Earlier this year Cisco killed the Flip.  After all, all it could do was record HD video, and not any better than a smartphone.  So it’s relatively safe to assume that category of device is all together extinct, right?  Wrong.  Today, 3M released the CP45.

This pocket friendly device combines an HD camcorder and a projector in one.  It can record up to 720p HD video, 5 megapixel still photos and includes an LED flash for night time shots.  Built-in memory caps at 2GB but that can be increased by adding a microSD card slot.  In addition to a 2.4-inch LCD screen, it can project an 800×600 image ranging from 10-inch to 65-inches in size on any surface with a brightness of 20 lumens. So it ain’t ultra bright, but should suffice for showing off pics or video, provided of course you’ve got a dark room.  Unfortunately, battery life (it’s rechargeable) is rather limited, allowing you to project images up to 100 minutes, which doesn’t account for video recording or photo capturing.

The 3M CP45 is available now for $299.  Of note, you can buy Nikon’s S1100 for about $200.

Amazon is offering a huge discount on this 3M MPro150 Pocket Projector which is now priced at $435 – $235.01 Instant Off + Free Shipping = $199.99! Today Only!

If you want to share all sorts of media content from the palm of your hand then take a look at this deal! This convenient Pocket Projector by 3M lets you take all of your favorite content with you so you can display it for all your friends. It has a very high level of connectivity which starts with 1GB of internal storage space along with an SD card slot to quickly copy files on it for the go. It can also connect to a large array of devices such as iPods, MP3/4 Players, Cell phones and even other computers and laptops with ease. It has built-in support for many popular Document types from Microsoft Office applications and PDF files so you can display everything from movies, pictures and even documents. It fits right in your pocket so you can take it anywhere and has 90 Minutes of battery life when used with high brightness.

Get it fast! Offer expires by the end of the day; 4/11/2011 at 11.59PM (PST Time)

Anyone with taste-buds can appreciate the difference in quality between unfiltered tap water and filtered. The problem with most filters is how slowly the water passes through them.

It’s a drip-drip process that will make you forget that you wanted some water in the first place – or – if you’re thirsty, it will seem like Chinese water torture.

Not so with the Filtrete Water Station from 3M, which is more reminiscent of a river than your usual filter, and has a very pretty design on top of that. It’s the result of a collaboration between Ideo and 3M, aiming to make a water filter that would appear to people who regularly buy bottled water.

The Filtrete lets you ‘plug in’, and I do mean plug in, up to four bottles at a time. It has auto-sealing valves that only open when a bottle is inserted, which means you can fill up less than maximum capacity. Once the filtering is done, remove bottles and use as comfortably as you’d use bottled water, without having to lug around a 2 liter reservoir.

You can buy the Filtrete at Walmart for $38, with new filters priced at $11 (will filter 100 gallons of water) and an extra two bottles for $15.

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Is there a practical application to the portable projector? You bet your ass there is. But it all depends on who you are and what you’re doing.

For the last few weeks I’ve been testing out 3M’s Mpro150 Pico Projector. It’s a pocket sized device with its own UI and rechargeable battery. It has a mini VGA input, micro-USB port, microSD card slot and headphone jack. included in the box is a VGA to mini-VGA, RCA to mini-VGA, AC plug and tripod. The AC charger is modular and includes a variety of plugs for international travel.

The projector’s body is finished in a rubber coating and features a small kickstand on its stomach. From a portability stand point the projector is pocket sized and weighs no more than an smartphone with the battery installed, 5.6oz to be exact.

The top of the device sports a set of buttons for navigating the Mpro 150′s menus. In addition to a directional pad with an ‘ok’ button there is a back button as well as a focus wheel, which is situated next to the lens. There is also a small speaker, which lacks any level of fidelity but is great in a pinch.

The MPro 150 supports MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel and Adobe PDF files. That means you can copy your presentation to a microSD card slot or its 1GB of built-in storage, and without the use of a computer (or any cords) walk your clients through a ‘deck’. It also supports BMP and JPG files for picture viewing and a variety of video and audio formats (MP3, MPEG4, H.264, AAC and WMA).

In terms of specs the battery is rated for up to 120 minutes of continuos use with a 3 hour recharge time (90 minutes on high brightness). The LED lamp, which is good for up to 15,000 hours and can produce 15 lumens, can project up to a 50 inch image with a max resolution of 1280×800.

In use the Mpro 150 is very simple and straight forward. You can attach an external device such as a computer or iPhone (I bought the necessary cables) or just plug the projector into your computer’s USB port and transfer a variety of files to its 1GB of storage.

