As consumer demand continues for ever-shrinking electronic devices, the projector market is obliging with tiny, portable projectors known as Picos, which began hitting the market late last year. Reaction to the product has been mixed and depends on what they're being used for and how large widescreen images are, which can range from 2 inches to approximately 100 inches. In the business world, the projectors seem to work best with a small gathering -- they're not for conferences. On the other hand, consumers seem to love picos because they're so portable, and because material can be projected anywhere, from a wall to the back of someone's shirt.



At the Macworld Conference and Expo 2009 in January, Microvision introduced a prototype of its SHOW WX pico projector, which uses the company's proprietary PicoP display engine technology.

According to Microvision, the SHOW WX does not require projection lenses or focus adjustment, regardless of projection distance, and projects DVD-resolution images from six inches up to 100 inches across. Users can take the pocket-sized projector anywhere, plug it into portable media players, mobile phones, notebooks and other mobile media devices with TV-out or VGA functionality. Microvision expects to roll out the SHOW WX sometime in the second quarter this year, but has not yet set a price.