The SHOWWX+ pico-projector from MicroVision could be the ultimate movie-accessory for your iPad. The laser-projector hooks straight into the dock-connector of your iPad (or other iOS device) and throws an image onto the wall, giving a picture of up to 100-inches. The plus-sign in the name designates that the new projector is 50-percent brighter than its predecessor, so you might be able to get that 100-inch image without closing all the curtains and killing the lights.

The dream is that you can turn an iPhone or iPad into the center of a home-theater setup: a big-screen picture courtesy of the pocket-sized projector, and external, wireless sound thanks to the new AirPlay feature of iOS 4.2 (AirPlay will beam sound that is synced to a movie, something which even the Mac won't do without third-party software).

The specs: The SHOWWX+ puts out 15 lumens with a 5,000:1 contrast ratio (depending on ambient light, of course) in a 16:9 aspect-ratio. While that wide-screen format is wasted on the iPad, you can hook the projector up to any device that will feed it a composite video signal. Cables for both this and the iPad come in the box, and a VGA adapter for your computer can be bought separately. Resolution is 848 x 480, not high-def but then, neither is your iPad (the iPad outputs its native native 1024x768 resolution via the VGA-adapter). One big advantage of the laser projector is that it has "infinite focus", which means it will work on curved walls, or even give a sharp picture if you haven't got it perfectly perpendicular to the screen.

Is the SHOWWX+ worth its $450 price-tag? We'll find out soon enough: There's already a test unit winging its way from MicroVision to Gadget Lab Spain.

SHOWWX+ product page [MicroVision. Thanks, Gretchen!]

See Also: