DLP

Young Optics say that they are very optimistic about pico projectors: shipments of embedded pico projectors are expected to enjoy strong growth. They are working with three handset makers and two digital camera makes to embed their modules into the gadgets. They are also working with 'a number of other multimedia device vendors" that have adopted their modules.

Via digitimes

Optoma's upcoming pico-projectors, the PK201 and the PK301 are now up for pre-order over at Amazon.com. Both use TI's new WVGA (854x480) DLP chip, has USB/VGA/HDMI/A/V ports and  internal memory and microSD slots, and can play back several movie and photo formats. Both are expected to ship within a few weeks.

The PK201 sports 20 lumens (or 12 lumens at eco-mode) and has one 0.5w speaker and an audio-out jack. The PK201 costs $299.

Optoma PK201

The PK301 is very bright at 50 lumens (it also has a 20-lumens eco-mode). It also has a 0.5w speaker and audio-out jack. Optoma will also offer an external battery pack because the high-brightness mode needs a lot of power. The PK301 costs $399.

Optoma PK301

Here's a nice video from the Mobile World Congress show - TI demoing their DLP pico-projector chipsets and gadgets that use it (the Samsung Beam and W9600, LG Expo and NTT DoCoMo dock F-04B).

TI announced a new DLP chipset for pico-projectors, which is the thinnest and smallest to date. It has nHD resolution (640x360), 1000:1 contrast ratio, true RGB LED wide color gamut. TI say it also has an improved power efficiency and electronic footprint compared to their previous DLP chipsets. 

The nHD chipset is 20% thinner than the WVGA chipset and 50% smaller in volume. TI say the new nHD chipset will enter production in 2H 2010, but 'leading manufacturers' already include it in their next-generation designs. Via Engadget.

Engadget has posted a first hands-on with the new Samsung Beam DLP projector phone. They say that it's rather thin, and it can also do a nice trick: the projector can display the image seen by the camera (5mp). Nice. Here's a video:

WowWee has lowered the price of their DLP (480x360, 10 lumens) pico-projector, the Cinemin Swivel to $275 (from $295). The swivel has a 90-degree hinge, so projection in any angle is easy to do.

WowWee Swivel Projector

The Cinemin Swivel is now available in the US for 275$.

TI has announce version 2 of their DLP Pico Projector Development Kit. The new kit adds HDMI direct PC connection (there's also a DVI to HDMI adapter). It also includes a sync signal output and selectable high-speed DMD patterns with a variety of frame rates.

The v2 kit will sell for $349 and is available now from TI. Via Slashgear.