Why You Can Trust CNET WowWee Cinemin Swivel review: WowWee Cinemin Swivel
WowWee Cinemin Swivel
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WowWee's Cinemin Swivel is one of the more distinct pico projectors on the market thanks to its swiveling design, which allows you to project images at various angles, including straight up at the ceiling.
WowWee Cinemin Swivel
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
In case you don't know what a pico projector is, as its name implies, it's a miniature handheld projector that's capable of casting a big image (WowWee says the Cinemin Swivel can project an image from 8 inches to 50 inches). The key to these pint-size projectors is that they use an LED light source that's very energy efficient. Pico projectors come in different shapes and sizes; most cost between $300 and $400, and they currently sport resolutions up to 640x480 pixels, though the Cinemin Swivel only offers 480x320 pixels or HVGA resolution. This model uses DLP technology for projecting an image. That's the same technology employed in many rear-projection TVs, but projected on an external wall, movie-theater-style, instead of the backside of a TV screen.
The Cinemin Swivel is similar in size to competing pico projectors, but the 3M MPro120 is slightly smaller and more compact. Weighing in at 6.4 ounces and measuring 5 inches by 3 inches by 8.5 inches, the Swivel model does indeed fit in a pocket (or easily slips in a laptop bag) and comes with a protective sleeve.
The projector is designed to sit on a flat surface, then tilted slightly upward (yes, there's a hinge in the middle of the projector that allows you to tilt the front up). Like other pico projectors, this one doesn't have any keystone settings, so getting a perfectly rectangular image does take some tinkering, and you do have to play around with the focus as you move the projector around.
The Cinemin Swivel can use any video source with a composite AV output, such as most portable DVD players; invest in a separate $40 VGA adapter, and you can use a laptop as well. But WowWee has made a conscious effort to market to iPhone and iPod (with video) owners, bundling in an Apple adapter cable. The adapter comes with a short, detachable foot-long AV cord that connects your Apple device to the projector. There's also a port on the adapter that allows you to connect your iPod or iPhone to your computer via USB and charge it at the same time. The Cinemin Swivel runs for about 2 hours on its removable lithium ion battery; it can charge via USB as well.
It's hard to recommend the Cinema Swivel for business use because the picture isn't really bright or sharp enough to project a decent-size image in a room with any lights on (you're better off using a laptop). But we could see how it would make sense for certain basic business presentations--for instance, projecting photographs or short videos to illustrate a point. Though the picture won't blow anybody away, the tiny size of the projector might impress some folks and score you some points.
Like other pico projectors, this one does best in the dark, and in a blackened room, you can project an acceptable image up to about 26 to 32 inches in size. Yes, you can go to as big as 50 inches, but the trade-off to going that large is a more washed-out image; you'll really have to play around with your throw-distance as well as your lighting conditions to find a size and image you're comfortable with.
As noted, one of the interesting features is the ability to project an image on a ceiling by titling the front of the projector straight up at a right angle. This doesn't work well at all if you have tall ceilings, but those with shorter ceiling (less than 8 feet high), might find it alluring. The picture isn't great, but chances are, it will be a big hit with your kids and their friends. You should just be aware that the tiny integrated speaker isn't terribly loud, so you need to sit near the projector to hear the soundtrack of a movie (you can attach external speakers or connect headphones if you want better sound). It's also worth noting that though the projector runs quietly, it does get a little warm at the front.
We've seen a few other pico projectors in action and the image quality, particularly in terms of brightness, is similar for all of them (this model's rated at 8 lumens). For comparison, we put the Cinemin up against the 3M MPro120, which costs about the same (right around $300, albeit with the iPod cable), but has higher resolution (640x480 pixels), better battery life (4 hours versus the Cinemin's 2), and brightness levels (it's rated at 12 lumens in its "high" setting).
That said, we found the Cinemin's picture to be slightly better than the 3M's, with slightly deeper blacks (the Cinemin uses DLP technology versus the 3M's LCoS). The MPro's picture was a tad sharper but we liked the color better on the Cinemin. It's also worth noting that to get the picture to display correctly we had to set our iPhone to display in wide screen for the Cinemin and 4:3 for the MPro 120.
We weren't incredibly impressed with either projector, but we think WowWee has done a better job making this more consumer friendly, particularly with the inclusion of the Apple adapter and swivel mechanism. Ultimately, at this stage, pico projectors make some sense for parents and business travelers who want to watch an iPhone/iPod movie on a screen that's larger than their laptop's screen, though the prices put the units beyond the impulse purchase category.
In short, yes, there's something cool about the concept of carrying around a tiny, portable projector, and creating a mini instant theater. But just keep your expectations low as far as picture and sound quality--and make sure to watch in a darkened room--and you'll probably be happy with the Cinemin Swivel. But as we said in our review of the 3M MPro120, the technology is advancing and we expect that next-generation models will offer improved performance and (ideally) lower prices.