New Portable Projector Weighs a Half Pound
A start-up that used
crowdsourcing to raise $800,000 last year
has unveiled a new projector that weighs just 9 ounces, can fit in the
palm
of your hand and offers images that can be projected on any surface.
Touchjet,
founded in 2013, has released its first product, the
Touchjet Pond Projector (formerly known as the Touchpico), an
ultra-portable
projector that can display images as wide as 80 inches on any surface,
allowing
teachers and students to interact directly with photos, videos, games
and presentations.
Built on the Android 4.4 operating system, the Pond
Projector
gives users access to hundreds of thousands of apps that can be
downloaded
directly to the device via Google Play. It has an 80 lumen LED lamp and
a built-in infrared sensor that allows it to track
two
bundled infrared styluses, which are powered by two AA batteries. It
comes with
the two styluses and a Bluetooth remote control that can also be used as
an
infrared mouse.
Touchjet representatives said the Pond Projector is
intended to act
as a counter balance to the one-on-one movement in which students work
on
individual devices as opposed to together as a group.
"Some curriculum is best taught through individual
learning,
but other subjects require collaboration so students learn together
while
improving their social skills," said Touchjet Educational Specialist
Holly De
Leon. "We believe there needs to be a balance, so educators don't
sacrifice opportunities
for collaboration and group learning."
The Pond Projector was introduced during the ISTE
2015 conference
June 28-July 1 in Philadelphia.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.