WowWee Displays Cinemin Swivel, Stick, and Station Projectors at CES 09
With CES 2009 well underway, one of the companies that getting the most attention is WowWee for not one but three new pocket projectors. WowWee is better known for their robotic toys like Robosapien and the FlyTech Dragonfly, but this year at CES they have brought three brand new projectors that look like they could run circles around last year’s models. All three projectors use the latest DLP pocket projector display technology and can display decent images in poorly lit rooms, like the CES showroom.
The Cinemin Swivel is the weirdest in the bunch, but it is also the first that will be released. Expected to come out sometime around June, the Swivel is capable of displaying a 480 x 360 resolution and about 10 ANSI lumens. The feature that makes the Swivel unique is that it can fold in half and point the lens either straight ahead or directly up to the ceiling. This feature allows the user to place the projector on a table while projecting on the ceiling instead of having to hold it in your hand. The Swivel also comes with a three hour battery life, which is one of the longest we have seen in the pocket projector industry. This model will retail for just under $300. See a video of the Swivel in action at the end of the article.
Next is the more basic looking Cinemin Stick, which is not much bigger than a candy bar. The Stick features a greater WVGA (800 x 480) resolution as well as 10 ANSI lumens. This projector was designed for portability by not only having a 3 hour battery, but it also comes with an SD Card Slot. In addition, the Stick has a 4 GB internal memory, which, paired with the SD Card Slot, gives you all the space you need for presentations, video, and audio files. The Stick comes with built in speakers as well, but there is no word how powerful they are. You could also just bring your headphones with you and listen to your shows through the headphone jack. The Stick is not expected to be released until the Fall, and it will retail for $349.
Lastly is the biggest projector, the Cinemin Station, which is about the size of an alarm clock. Featuring the same WVGA (800 x 480) resolution, the Station is unique in that it is the only projector in this bunch to feature an iPod docking station. This allows you to hear and see your media content on a big screen, instead of the tiny LCD screens the iPod has. The Station also comes with an SD Card slot, AV jack, headphone jack, and a microphone jack to either record your voices or possibly karaoke. The Station will also not be released until the fall, and it will retail for $399.
[via Gear Log]
