Acer K138ST Projector Review – A Pocket Sized Gaming Machine

The Acer K138ST is a pocket projector designed for gaming. Its portable nature makes it highly appropriate for those who want big screen gaming on the go. At 1.65 pounds, it is ideal for travel and for taking to and from friends’ houses for party gaming, binge watching Netflix, and movie night. It can be projected on a smooth, white wall, so the image can be any size from the smallest 25” (why bother?) to a desirable 100” diagonal. It is a short throw, so it sits pretty close to the screen surface or wall, making the Acer K138ST great for tight spaces such as studio apartments, dorm rooms, and hotels.

The Acer K138ST has an LED light engine that has a rated life of up to 30,000 hours in ECO mode. In the face of ambient light, you’ll likely be using the projector at full power to make use of all its 800 lumens. Even so, that light engine’s rated life span is 20,000 hours at full power, so you’re not going to be replacing the light engine, ever. You’ll get yourself a new projector well before its last day has come. That it is 800 lumens is a definite plus – many pico and pocket projectors barely scrape by with 400, making this K138ST a higher class of pocket projector.

The K138ST costs $599, making it direct competition to AAXA’s M6. That one has 1080p resolution (rare among pocket projectors), while the Acer has WXGA (1280x800). That’s the equivalent to 720p. So, it’s still HD. There are trade-offs with both projectors, so which one you choose will ultimately come down to what’s most important to you – but we’ll get into that on the Summary page. Suffice it to say that both projectors have some real perks.

This little projector comes with extras, which is something I rather like about pocket projectors – they always seem to come with carrying cases. The K138ST is no exception. I absolutely love Acer’s choice in design for their travel case. It looks like a travel case for a classy shave kit, with a nicely textured grey fabric accented with dark brown leather, the same leather wrapping around the handles for a comfortable grip. Included inside is, of course, the AC power cord, a remote control with battery, the Quick Start Guide, and a CD-ROM User's Guide. You’ll need your own HDMI cable, but with Amazon Prime, that’s hardly an issue (and I’ve never seen HDMI cables included with projectors anyway).