and the body of the earbuds is wood. Specifically they are constructed of FSC certified walnut with a hand-applied oil finish.
The sound gives a great deep bass and kept me listening for hours at any volume level without distortion.
There’s an in-line mic for call and a control button for your tunes.
www.GrainAudio.com $99
