Lenovo Pocket Projector Streams Content From Your Phone

BARCELONA -- Sharing photos and videos with the family doesn't have to be a chore. You can use a pico projector that's small enough to fit in the palm of one hand. Announced at Mobile World Congress, the $199 Lenovo Pocket Projector hits the sweet spot for pricing, functionality and portability with a lightweight design and bright, colorful images.

We had a chance to go hands-on with the Pocket Projector and were impressed with the quality of its output, the ingenuity of its design and the diversity of its media storage / connectivity options.

At just 4.1 x 3.9 x .98 inches and .37 pounds, the Pocket Projector lives up to its name, easily fitting in most pockets. Its subtle, but attractive gray chassis features a black lens arm that can rotate up to 90 degrees so you can project your content anywhere on the wall in front of you or even on ceiling. 

We were particularly pleased with the variety of ways you can get content onto the Pocket Projector. The device has Wi-Fi, which allows it to stream content directly from your phone, tablet or computer using either Miracast or DLNA. It also contains a microSD card slot you can use for storing media locally.

Depending on how far away it is from the wall, the Pocket Projector can create images that are up to 110 inches large. However, with its modest 854 x 480 resolution, the picture looks quite a bit sharper if it's smaller. When we watched a trailer for The Avengers, the bright orange in some explosions were vibrant and sharp. With a maximum of 50 lumens, the projector is more than bright enough to use in a dim room.

MORE: Streaming Box Battle: Roku vs. Apple TV vs. Chromecast

The Pocket Projector has speakers on both of its sides, which were loud and clear but not particularly rich in our brief hands-on. It also comes with a standard 3.5mm jack you can use to connect headphones or external speakers.

Charging via microUSB, the device promises 2.5 hours of battery life, more than enough for most movies or for an epic PowerPoint presentation. We can imagine taking the Pocket Projector on a camping trip and using it to watch videos on the tent wall or project stars onto the tent ceiling when rain makes it impossible to see them in the open air.

The d-pad on the top of the projector allowed us to navigate through its simple menu structure and launch files on the microSD card or enter Miracast / DLNA mode.

While Lenovo's Pocket Projector is not the only low-cost pico projector on the market, it is among the more promising models, because of its strong design, flexible connectivity options and colorful output. We look forward to getting a closer look at this device when it goes on sale later this month.

TOPICS
Avram Piltch is Tom's Hardware's editor-in-chief. When he's not playing with the latest gadgets at work or putting on VR helmets at trade shows, you'll find him rooting his phone, taking apart his PC or coding plugins. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram developed many real-world benchmarks, including our laptop battery test.
Latest in Phones
The four Pixel 9a colors stacked on top of each other with a focus on the camera of the Iris model
Google Pixel 9a vs Pixel 10 — buy now or wait?
iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 16 Pro Max in hand showing displays
Forget iPhone 17 — iPhone 18 could get this huge upgrade
Rendered images of rumored foldable iPhone.
Foldable iPhone report just revealed key details — here's what we know
iPhone 17 Pro render
iPhone 17 Pro — 7 biggest rumored upgrades
CAD renderings of the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
Pixel 10 leak could be good news for all Android phones
An image of an iPhone screen showing the Safari app icon in the center
I got tired of Safari revealing my web searches in iOS 18.4 — this setting fixes that
Latest in Hands-On
Gemini and ChatGPT logos on a phone
Forget ChatGPT Canvas — I just tried Gemini Canvas and I'm floored by the difference
Test images created using the Ideogram AI image generator
I generated 5 AI images with the new Ideogram 2a model — and the results truly surprised me
The Sleepyhead Cooling Copper Topper on top of a bed in a bright, clean dorm room.
I've been sleeping on the Sleepyhead Mattress Topper for 3 weeks — and now I get the hype
Mannkitchen pepper cannon
Is a $200 pepper grinder worth it? I tested the Mannkitchen Pepper Cannon for two weeks to find out.
A curved white pillow placed in the center of a blue with blue and white bedding and a side table next to it
I've been sleeping on this Tempur-Pedic pillow and the instant pressure relief is like getting a neck massage
Garmin golf watch
I played a golf round with the Garmin Approach S50 smartwatch, and it's fantastic — here's why