It took its sweet time, almost a year in fact, but the time has come

Apr 5, 2012 18:21 GMT  ·  By

ASUS is just about ready to start selling a product that could have made its way to stores sooner, not that we were looking forward to its arrival with all that much anticipation.

That isn't to say that we dislike projectors in any way, shape or form, but we have to admit to a certain level of apathy compared to the expectations that CPUs and GPUs instill.

We've also been quite busy chronicling new overclocking records and rumors about broken Ivy Bridge CPUs, not to mention future DDR4 support.

Still, even though projectors are more of a niche market than an overarching one, the ASUS P1 deserves a mention anyway.

It will, after all, start shipping in a few days in Japan (April 7, 2012).

Its price will be of 44,800 yen, which corresponds to approximately $545 and 414 Euro.

That amount of cash will get buyers a fairly light device (415 grams), measuring 125 x 130 x 33.5mm (4.92 x 5.11 x 1.31 inches).

The native resolution of projected images is 1,280 x 800 pixels, not really all that impressive but, then again, this isn't supposed to be one of those high-end beasts either.

That said, the brightness is of 200 lumens and the throw ratio is of 1.16;1, fairly short but still enough to project 40-inch “screens” at a distance of one meter.

Furthermore, the color reproduction is of 16.77 million, the contrast ratio is 2,000:1 and the aspect ratio is selectable between 16:10, 16:9 and 4:3. Automatic keystone correction and 28db of noise are part of the list too.

Not only that, but the ASUS P1 portable projector also uses LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and has instant on/off capabilities (doesn't need a warm-up time before projecting images, nor a cool-down break after use).

Finally, the CD case-sized consumer electronics product connects to systems via USB 2.0, composite and/or VGA ports.