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One of the most popular and must have items for the traveling salesman is the Pico Projector. This pocket-sized gadget allows you to project presentations from a portable media device. In my mind, the ideal application of this technology is in a sales meeting. A Pico Projector is compact, about the size of a large cell phone, and can project up to 60" with VGA resolution. Also, a pico allows you to quickly set up and break down your presentation with ease. Some models like the Ray Projections Pico Projector, even include a small, flexible tripod that screws into the bottom of the device.

This technology was put into production back in 2009, however the concept was introduced back in 2003. Typically these projectors will come with an LED light source and uses a technology know as LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) to produce a micro-display projection. Usually these handheld projectors come with sufficient storage capability to handle media like movies or presentation materials.

These gadgets consist of four main parts, the electronics, a laser light source, the combiner optic and the scanning mirrors. Basically, the electronic components turn the images into an electronic signal. Then the signal drives the laser lights to produce different colors and intensities down different paths. In the combiner optic the different light paths are then combined into one path demonstrating a palette of colors. The mirrors then copy the image pixel by pixel and then projects the image.

The biggest complaint about these projectors is the audio and picture quality. Some of these devices do not come with built-in audio speakers, meaning you would need to bring external speakers and the display works best when in a dimly lit area with a projection screen.

A Pico Projector is a great presentation tool and can also serve as your personal movie theater. With the capability to project from a mobile device such as an iPod or iPhone, the capabilities of Pico Projectors are truly vast.