Best Portable Projectors of 2016!

The JM Go is definitely the best projector in terms of quality and features, but it's by far the most expensive. If you don't mind that step down in picture quality, the Asus and Sony projectors are really good deals.

One of the key features of the JM Go is its portability. On each side of the projector, you'll find a large pair of speakers and these speakers sound fantastic for a portable projector. They don't sound tiny at all and they even have a good amount of base to them. Lasty, there's one final trick the JM Go features and that's 3D video capabilities if you have access to a 3D movie or video, you can pair the JM Go 3D glasses with a projector to have an even more immersive experience. This will come at a price though, it'll set you back about $600.

On the other hand, we have the Sony MP cl1, which is half the price of the JM Go and is from Sony. At first glance, you would think this is a new phone from Sony, but it's definitely intentional and just like a phone, it can easily slip into a pocket and it's so light and thin that you'll forget it's even there. It's called the Sony MP cl1 and it's pretty interesting because it projects using its Laser Technology, so this means it'll behave a little differently. It's only 32 lumens which compared to the JM Go sounds like you'd be barely able to see it but the human eye perceives laser projections a little brighter than your standard LED projections at the same lumin count.

The Sony MP cl1 doesn't need to be very far away to project a huge image though, and only being 40 inches away will create a 120-inch image at a 16:9 aspect ratio. It also features keystoning but strangely enough, no focusing capabilities or manual controls. No, the projector does not even focus automatically but thanks to this being a laser-based projection system, the image will always remain pretty clear no matter how close or far you are.

The plastic stand it comes with seems a little cheap but it gets the job done and it can clip onto the front or back at a fixed position so you may need to use some extra books or something to get it perfect. Like most projectors, you'll be able to stream media via Miracast, hook up a mini HDMI or MHL cable, and also plug in a USB stick.

However, the speakers on this projector are pretty weak though, you're definitely not going to want to be using these speakers while watching a movie even a short YouTube video is kind of a stretch but thankfully we have an auxiliary Jack for external speakers. And no, it doesn't run Android or come with a remote, but it's priced pretty well at around $350 which isn't too bad especially given its extremely small size.

If you want a little more bang for your buck, the Asus Zenbeam E1 is probably the projector for you. It's the lowest price projector here at only $249 and it's LED-based just like the JM Go and although it's not as bright at 150 lumens, it's much brighter than the Sony MP1.

The Asus Zenbeam E1 is a very small projector at 8.3 x 2.9 x 11.0 mm and it only weighs 307g so that might be a little too thick to fit into a pocket but it's still very easy to just throw into a bag. There's no special features here, it just projects an image via Miracast HDMI or USB drive.

But what's great about this projector is its simplicity. You have some picture settings easily accessible with this menu button, volume up and down input selection, and a physical Focus dial on the side. There's nothing like a physical Focus dial that allows you to be 100% accurate with your focus and of course we have keystoning, a must-have feature when it comes to Portable projectors.

However, there is one major drawback to this projector, which is that it's only 480p. This means that it will really limit you on how big the projected image can get before it looks like you're looking at a window screen. So because of this, you're only going to want to use this projector solely for things like presentations or something like that but still given its Ultra portable size and its price, the Asus Zenbeam E1 is very impressive.

Overall, if you're in the market for a new portable projector, there are some great options out there. The JM Go may be the best option in terms of quality and features, but it's also the most expensive. If you don't mind that step down in picture quality, then the Asus and Sony projectors are really good deals.

So, in the comments below, let me know what you guys think is the best projector in this Roundup. And be sure to check out that full written article at Android Authority.com for more coverage and details.

