3M MPro110

The past year has seen a massive change in the kinds of products and technologies that companies are dishing out to us. First we had netbooks, and now we have mini/pico projectors. We look at one of the first to market; the 3M MPro110.

Firstly, we have to talk about the size. The thing is only about as big as a chunky smartphone, but it manages to put on quite a show. Now with the aforementioned netbooks and these new projectors, it really is possible to put on a presentation or a show from just about anywhere (although we do advise investing in a small tripod or Gorillapod to put in the standard screw in the bottom, as balancing the unit on books or bags can be hit-or-miss).

If you follow the manufacturers’ recommendations you can have a decent sized screen (60 inches or so) from only a few feet away with pretty good resolution – and this is brilliant, a very good showing from 3M. However, if you’re willing to take a slight resolution hit, you can have a watchable picture that takes up the entire wall.

Our back-to-back “Fast and the Furious” trilogy (lots of colour changes and moving action, perfect for testing TVs and projectors) session at this mammoth size was entirely enjoyable.

We’re not saying that AV-buffs will be impressed with the quality (it’s not amazing unless you have a pretty small picture), but if you fancy having a movie session with friends, or are giving that sales pitch to a crowded room, you can have a reasonably good picture all the way up to “massive”.

Battery life from the unit was pretty good, and lasts a good couple of hours (making it all the way through some movies, and only dropping off before the end of a few), these days an AC outlet is never far away, but if you are stuck it’ll last a decent amount of time.

The best way to input a video source is through the supplied VGA cable, although do note that the cable is not that long and might require a few moments playing with your desktop set-up to get the right angle for projection.

The video-in wasn’t as easy, with most cables having a shielded section on the plug that prevented them from being inserted, however, as more and more of these projectors are coming with that kind of input, there should be some dedicated solution soon.

In all then, we are suitably impressed. A new technology that impresses first time is rare nowadays, but the MPro110 has. Both for business and pleasure it is a good product, and at c.£250 is actually good value for what you can get out of it.

A contender for RA’s gadget of the year reveal in March? Perhaps…