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The 3M Mobile Projector MP410 ($599 direct) is one more entry in a category of projectors that are effectively variations on a theme. Some, like the MP410 , are palmtops with 300-lumen ratings. Others, like the Optoma ML500 ($650 street, 3.5 stars) and are a little larger and brighter, with 500-lumen ratings. However, they're all built around LED light sources paired with DLP chips, and they share similar features, including a claimed WXGA (1280 by 800) native resolution. The MP410 is a little pricey for its brightness rating, but it is also a particularly well polished representative of the breed, making it Editors' Choice.

The big advantage for the 300-lumen models in this group, including the MP410 and the Dell M110 ($499 direct, 3.5 stars), is their small size. The 500-lumen models typically weigh between two and three pounds. The MP410, in contrast, weighs just 0.8 pounds by itself, or 1.8 pounds with its power block and cable.

Keep in mind too that perception of brightness is logarithmic, so although 500 lumens is brighter than 300 lumens to the human eye, it isn't anywhere near 167 percent as bright. That helps makes the savings in weight for a 300-lumen projector a more than reasonable tradeoff for the lower brightness.

Basics

One of the MP410's most attractive features is its portability. It measures just 1.7 by 4.2 by 4.2 inches (HWD), and 3M ships it with a soft case, just large enough to hold the projector, power block, and all the cables you need. There's also enough room left over for the optional remote ($21.95 direct) and optional dongle ($69.95 direct) that will let you connect by WiFi. According to 3M there are various free apps available that will let you connect and show images from Windows PCs, Macs, and both iOS and Android devices.

For even better portability, you can leave your computer or video source at home and let the MP410 read files from the internal 1GB internal memory, from USB memory keys, or from microSD cards. In addition to image files (JPG and BMP), it can read video (MOV, MP4, AVI, MKV, DIVX, WMV, and WMV3) and audio files (MP1, MP2, MP3, and WMA) as well.

Setup is standard, with the USB A port and microSD card slot on the back of the projector along with an HDMI port, a proprietary connector for the supplied VGA adapter, and a miniplug jack for audio input. Note too that if you have a USB A to USB A cable, you can also use the USB port to connect to a computer, both for sending data images and for copying files to the internal memory as well as for managing those files. Also on the back is a Kensington Lock slot, so you can leave the projector sitting in a conference room without worrying about it disappearing.

One last feature worth highlighting is that, as with any projector with an LED light source, the LEDs are meant to last the life of the projector, with a 20,000-hour rated lifetime in this case. Not having to replace the light source helps keep the total cost of ownership down.

Brightness and Image Quality
With a 300-lumen rating, the MP410 obviously isn't as bright as a typical lamp-based projector with 2,000 to 3,000 lumens, but it's more than bright enough to be useful. In my tests, I found the MP410 comfortably bright enough for a 50-inch wide image (59 inches diagonally at 1,280 by 800) or even a little larger in a darkened room. It was even usable at that size with moderate ambient light.

Data image quality is more than acceptable, but well short of excellent. On our standard suite of DisplayMate tests, colors were fully saturated and vibrant, and color balance was excellent, with neutral grays over the full range from white to black.

Unfortunately I also saw the same sort of scaling artifacts at the claimed native resolution (in the form of added patterns) as I saw with the Optoma ML500 , Dell M110 , and other, similar projectors in this category. As I discussed in detail in the ML500 review, this simply shouldn't happen.

The good news is that the artifacts won't be an issue for most people, because they show up only on images with closely spaced patterns of dots or lines over a large area. The better news is that with the MP410, the scaling doesn't affect text readability, which is usually the more important problem with scaling. In my tests, black text on a white background was crisp and easily readable down to 6.8 point size.

Other Issues

The MP410's video image quality is well short of the best I've seen from a data projector, much less a home theater projector, but is at least usable, which is more than some data projectors can manage. It also helps that the MP410 shows fewer rainbow artifacts than most DLP projectors.

Rainbow artifacts, with bright areas breaking up into red-green-blue rainbows are a potential issue with any single-chip DLP projector, with some projectors showing them more easily than others. As with most DLP projectors, the MP410 shows them more often with video than with data. Even with video however, they show so infrequently that even those who are sensitive to the effect aren't likely to find them bothersome.

One other feature that demands mention is the audio. As with most small projectors, the MP410's audio is severely underpowered. If you need sound at a reasonable volume, plan on using a separate sound system.

As should be obvious, the 3M Mobile Projector MP410 offers a more than attractive balance of brightness, size, and features, including the ability to read files from various memory sources. If you're on a tight budget, you may be better off with the Dell M110, and if you need higher brightness, you may prefer a 500-lumen projector with similar features—like the Optoma ML500. However, the 3M Mobile Projector MP410 earns lots of points for having less of a rainbow effect than most of its 300- and 500-lumen competition, and it offers somewhat better data image quality, with more readable text. That's enough to make it well worth considering, worth the high price for the brightness level, and also an Editors' Choice.

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