Thanks for watching!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello everybody it's Crystal and it's time to do a follow up to last year's projector Roundup here's some of our favorite portable projectors of 2016 first we have the jmgo smart portable projector and this was actually first seen on Indiegogo where jmg go was able to raise $256,000 over their $100,000 goal and now we have one of the best thought out portable projectors we've seen it's designed is unlike any other portable projector and at first this totally rounded body would make you think isn't this the worst possible design you could have for a projector cuz it's just going to roll around everywhere well this round body allows this magnetic projector to work perfectly with this magnetic stand strip the body of the projector can easily be tilted up and down at any angle positioning the image perfectly onto a wall now most of the time most of them use a little St system that props the projector up at a fixed angle and then I found myself usually putting anything I can underneath it to angle it decently but with this setup there's no problem we also have keystoning here like all the projectors in this video which prevents the image from warping even even without holding it directly in front of the wall but what really makes this projector special is that it's running Android 4.4.4 and it's heavily skinned obviously in order to create a really beautiful and simple experience while navigating through its apps like YouTube Netflix and some other apps are on there and you can control this with a little remote it comes with which is something that all portable projectors should have you can load videos with a USB flash drive via the USB port on the back or use HDMI and you can even stream videos from your phone so when it comes to the actual quality of the projector it's really great it's not the best quality image we've seen from a portable projector but it gets very close it gets brighter than 80% of the portable projectors around its price range at 250 lumens and caps out at a 720p resolution and it colors are really nice too but the contrast could be a little less extreme now a good movie watching experience is nothing without good sound and in this apartment the jmg go is mild ahead of his competition on each side of the projector you'll find a large pair of speakers and these speakers sound fantastic for a portable projector they don't sound tiny at all and they even have a good amount of Base to them lastly there's one final trick the jmg go features and that's is 3D video capabilities if you have access to a 3D movie or video you can pair the jmg go 3D glasses with a projector to have an even more immersive experience this will come at a price though it'll set you at about $600 our next projector is half the price and it's from Sony and at first glance you would think is this a new phone from Sony it's definitely intentional and just like a phone it can easily slip into a pocket and it's so light and thin that you'll forget it's even there it's called the Sony MP cl1 and it's pretty interesting because it projects using its Laser Technology so this means it'll behave a little differently it's only 32 lumens which compared to the JM GH 250 it sounds like you'd be barely able to see it but the human eye perceives laser projections a little brighter than your standard LED projections at the same Lumin count but still that being said it is a lot darker than the JM go but it's still bright enough to enjoy at any distance less than 40 in away the mp1 doesn't need to be very far away to project a huge image though and only being 40 in away will create a 120 inch image at a 16 to9 aspect ratio it also features keystoning but strangely enough no focusing capabilities nope no manual controls and it doesn't even focus automatically but thanks to this being a laser based projection system the image will always remain pretty clear no matter how close or far you are the plastic stand it comes with seems a little cheap but it gets the job done and it can clip onto the front or back at a fixed position so you may need to use some extra books or something to get it perfect like most projectors you'll be able to stream media via mircast hook up a mini HDMI or MHL cable and also plug in a USB stick the speakers on here are pretty weak though you're definitely not going to want to be using these speakers while watching a movie even a short YouTube video is kind of a stretch but thankfully we have an auxiliary Jack for external speakers and no it doesn't run Android or come with a remote but it's priced pretty well at around $350 which isn't too bad especially given it's extremely small size if you want a little more bang for your buck the Asus zenbeam E1 is probably the projector for you it's the lowest price projector here at only $249 and it's LED based just like the JM go and although it's not as bright at 150 lumens it's much brighter than the Sony mp1 the Zen beam is a very small projector at 83x 29x 110 mm and it only weighs 307 G so that might be a little too thick to fit into a pocket but it's still very easy to just throw into a bag there's no special features here it just projects an image via mirror cast HDMI or USB drive but that makes it very simple you have some picture settings easily accessible with this menu button volume up and down input selection and a physical Focus dial on the side there's nothing like a physical Focus dial that allows you to be 100% accurate with your focus and of course we have keystoning a must have feature when it comes to Portable projectors but you don't get any type of stand here so those books are going to be a necessity the speakers on here are what you would expect similar to what you'd find on on your average smartphone but we do have an auxiliary Jack and the colors IT projects are very nice although darker scenes will only be viewable in a pitch black room the only problem here with this projector is that it's only 480p and that's going to really limit you on how big the projected image can get before it looks like you're looking for a window screen so because of this you're only going to want to use this projector solely for things like presentations or something like that but still given its Ultra portable size and its price the Asus zenbeam E1 is very impressive so overall the JM go is definitely the best projector in terms of quality and features but it's by far the most expensive and if you don't mind that step down in picture quality the Asus and Sony projectors are really good deals so in the comments below let me know what you guys think is the best projector in this Roundup and be sure to check out that full written article at androidauthority.com for more coverage and details thank you very much for