A few tiny pocket sized projectors have been seen around the trade shows over this last year. The latest one comes from 3M who are actually about to officially launch the product. The pocket projector is named the MPro110 mini Projector.

This mini projector will cost $359 when it is launched. It will require a fairly dark room for best quality as the power of this device isn’t the greatest which is to be expected of a projector that fits in to your pocket. Sound is also not available from the device, so external speakers will be required for watching movies.

The technology that runs this pocket projector is an LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) screen with the light being provided by LED. It is due to be launched later this month and 3M are expecting to see mobile phones with this technology built in by next year.

Tiny pocket sized projector from 3M: [via]

If you ever looked at a slab of plywood and thought, “I’d love a phone that resembled this,” Japan’s KDDI has you in mind. Designed by Hideo Kanbara, the conceptual “Ply” would put a different function in each of its six super-thin layers. On the top one, the display; in the next, a keypad; in a third, a printer. It would even crack open to reveal a miniature projector!

Plywood works as a display, a printer, a keypad and a projector: [via]

While the iPhone and iPod Touch are pretty good for watching movies by yourself, what about those times when you want to share? Having a group of people huddled around that relatively small screen can be pretty awkward, so this mini projector dock from Honlai Technology seems like a good alternative, at first glance at least.

While it’s quite a bit larger than the official iPhone/iPod Touch USB dock, when compared to other video projectors it’s downright tiny. But that compact size does cost you when it comes to image quality.

While the 640×480 image resolution is understandable, the ANSI brightness rating is a less-than-stellar 10-15 lumens, and you’re looking at a contrast ratio of just 200:1. So while it’s able to project an image that’s roughly 15 to 27 inches in size, don’t expect a similar visual experience as you get from your local digitally-equipped movie theater.

The dock also features a mini AV jack allowing you to connect other devices as well as a set of 2W speakers for stereo sound.

QingBar MP101 mini projector – share movies and photos from your iPhone or iPod: [via]

Mint Wireless, based in Australia, have created a very nice projector named Mint V10. This tiny pocket sized projector is designed to work with your mobile phone, PDA or UMPC and allows you to have access to a larger pocket sized screen.

The Mint V10 measures 125 x 55 x 23 mm and projects the picture by using an LED lamp which has a life of 20000 hours. The screen it is capable of projecting is 50 inches in size with a throw distance of just 1.8m. I find that to be fantastic!

The product will retail at $649 (AUD I believe) which is just short of $600 USD.

Pocket Projector – Mint V10: [via]

Lightspeed Design Inc has teamed up with InFocus to create the world’s premier portable and high-definition 3D projectors called the DepthQ HD 3D Projectors, which can be used to generate superb 3D images of games and enjoy it all. However, the projectors will use big plastic glasses and use a single lens and offers picture resolution of 1024×768 or 1280×720, or 720p HD. Though it is portable, it may still be a little cumbersome to move around and may cost $6000. The low cost maybe an indication to the direction in which the projector manufacturing is heading. This portable projector could reduce a lot of burden and save space and time as well.

Portable Projector from Lightspeed Design Inc – DepthQ HD 3D Projectors: [via]

Both of these retro-modern alarm clocks from Oregon Scientific feature a projector that shines the current time on the ceiling of your austere sleeping chamber. The $30 RRA320 is just a regular clock/radio alarm, while for $20 more the RRM320PA brings in atomic-clock synchronization and a temperature display with a wireless thermometer that works from up to 300 feet away. If you are the kind of guy that like to hit snooze a couple of times in the morning, its probably a good idea to stick to your mobile phones alarm, because you can easily take your phone into bed with you while the RRM320PA its meant to be stationary

Slick Projector Alarm Clock: [Via] – [Product Page]