I loaded the following files on the MPro 150: Microsoft Word document, PDF, video file and JPG. They all worked flawlessly, though some took longer than others to load. If need be you can magnify the documents up to 3 times (2x, 4x and 8x) and pan and scroll using the directional pad. In the event the font used in the document isn’t supported, the MPro 150 will automatically substitute it for a compatible one.

Start up time for the MPro 150 isn’t instantaneous, but fast enough – probably about 20 seconds – which isn’t that much of a difference from a normal sized projector.

After about 5 minutes of use the MPro 150 activates an internal fan to help it keep cool. While I’m sure it is necessary it was annoying since it emitted a reasonably loud buzzing sound. Adding insult to injury if you move the projector while the fan is running it sounded as if it is was grinding plastic, leading me to believe that the fan would eventually wear down and break.

As with any portable you’ll have to be willing to make a sacrifice in terms of features and power. The MPro 150 has an extremely strong feature set which should appeal to any business class user. But where it falls short – when compared to a larger projector – is its brightness. There are two brightness settings, but no matter what lighting situation you’re in you’ll want to use the brightest setting, which will still require you to be in an almost blacked out room. Otherwise the images will be washed out and make it challenging to view what is being projected. And as with any projector, as the image size increases so does the brightness, so you’ll need a pitch black room to even think about displaying a 50-inch screen.

The battery life is on par with the manufacturer’s rating. I was a bit disappointed that the package didn’t include a more advanced computer (VGA) hookup. Although I didn’t drop the MPro 150 its build felt sturdy enough to take a few tumble and there is no doubt that the rubber finish would help soften the blow. I particularly liked that they included a mini tripod in the package, which can be used with other devices such as cameras anything sporting a standard tripod screw hole.

3M MPro 150 has all sort of practical business applications, which is clearly the market is targeted for. But that isn’t to say it couldn’t be purchased for personal use, though I think one would be hard pressed to use it on a regular basis. The rechargeable battery, microSD card slot, built-in 1GB of memory and variety of connectivity options makes the MPro an easy choice for anyone running around from pitch to pitch.

You can buy the MPro 150 at Amazon for $354.

Pros:

• Built-in battery and 1GB of memory
• Rubber finish
• Includes RCA, 2GB microSD card and VGA cords

Cons:

• Requires a very dark room
• VGA cord is antiquated
• High price tag

So 3M, those great innovators, have come up with a way to get you to watch 3-D on your mobile device of choice, but without the glasses entirely.  Check THIS out:  they’ve developed this optical film (that you can apply to any gadget’s backlight system) that uses two alternating rows of LED to project left and right images one after the other to the viewers’ eyes.  This in turn allows for a stereoscopic 3-D image but without the need for glasses.

The film works on any device with a viewing size of nine inches or smaller, and to watch video in 3-D via this method requires the video be displayed at 120hZ.

I find myself a bit skeptical to the value of this, but admit from a conceptual level this is blisteringly cool–after all, turning any mobile gadget into a 3-D player with only a strip of plastic?  That’s MacGyver-grade gadgetry right there.

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The MPro 120 Pocket Projector, from the constantly-innovating minds at 3M, promises to be part of a “new generation of mini-projectors”.  Featuring a battery life of two to four hours, it has built in speakers and can project an image up to a maximum size of fifty inches.  The MPro has a planned sales price of two hundred ninety nine pounds (somewhere around six hundred dollars) and though it’s tiny and compact, I can’t say as I can find anything resembling a resolution size in this.  That’s got me concerned.

A camera this tiny really isn’t a cause for celebration and happiness–in fact, what it is is a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that a whole lot of people are about to get taken for a ride once they discover that their new miniprojector has all the resolution of looking out a window covered in snot. I found the specs at 3M, however, and they don’t look terrible–1280 x 768 resolution, for starters–but without seeing it in operation, only guesses about image quality can be made.  Add to it the fact that you can’t replace the bulb, ever, and that’s an even more worrisome point.

Small or no, this one still doesn’t bode well for people want a much better display for their laptop.

[via Daily Mail]

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Features:

• Max image size 50-inches
• 1280×768 max resolution, VGA and RCA input

By: Daniel O

‘Hey you! How come you’ve got Bambi playing on your back?’ reply ‘Isn’t it obvious? I got myself a 3M pocket projector…and a friend.’

3M have announced their newest product, the MPro110 (pocket projector) and the guys at Popsci.com have got their hands on one. Basically it’s a mini projector that plugs into most DVD players via a VGA cable and allows your movie to be projected nearly anywhere! In a dark room this could possibly replace your flashy home cinema system. It doesn’t come with speakers though, so keep the flashy ones for that. The MPro110 also comes with a composite jack cable to allow you to plug in and receive output from things like your PSP or iPhone. Priced at only $359 it goes on sale September 30th and 3M say they may incorporate it into cellphones next year too.

[Popsci]