I'd like to imagine that one day all cellphones have such components built in, but until then this is the best way to put a picture on your wall with hardware the size of a remote control.

What should we play on it? What should we aim it at? I don't know, but if you've got the time, please stop by and try it out.

[Thanks to REED ANNEX and thanks to our benefactor gizmine.com]

Gizmodo Gallery

Reed Annex

151 Orchard Street

New York, NY 10002

Gizmodo Gallery Reader Meetup

The reader meetup takes place across the street from the Gallery, at a place called The Annex (not to be confused with REED ANNEX where the gallery is hosted.) The address is 152 Orchard Street and we'll be there at 9 PM SHARP on Friday December 5th.

Gallery Dates:

December 4th-7th

Times:

12/4 Thursday

12-8

12/5 Friday

12-8

12/6 Saturday

11-8

12/7 Sunday

11-4

[Read more about our Gizmodo Gallery here and see what else we'll be playing with at the event.]

The Price: $300

The Verdict: If you have the cash and really want a little projector that can go wherever you go, this is the one to get. It's got a much better build quality than the visually comparable 3M MPro110, but it's got so many more goodies, you'll be entertained for hours before even loading your first movie.

The key difference is that, unlike the 3M, the Aiptek has an SD card reader so it's always ready to play something, even when nothing's wired to it. You transcode files to Motion JPEG AVI or MPEG-4 ASF—you can use whatever software you want, but if you don't have an app, the thing comes with ArcSoft's PC-only Media Converter—and they're recognized with ease by the projector, along with JPEG stills and MP3 music files, which play fine by themselves, but not in the background of a photo slideshow where they belong.

The 3M, if you recall, had a VGA input along with a composite A/V input, but of course no SD reader. The Aiptek doesn't have the VGA input, but it's a tradeoff I can live with. The Aiptek does have a basic component video input, so you can run low-grade standard-def sources in there with no trouble.

You get a lot more for the money, too. Aiptek's projector comes with a nice little tripod for quick-and-dirty setup, and a remote control if you're going to give a presentation. (Speaking of that, the manual recommends converting PPT and PDF files to JPEG and loading them on SD card for best results. Like I said, "quick and dirty.")

The beefs I had with it were basically the same as with the 3M: You really can't set the thing back more than five feet or so when by which time the picture—at that point about 50 inches diagonal—really starts to blur. I'm not even going to begin to talk about contrast, color accuracy, motion blur and all of the things we examine in higher TV technologies, but I do have to admit, in a sufficiently dim setting, the video for both projectors was entirely watchable.

In two weeks I've gone from not believing much in the pico movement to being a fervent supporter. And if you're going to be an early adopter, I am happy to say that, because of the Aiptek PocketCinema V10's better geek features and much improved build quality over the 3M MPro110—and $50 cheaper price to boot—I found a pico projector that I can genuinely recommend. The only hold back is that they're just gonna get better and better. [Aiptek Product Page]

What Aiptek means by "50 inches," though, isn't clear. A 50-inch image is theoretically possible with any small projector, but not without serious degradation and fade. Since Aiptek gadgets have developed a somewhat somewhat patchy reputation, and there are no details yet as to the brightness and resolution of the 3M-based unit, the claim should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

[DigiTimes]

The company's taken out the optical zoom and substituted a 4x digital zoom (which to us doesn't even count as a zoom at all), but kept that inexplicable 2.4-inch 4x3 LCD viewscreen, apparently too cheap to actually offer the widescreen 16x9 view of typical HD camcorders. But the thing actually shoots in 1280x720 16x9. Go figure. Look out for this one, coming soon to a cereal box near you. Maybe they'll offer it as a Cracker Jacks prize. The only thing we can see using this for would be a disposable crashcam. [Aiptek, via Digital Camcorder News]

For starters the LCD is a bit small at 2.4-inches and it's not widescreen. Likewise, the zoom isn't so powerful—it only offers 3x optical. Luckily the GO-HD will also double as a 5-megapixel camera. As long as you don't plan on filming your next indie premiere with this camcorder, it should be more than enough to dip your toes in HD video. – Louis Ramirez

Product Page

The tablet measures 12 x 9-inches and has 24 keys "for quick and easy access," nine of which are customizable. It's compatible with both Windows and Mac. You can find the HyperPen 1200U online for around $100. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Aiptek via Ubergizmo]