Roll 'em! iPhone Film Projector Hits the Red Carpet

[Michael Essany]

Image via BlogCDN


With the overwhelming majority of my multimedia entertainment stored on my iPhone and iPod, it's easy to forget that I still own a television and DVD player.

If you have the same problem and love your portable movie player but still want to watch a film on a bigger screen now and then, the Wall Street Journal is out this morning with a piece on a handy-dandy little device that aims to once again make you forget about your TV.

I enjoy downloading videos onto my iPhone, but sometimes I don't want to watch a movie in the palm of my hand. It turns out that I need a "pico projector"—a tiny projector that converts the small-screen viewing experience into a large-screen luxury. So I tested the Cinemin Swivel, which goes on sale this month for $349 from a company called WowWee Group Ltd.

Weighing 6.4 ounces, the Cinemin Swivel is set to begin shipping this month.

The device is designed specifically for use with the iPhone and iPod and uses Texas Instruments’ DLP projection technology. In addition to the exceptional picture quality it projects, the Cinemin Swivel's 90° hinge makes it easy to project on any surface without a tripod. It also comes with a built-in speaker in case you forget or don't have portable speakers to connect to the device's headphone jack. But don't rely on it. Even at full blast, you will struggle to enjoy the film at a "comfortable level"

The device comes with an AC adapter, yet its battery isn't much better than the iPhone's. The company, however, says the rechargeable battery should last more than two hours... which will work fine as long as you're not watching Lord of the Rings.

Operating the Swivel was exceptionally simple. I plugged it into my iPhone, selected a movie, switched on the projector lamp, focused the image, and sat back to enjoy my private screening. In a darkened room, the Swivel projected a luminous, clear image onto my wall.

Although the Swivel has largely generated positive reviews for its convenience and picture quality, some say the device may be a little too pricey to fly in the current market. At $349, it isn't difficult to disagree.

with the Swivel's low volume and high price, I'll still be standing in line for my movie ticket.

Until the price comes down a tad, I think I'll be right there in line too.

[DayumQuitPlayin]

If only they made a game controller for the iPhone/iTouch.

[rugbrn]

That looks sweet but 349? I'd rather have another iPhone!

[kmac1622]

Yhea I would just buy, and see more movies with the $349 I wouldnt be spending on that.

[ecd5000]

yea the price is just a tad. 199 sounds good to me since the speaker quality is low, then you can use that extra 150 you saved and go buy speakers!!!

[awesomeSlayer]

A great idea to have a small theater at your house, but $349 means buying a PS3 or an iPod touch for me.

[rwin84]

The pico projector has been out for a while now. It's 300 and it has a 30 pin option, battery and ac power. It will project up to 50" in a perfectly dark room. Check it out.

[A_DuB187]

It seems like a nice device but the price tag is a little steep for what you get in my opinion.

[StealthBravo]

I want one

[paidinfull]

Just now starting to cover pico projectors, a lil late dont ya think ?

AAXA P1 and AAXA p2 are the bomb!!!

[Kruejl]

^^^+1

Pico projectors have been around for a while. In fact, it was a couple of years ago that Motorola was playing around with the idea of integrating one directly into a phone. Now if Apple makes an iPhone with a Pico built in, then I'd be all over that!

[Fallguy]

^^^+1

Pico projectors have been around for a while. In fact, it was a couple of years ago that Motorola was playing around with the idea of integrating one directly into a phone. Now if Apple makes an iPhone with a Pico built in, then I'd be all over that!

Hopefully that will be next version and I will be first in line .

[Melech518]

That thing is ugly. At least dress it up a little Damn!

[badass1469]

haha theres a better device that does the same exact thing but dosent use a bulb for lumination it uses LED's and last about 50k hours, so you pretty much never need to buy another lamp or projector, it is also about the same size as the iPhone, and it goes for about $230, id post a link but i forgot wut it was called lol.

[Alkanphel]

They Did, iControlPad - Add real gaming controls to your iPhone!

[aries_green_monkey]

That looks sweet but 349? I'd rather have another iPhone!

Word.

Yeah this is a pretty cool gadget. Does it use the video out setting on the iPod/iPhone models? If so then you should be able to get some pretty high res video from this little bugger, right? If it dropped to a more reasonable $150 i would DEFINITLY consider getting this.

[TooSlo]

The pico projector has been out for a while now. It's 300 and it has a 30 pin option, battery and ac power. It will project up to 50" in a perfectly dark room. Check it out.

That's pretty crazy that someone mentioned that device. I worked R&D on it for a while.

[severe]

$349!! bwahahahahahahahahahahahabwhahahahahahahahahahahaa hahahaahaha... cough... cough.... ahem... bwahahahahahahhahahaahahahahah........ oh weeeeee... bwahahahaahaaa....

[deadwilder]

But how many lumens?

[mdc929]

this just screams waste of money