Take your own projector to the meeting

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.