3M MP180

3M Pocket Projector MP180

The 3M Pocket Projector MP180 ($450 street) promises just about everything you could want in a small-size projector. The current top model in 3M's pocket projector line, it combines the 32-lumen rating of the 3M Pocket Projector MP160 ($350 street, 3.5 stars) with the ability of the 3M Pocket Projector MPro150 ($385 street , 3.5 stars) to show images from internal memory or a microSD card. The result is a bright projector that you can carry with you easily, without needing a computer or video source. Unfortunately, I ran into some significant glitches that keep it from fully living up to its promise. In many ways, the MP180 takes the best features of the MPro 150 and MP160 and merges them together. It's built around the same engine as the MP160, using an 800 by 600 LCoS chip paired with a set of red, green, and blue LEDs. However, it offers extras that the MP160 doesn't; namely, the MPro150's ability to read files from its own memory as well as from a memory card. In fact, the MP180 improves on the MPro150, with 4GB of internal memory rather than 1GB, so you can store lots of images and video clips to show without a needing a computer or video source.