BeamBox Essential G2 Projector
Filed under: Electronics, Projectors | By: Jamie Pert
Posted on: July 20, 2009 | 1 Comment
BeamBox have now created an even lighter pocket projector, the projector is called “The Essential G2” and only weighs 75 grams, it will set you back $250(£220 or €240). The projector is available for pre-order direct form BeamBox’s website, it should be available from July 29th.
The projector delivers a VGA resolution which can give you a screen size of up to 73 inches from a 3 meter distance, the lamp will last you 30,000 hours and delivers 20 lumens. The device uses USB for both power and image source and also has internal storage of 1GB.
As we know in practice a screen size of 73 inches from a device with only 20 lumens usually results in a blurry picture, therefore we expect a screen size of perhaps a quarter of that for decent quality.
Check out the original article on Engadget.
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After a delay of a week or so whilst they sourced some cables which they had run out of, Beambox finally shipped my projector.
The Beambox Essential G2 arrived this morning but it does not work properly. When connected the display says “USB video NO signal” when connected to two different computers (one XP, one Vista). Neither system can recognize it as a USB drive properly - each time it gets an error message (USB drive not recognized) , and when I tried to switch to “USB Storage” on the projector itself, it says “please insert cable” - which is of course already inserted, seeing as it is required for power, this being a USB-powered device! Although it did connect once and the software successfully downloaded from the unit and installed, it does not work either. Occasionally I get a message asking me to install an old version of the software…how? It’s not available anywhere on the Internet or on Beambox’s website. In any event the version I did get caused a fatal error on my Vista desktop which led to a System Restore being necessary.
The instructions which came with the unit (a photocopied sheet) are quite obviously a very poor translation from a language other than English and make little sense. All telephone calls to Beambox went unanswered, and the LiveChat is permanently offline. Eventually I got a “helpful” email from Beambox asking if I had plugged in the USB cable and advising me to install a different version of the software…from where? There’s no installation CD supplied and no download link on their website.
The unit itself has a noisy fan and no lens cover, and can only be controlled via the supplied remote control - lose that, and the projector is useless (although, seeing as I can’t get it to project anything other than its own menu, it’s useless anyway). Additionally the brightness although advertised at 25 lumens is inferior to the 10 lumen brightness of Optoma pico projectors, and is essentially unwatchable except in pitch darkness.
I will be returning this unit to Beambox and seeking a full refund.