We’ve looked at a lot of mobile projectors lately with three criteria in mind, price, image quality and portability. It was at this point we noticed the Acer K10 which is available at the moment for almost half its original price and had to take a look at what it could do.
The Acer K10 data projector is classed as a portable or travel projector, when you look at it you’d have to agree as is around the size of a tiny netbook and weighs only 550 grams. It’s made of solid stuff and uses a DLP processing chip which makes suitable for people on the move.
The projector is quick and easy to set up and operate; Acer has only included a few buttons to simplify set up. You will find a power button, source selection and menu buttons, all of which are self explanatory. There is also a quality focus ring that aids in easy and more importantly quick set up.
Pico projectors like the Acer K10 use a DLP with an LED light source which creates a brightness of 100 lumens. The importance of this becomes apparent when you use the projector in a room with variable lighting. We used the projector in a dark room, a sunlit room and a room flooded with natural light and the projector was clear in all situations. This makes it very handy for people on the move, this projector will adapt to its surroundings.
One thing that may be lacking for some users is connectivity; the K10 projector only includes video ports and D-Sub inputs. Although this is less than larger projectors it shouldn’t prove much of a problem as most laptops include these connections.
The image quality is fantastic for presentations with text and graphics, it’s not the best for watching films but this is not the target market. It can project an image up to 60 inches wide and is very easy to operate. It won’t fulfil everyone’s requirements but when hooked up to a notebook or even a netbook the Acer K10 makes a big impression with portability in mind. It’s great value to at a shade under £230 at the moment.
