Samsung Pocket Imager SP-P300

We're used to diminutive projectors at PC Pro, but the stunningly innovative SP-P300 raised plenty of eyebrows around our offices. Not only does it weigh less than a bag of sugar, it's smaller than a bag of sugar. You can fit four Samsung Pocket Imagers onto this page with space to spare, and each one is about as thick as an airport thriller. Samsung is being a little optimistic in marketing it as a 'pocket projector'. But only just.

The SP-P300 uses an LED light source instead of a traditional projector lamp. The immediate benefit, besides the size, is the reduction in cooling requirements and, consequently, noise. The SP-P300 is quieter than an average conversation and barely even audible during the quietest of film scenes. Samsung estimates that the light source will last for 10,000 hours too: enough for more than 400 days of continuous use. A significant drawback is the lamp's finite life - it can't be replaced, so you'll simply have to bin the whole projector after a few years.

The resolution of 800 x 600 is on the low side, but it's a compromise you may be willing to accept. There's also an optional battery (which wasn't available for testing), which Samsung claims will last for up to two-and-a-half hours. We'd take this figure with a pinch of salt, but the ability to run both a projector and a notebook away from a power supply could prove incredibly useful.

In use, the SP-P300 passed our technical tests comfortably. Red, green and blue colour gradients were accurately reproduced, indicating that the SP-P300 has very good colour accuracy and leading to realistic skin tones in photographs and films. The 1,000:1 contrast ratio is another plus - blacks look respectably dark, while bright areas of the screen don't burn out and show as white.

Naturally, there are some significant compromises to be found. While the typical number of ANSI lumens for a business projector is around the 2,000 mark (and even more for entertainment projectors), the SP-P300 weighs in with a startlingly low rating of just 24 lumens. In practical terms, it will struggle if you attempt to use it in a room that's anything less than pitch black. You're able turn the apparent brightness up in the OSD, but this simply upsets the contrast, turning blacks to greys and ultimately losing more detail in the process.

Unfortunately, this severely limits using the SP-P300 in most meeting rooms and presentations, as you can't make intelligible notes if the lights are off. It also doesn't make the most of movies or other entertainment: when watching a film in a dark room at night (with the blinds drawn), we still had difficulty making out important details in some scenes.

The SP-P300 is a great example of the direction portable projectors are heading in, but it's far too niche and expensive to recommend. For this much you could buy the PJ406D, which offers a far brighter image: the SP-P300 just isn't bright enough for anything more than occasional use.

Author: Dave Stevenson