The handheld projectors category includes the latest in ultra-portable projectors, pico projectors, and hand held projectors for iphone, smart phones, laptops, and other primarily portable devices. See below for a list of hand held video projector reviews and information pages.
The latest in imaging technology has made handheld projectors possible. These projectors are now small enough to fit within a pants pocket and can produce a high-resolution picture with good brightness and low energy consumption.
Handheld projectors are practical for portable use and can be integrated with device applications on the iPod or iPhone.
These handheld projectors, most commonly referred to as pico projectors, enhance the enjoyment of media, pictures, and video browsing from a large projection screen rather than your small iPhone display. One size class up from handheld/pico projectors are pocket projectors, which weigh under 2 lbs and can project and image up to 65 inches.
Handheld projector brands: 3M, LG, Samsung, InFocus, and Epson.
Handheld Projector Resource: The 2010 Pico Projector and Pocket Projector Report
Handheld Projectors are a mobile solution for gaming, business presentations, and enjoying media on a larger display screen.
Handheld projectors aren’t really a category, but it is a search phrase that a lot of people use. Essentially, a handheld projector is just that, something small enough to carry in one hand, though for some reason few projectors have handles.
For all practical purposes, most projectors that could be called handheld, fit into the pico projector, and pocket projector categories. That is to say, very small projectors weighing less than 2 pounds (and as little as three ounces).
There are a number of other light projectors though that might just qualify. InFocus always seems to have something under 2.5 pounds, with lots of lumens, that’s fairly small, even if massive compared to the pico projectors.
Handheld Projector Reviews
October 11, 2023
The ASUS ZenBeam L2 is a portable 1080p smart LED projector for on-the-go movie nights for a $699 MSRP.
August 14, 2023
The new AAXA P7+ is one of the latest ultra-portable LED DLP, ultra-portable with a built-in battery. The P7+ with solar charger sells for an MSRP of $389.
June 10, 2023
The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF11 is a compact and portable laser projector, which retails for $699 and offers 1000 ANSI lumens of brightness and Full HD resolution.
April 24, 2023
The XGIMI MoGo 2 Pro, priced at $599.00, is a portable smart projector offering Full HD (1080p) resolution, an integrated audio system, and 400 ISO lumens of brightness.
November 14, 2022
AAXA P400 The AAXA P400 is a battery-powered, LED short-throw, DLP projector capable of displaying a Full HD (1920x1080) resolution image which retails for $269. The P400 is one of the newest models from AAXA which is a leading manufacturer of smal ...
August 19, 2021
The XGIMI Elfin Smart LED projector is a Smart LED 1080P projector rated to deliver up to 800 ANSI lumens, and it retails for $649.
May 5, 2021
The XGIMI Halo is a smart 1080P portable DLP projector with a compact design that is super portable, awarded the Projector Reviews Best in Class Award.
March 17, 2021
The ViewSonic M2 Smart 1080P LED projector with Harman Kardon Bluetooth speakers (referred to as “the M2” in the remainder of this review) is a 500 ANSI Lumen (1200 LED lumen), full HD (1,920 x1,080) DLP LED-powered business and home media projector de ...
November 6, 2020
The Philips PicoPix Max is a Full HD (1,920x1,080) DLP projector capable of producing up to a 120’ image, with built in speakers, and up to a 3-hour battery life.
November 22, 2019
‘Tis the season to be shopping for your next home entertainment or home theater projector! Welcome to our annual shopping guide, the Holiday Guide for Seven Great Home Theater Projectors Under $2000. In this guide we’ve selected some great projectors f ...
December 15, 2017
The Acer K138ST is a pocket projector designed for big screen gaming on the go.
November 28, 2017
We have created two Holiday Gift Guides from our favorite projectors of this year, one for home theater projectors and screens under $2000, and one for those priced over $2000.
Price
Pricing of handheld projectors is all over the place. Of the Pico projectors, we’re seeing pricing from about $100 on the entry level end, to $600 – $800 for laser light source Picos. The heart of the market, though, is $200 – $400. Our favorite projector in the 2010 Pico projector report, however, produced 50 lumens (a huge amount for a Pico projector), for a $399 list price.
The pocket projectors also span a wide range, from about $400 and also up to about $800. If you add in a few of the smallest or most hand-holdable of the portable projectors, you will find some over $1000 including some of the Casio models.
Resolution
Resolution for the Handheld Projector also varies across a wide range. Today’s crop of pico projectors now include widescreen models and even XGA models. A few of the bigger, heavier pocket projectors, are now available in XGA or WXGA resolutions.
Of course the smallest lightest of the portable projectors find models going up even higher, and will continue to offer higher resolutions, just as each generation will get brighter, and have other improvements.
Battery Life
Most Handheld Projectors can run for about 1 hour on rechargeable battery, and many can recharge in 4 hours or less.
Unfortunately not all pico projectors have removeable batteries, so you may not be able to have a spare. That would be a drag if you wanted to watch a movie, but couldn’t plug in.
A great combination is Optoma’s PK301 – 50 lumens on AC, 20 lumens on internal battery. The PK301, however, offers a external battery pack (made by a 3rd party). It’s roughly the size of the projector, and likely weighs a little more.
When using the projector with the battery pack, the projector produces that full 50 lumens again. As an added bonus, the pack is standard USB, so I have been recharging my iPhone with it too. (I can get a full four iPhone charges off of it, between recharging it’s own battery supply.
The applications for handheld projectors are varied. From gaming to missionary work (truly a huge market for pocket projectors, and soon also pico projectors, especially now that we’re seeing 50 lumen models).
These tiny projectors are new. They are fun. Are they practical?
Check out A Guide To Pico Projectors to read more about current handheld projectors, pico projectors, mini projectors and pocket projectors.
