Take your own projector to the meeting

Zatni Arbi, Contributor, Jakarta

First of all, those of you who think that you need faster Internet access and e-mail on your cell phones now have more choice. In addition to the IM3 GPRS service, which has been around for some time, Telkomsel -- which claims to have by far the largest cell phone customer base in Indonesia -- has just launched its own GPRS and multimedia message service (MMS) in four major places: Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and Batam.

According to its release of Oct. 8, 2002, this recipient of the Indonesian Customer Satisfaction Award (ICSA) also plans to start services in Semarang, Yogyakarta, Pekanbaru and Medan by the end of this month. As you will soon realize, there will be fewer and fewer excuses for you to use for not having replied to incoming e-mail messages immediately. It is going to get more difficult for you to say things like: "I'm sorry I haven't been able to get back to you, I've been away from my computer the whole day".

I have been a Telkomsel subscriber since the first day I bought a used Alcatel cell phone -- my first cell phone ever -- from a relative a few years ago. I can certainly report to you what new and exciting things we can do with the GPRS service now that it is available from my provider.

In the meantime, let's take a look at a cute and impressive digital projector that truly fits into the palm of your hand.

* For the Road Warrior

You might have already noticed that each time we talk about a presentation projector, the name InFocus automatically comes to mind. As I observed in this column when I was reviewing Sanyo's great PLC-XW20 projector, the American brand InFocus has actually become a generic name for all digital projectors, regardless of the company that makes them. One of my colleagues usually says, "Don't forget to bring the InFocus to our meeting", when the actual projector that we have at the office is from Sony.

Last month, InFocus launched four models of digital projectors in Jakarta. The most impressive one was undoubtedly the LP650, priced at US$4,999, which produces the brightest image with the most brilliant colors with its 2500 ANSI Lumens capability. ANSI Lumens is the measure of the brightness of a projected image, which depends of course on the power of the light bulb inside the projector.

In addition to the quality of its projection, InFocus LP6500 has a unique handle in front of it, so we can carry it upright as if we were carrying a jerry can. It also has incorporated the Genesis Microchip's Faroudja DCDi circuit, which promises an even better image projection. The other projectors introduced to a crowd of journalists in Jakarta last September were the LP250, priced at $2,599, the LP240, at $1,699, and the LP70, which is $3,799. The LP250 is a 1100 ANSI Lumens projector, while the LP240 is a 1000 ANSI Lumens. Unlike the LP6500 and the LP70, both the LP250 and LP240 use LCDs rather than Texas Instrument's DLP technology.

Courtesy of InFocus and PT Triyaso Telekomindo -- its distributor in Indonesia -- I was able to toy around with the LP70 for a couple of days. Costing quite a fortune, this portable projector was pretty impressive. Its 1100 ANSI Lumens might not really be powerful enough to clearly project my favorite Elvis Presley video on the wall of my living room, which has a lot of ambient light, but it was quite a capable projector in a darkened room. I tested it with my notebook in the evening, and my PowerPoint presentation came out sufficiently crisp. I would say a small group of five to seven people would have no problem in collaborating with this projector, which weighs only 1.1 kilograms.

The demo unit came complete with all the necessary connections. We can connect it to the notebook with the VGA cable. I did not test the S-Video connection, because my old Siemens Nixdorf notebook did not have an S-Video port. I played the Elvis Presley VCD on a portable Sanyo VCD player, which I connected to the projector using a standard composite video cable that was included. All the cables were color-coded, so installation was a breeze.

* Small but complete

The LP70 is still quite an expensive projector, but it gives us a lot for the money. It is a DLP-based projector, so it is a better choice for home theater, too. In fact, the surprisingly comprehensive menu selections also include using it for a computer presentation or video projection.

To meet the needs of a home theater, we can change the aspect ratios of the projected image. We can also check how many hours the lamp has been in use so that we will have a replacement lamp on hand in case we have accumulated too much burning time. The lamp has an original warranty of 90 days or 500 hours -- whichever comes first. The projector can also be used to project images from behind a translucent screen. A few simple steps on the menu will project a mirror image of the screen, and this is quite an impressive feature for such a tiny projector.

There are some small niceties, too. For example, the logo, which the LP70 projects on the screen while it warms itself up, can be replaced with a captured image. We can use our computer to project an image on the screen and let this projector capture a section of the screen and store it as the logo. We can also choose the quality of the captured image. This projector also has a sensor that will automatically optimize the projected image based on the room's ambient light.

What is also impressive about this projector is its friendliness to different notebooks. I never had to shut down my notebook to make it communicate with the projector. LP70 is an XGA (1024 x 768) pixel projector, but it can handle notebooks that produce any resolution level between 640 x 480 and 1280 x 1024, and will automatically adjust it to the XGA level.

The remote control, which it included, is also versatile. If our notebook has a USB-based mouse, we can connect the projector and the notebook using the same USB port and we can use the remote control as a remote mouse. It also has a laser pointer function.

If we leave the remote control behind, there is no need to worry. The buttons on the unit are thoughtfully arranged and will let us make the necessary adjustments with or without the menu. During my test, the fan was quiet the entire time, but the speaker did not really produce stunning sound quality. However, I guess it would be unfair to expect ear-shattering sound to come out of such a compact unit.

Road warriors will definitely love the LP70. It is a very lightweight, capable presentation tool that will not lose your audience. It is, undoubtedly, another gadget that I would really wish to have in my arsenal -- if I could justify the required investment price, that is.

Incidentally, Andrew Davis, the vice president of sales for Asia Pacific InFocus Corporation, said in his presentation during the launch that four percent of notebook owners now have a projector as well. I guess, as this percentage increases, the price of digital projectors will continue to come down to my personal range of affordability.