Hardware

Review: The ViewSonic M1 Mini Plus Projector Is a Smart Learning Tool

This portable presentation device is a handy teaching tool and a remarkable feat of engineering.

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John Breeden II is an award-winning reviewer with more than 20 years of experience covering technology. Follow him on Twitter @TheLabGuys.

Small, portable projectors that can be easily carried and set up anywhere are extremely popular right now. They are used for everything, from entertainment to business — any activity where a big viewing area can enhance the experience. They are especially good for today’s learning environments, where lectures are often conducted outside of classrooms in spaces not traditionally designed for instruction.

Almost all portable projectors currently available are tiny compared with their 10-pound predecessors, but most still require being tethered to something — a laptop, smartphone, wireless network or even a power outlet — to operate. The new M1 Mini Plus Projector from ViewSonic is the first to completely cut those ties, providing a fully functional and portable device with no support or secondary equipment needed.

The M1 — a tiny, 4-inch block that is 1 inch tall and weighs less than a pound — packs a surprisingly strong internal battery that can drive presentations for almost two hours per charge. The user simply opens the lens cover, which doubles as the stand on which the M1 rests, to automatically switch the projector on and start presenting. From that point forward, everything is controlled using a small remote that’s about the size of a few stacked credit cards.

The ViewSonic M1 Plus Mini Projector Is Easy to Set Up

ViewSonic has made setting up the M1 extremely easy. The projector automatically adjusts vertical keystone measurements to make images look good even when projected on a wall, ceiling or other irregular surface. Presentations can be streamed from 4 gigabytes of internal storage or through an HDMI cable, USB 2.0 port, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection. Audio comes from an internal 2-watt JBL cube speaker that sounds amazing, especially given its size, and is loud enough for anyone within about 10 feet of the unit to hear easily.

The M1 projects at 120 lumens. At a short-throw distance, with the projector just 40 inches away from a surface, images are clear across the 40-inch viewing area even in daylight. However, if you want to project a larger image by moving the device farther back, you should dim the lights.

As a portable presentation tool, the ViewSonic M1 Mini Plus Projector is amazingly effective and an impressive feat of engineering. Offering such an effective business tool (which could double as a personal entertainment device) at a consumer-friendly price would not have been possible even just a few years ago.

SPECIFICATIONS

DEVICE TYPE: Portable LED Projector
NATIVE RESOLUTION: 854x480
LUMENS: 120
AUDIO OUTPUT: 2-watt internal JBL speaker
DIMENSIONS: 4.3x4.1x1.1 inches
WEIGHT: 10.58 ounces

Going the (Short) Distance with the ViewSonic M1 Mini Plus Projector

Those who use portable projectors — unlike wall or ceiling-mounted projectors designed for fixed environments such as conference rooms or theaters — may not have the luxury of knowing where their next presentation will take place. If they’re lucky, it might be in a regular classroom, but it might also be in a large meeting room, outdoors or even in a building’s common area.

So-called short-throw projectors such as the ViewSonic M1 Plus were created with suboptimal environments in mind. Their lenses and internal components are made to be placed very close to a surface and still produce a large, bright image. That way, even in a small room, you can easily put the device on a table and create a large image on a nearby wall just a few feet away.

The ViewSonic M1 Mini Plus has an adjustable stand for even more versatility. For example, it’s extremely easy to throw an image from the projector onto a ceiling, letting the automatic keystone correction configure the makeshift screen into a perfect rectangle.

But what about size? In my tests, the ratio of viewing size to projector distance was impressive. At just 25 inches, which is the minimum supported setup distance, you can still project a nearly 30-inch image. Placing the projector 43 inches away creates a 40-inch viewable area in a widescreen configuration.

With a 40-inch viewable area, 120 lumens is more than sufficient to project a clear and readable image in bright rooms. At that distance, even the corners of the image are clear and not washed out, even in daylight.

With enough space, you can enlarge the image; however, doing so will require that you dim the lights to prevent image washout, especially at the edges. With the projector 5 feet from a surface, you can project a 60-inch image that’s clear in a dim environment.

The maximum distance that you can set the M1 from a viewing surface is about 83 inches, producing an incredible 80-inch viewing area. This requires a fully darkened room — but if you are able to fully block out all other light, you can enjoy a theaterlike experience from this tiny projector.