watching guys and I'll see you laterhello everybody it's Crystal and it's time to do a follow up to last year's projector Roundup here's some of our favorite portable projectors of 2016 first we have the jmgo smart portable projector and this was actually first seen on Indiegogo where jmg go was able to raise $256,000 over their $100,000 goal and now we have one of the best thought out portable projectors we've seen it's designed is unlike any other portable projector and at first this totally rounded body would make you think isn't this the worst possible design you could have for a projector cuz it's just going to roll around everywhere well this round body allows this magnetic projector to work perfectly with this magnetic stand strip the body of the projector can easily be tilted up and down at any angle positioning the image perfectly onto a wall now most of the time most of them use a little St system that props the projector up at a fixed angle and then I found myself usually putting anything I can underneath it to angle it decently but with this setup there's no problem we also have keystoning here like all the projectors in this video which prevents the image from warping even even without holding it directly in front of the wall but what really makes this projector special is that it's running Android 4.4.4 and it's heavily skinned obviously in order to create a really beautiful and simple experience while navigating through its apps like YouTube Netflix and some other apps are on there and you can control this with a little remote it comes with which is something that all portable projectors should have you can load videos with a USB flash drive via the USB port on the back or use HDMI and you can even stream videos from your phone so when it comes to the actual quality of the projector it's really great it's not the best quality image we've seen from a portable projector but it gets very close it gets brighter than 80% of the portable projectors around its price range at 250 lumens and caps out at a 720p resolution and it colors are really nice too but the contrast could be a little less extreme now a good movie watching experience is nothing without good sound and in this apartment the jmg go is mild ahead of his competition on each side of the projector you'll find a large pair of speakers and these speakers sound fantastic for a portable projector they don't sound tiny at all and they even have a good amount of Base to them lastly there's one final trick the jmg go features and that's is 3D video capabilities if you have access to a 3D movie or video you can pair the jmg go 3D glasses with a projector to have an even more immersive experience this will come at a price though it'll set you at about $600 our next projector is half the price and it's from Sony and at first glance you would think is this a new phone from Sony it's definitely intentional and just like a phone it can easily slip into a pocket and it's so light and thin that you'll forget it's even there it's called the Sony MP cl1 and it's pretty interesting because it projects using its Laser Technology so this means it'll behave a little differently it's only 32 lumens which compared to the JM GH 250 it sounds like you'd be barely able to see it but the human eye perceives laser projections a little brighter than your standard LED projections at the same Lumin count but still that being said it is a lot darker than the JM go but it's still bright enough to enjoy at any distance less than 40 in away the mp1 doesn't need to be very far away to project a huge image though and only being 40 in away will create a 120 inch image at a 16 to9 aspect ratio it also features keystoning but strangely enough no focusing capabilities nope no manual controls and it doesn't even focus automatically but thanks to this being a laser based projection system the image will always remain pretty clear no matter how close or far you are the plastic stand it comes with seems a little cheap but it gets the job done and it can clip onto the front or back at a fixed position so you may need to use some extra books or something to get it perfect like most projectors you'll be able to stream media via mircast hook up a mini HDMI or MHL cable and also plug in a USB stick the speakers on here are pretty weak though you're definitely not going to want to be using these speakers while watching a movie even a short YouTube video is kind of a stretch but thankfully we have an auxiliary Jack for external speakers and no it doesn't run Android or come with a remote but it's priced pretty well at around $350 which isn't too bad especially given it's extremely small size if you want a little more bang for your buck the Asus zenbeam E1 is probably the projector for you it's the lowest price projector here at only $249 and it's LED based just like the JM go and although it's not as bright at 150 lumens it's much brighter than the Sony mp1 the Zen beam is a very small projector at 83x 29x 110 mm and it only weighs 307 G so that might be a little too thick to fit into a pocket but it's still very easy to just throw into a bag there's no special features here it just projects an image via mirror cast HDMI or USB drive but that makes it very simple you have some picture settings easily accessible with this menu button volume up and down input selection and a physical Focus dial on the side there's nothing like a physical Focus dial that allows you to be 100% accurate with your focus and of course we have keystoning a must have feature when it comes to Portable projectors but you don't get any type of stand here so those books are going to be a necessity the speakers on here are what you would expect similar to what you'd find on on your average smartphone but we do have an auxiliary Jack and the colors IT projects are very nice although darker scenes will only be viewable in a pitch black room the only problem here with this projector is that it's only 480p and that's going to really limit you on how big the projected image can get before it looks like you're looking for a window screen so because of this you're only going to want to use this projector solely for things like presentations or something like that but still given its Ultra portable size and its price the Asus zenbeam E1 is very impressive so overall the JM go is definitely the best projector in terms of quality and features but it's by far the most expensive and if you don't mind that step down in picture quality the Asus and Sony projectors are really good deals so in the comments below let me know what you guys think is the best projector in this Roundup and be sure to check out that full written article at androidauthority.com for more coverage and details thank you very much for watching guys and I'll see you later\n"