Pico projectors aren’t new, but there’s a very good reason that Touchjet’s ultra-portable offering raised a whopping $894,000 on Indiegogo last year.
Small enough to slip into your bag (or even a generously-sized pocket), the Touchjet Pond can beam an 80in screen onto your wall, and will let you interact with it using up to two special styluses.
It’s powered by Android 4.4 and has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which means that it’s a capable entertainment device that’s not dependant on connecting anything else up to it.
Users have access to the Google Play Store’s vast library of apps and games, letting you do everything from watching movies on Netflix to streaming music to Bluetooth speakers, directly from apps like Spotify or Google Play Music.
The touchscreen capabilities are all thanks to an infrared sensor on the projector itself, which is able to track the nib of the stylus, which emits infrared light when pressed against a wall or other flat surface.
The unit we saw in person wasn’t the final hardware, but everything worked well for the most part. It certainly can’t compete with larger full size projectors in the brightness department, and you’ll struggle with the brightness at the maximum 80 inches in a bright room. Tweaking the size and making it smaller does help however, and we didn’t struggle with visibility.
The stylus seemed to work as advertised too, although the textured wall sometimes lead to inaccurate broken lines when drawing, at times.
While it’s a self-contained unit, you do have the option to plug in a laptop thanks to an HDMI-in port ,and you can also mirror your smartphone’s content over Bluetooth.
The two hour battery life should be enough for presentations, web browsing and a spot of gaming, and you’ve got the option to plug int into the mains if you’re settling in for a longer film.
You’re going to pay for the all-in-on portable convenience with an R11,400 (plus shipping) price tag when it launches on 20 May.