[Review] Lumos Nano Projector, the ultimate portable projector
Updated: Aug 5, 2022
INTRODUCTION ^
LUMOS Projector? If you are from outside of Singapore, high chance you won't even have heard of this home grown Singapore brand before. Honestly speaking, even I have not heard much about this Singapore brand projectors except for the fact that they seems to offer pretty competitive price for good quality specs (aka seems to have sales quite often).
Here is a quick look at the specs:
Size: 400g, 12 x 8 x 12 cm Display Technology: Premium DLP Brightness: 1500 Lumens Speaker: Dolby Audio Resolution: 1080p (Native 480p) Control: Touch Control, Remote Control Operating System: Android 9.0 Memory: RAM 2GB + ROM 16GB Built-in Apps: Youtube, Netflix, Google Play Store, Airplay, EShare, WIFI Display Connectivity: Wifi, Bluetooth 5.0 Aspect Ratio: 16:9/4:3 Projected Size: 50-100 Inch Projected Distance: 1.5-3.0M Short Throw Ratio: 1.3:1 Battery Life: 2 Hours Playtime Keystone Correction: Horizontal & Vertical ±15°, Inbuilt Auto Adjustment Screen Mirroring: Airplay app for iOS Phones, EShare app for Samsung Phones, WIFI Display for Android phones Price: RSP SGD1104, on sale now for SGD645 as of the date of this article,
A couple of specs to take note of; This nano projector uses Premium DLP which means it should be brighter than your average LED Projector. It may not be as high as your full size projector but at 1500 Lumens, it is bright enough under the right condition.
This nano projector covers both IOS and Android in terms of screen mirroring on top of the built-in apps with Youtube and Netflix and not to mention the whole Google Play Store at your disposal.
Another feature worth mentioning is the keystone correction with horizontal and vertical correction of 15°. I have used the projector mounted on an Ultrapod at an angle of 45° pointing towards the ceiling and keystone correction is able to correct it.
DESIGN & BUILD ^
At 400g, 12cm by 8 cm by 8cm; This nano projector is small, small but yet nothing too much was sacrificed as far as features are concerned. All 6 sides are made from plastic but yet looks and feels solid. There is no visible structural gap except for the cooling grills on the back and the bottom of the projector.
Sound is projected from the top on all 4 edges which made the sound loud and yet not pitchy. It seems to tip toward the bass end either that or the treble doesn't seems to be balanced enough to make the voices and conversations sound clear enough.
The mini tripod provided is only good enough if you want to project the screen straight towards the wall. The small size of this projector meant that you can lay the projector flat on its back and project the screen up towards your ceiling without needing the tripod but I strongly suggest you get a tripod like what I am using (Pedco Ultrapod II) which allows me to turn the projector 45° towards the ceiling and even 90° up onto the ceiling without me covering the cooling grills at the back of the projector.
Front Side: The projection lens uses a slot hole with the actual lens deeper into the elongated hole which meant that it minimize any accidental smudging of the lens with your fingers. Right Side: On/Off metallic button with a standard 3.5mm audio jack. Left Side: Focusing wheel towards the front edge of the side. Back Side: DC proprietary charging port with a full size HDMI and USB-A port each. 1 long rectangular and square cooling grill. Bottom: Standard 3/8" thread with more cooling grills around the thread. Top: Touch sensitive with volume control, "mouse" navigation, home, back and menu controls.
SOFTWARE ^
The Lumos Nano projector comes with Android 9.0 out of the box, therefore with access to Google Play Store on top of built-in Netflix and Youtube.
UI: The home screen highlights 3 main items, Netflix, Youtube and Google Play store with sub items like Applications, Settings, Files and HDMI. You also get the ability to add shortcut icon(s) to the bottom of the homescreen for quick access instead of going into the Applications menu. The Netflix and Youtube are pretty standard and easy to navigate with the exception of the on screen keyboard slightly inconvenient to use as you have to use the arrow buttons on the remote control to get around the letters. The saving grace is you are allowed to connect a bluetooth keyboard which definitely beats using the remote control to type.
Projection Setting: The most important item here is the keystone correction which comes with auto correction but it doesn't always work for me and when that comes, you will have to disable auto correction and manually adjust the 4 points of the screen to suit the angle you fixed the projector with. This is fairly easy to do as all you need to do is simply to navigate the points with the arrow buttons and set that accordingly.
It also comes with fan setting with speed from 1 the slowest to 5 the fastest. Just take note that the faster it spin the louder it gets. The Zoom Settings allow you to set either 16:9 or the old standard of 4:3 and also the size of the screen which is goes from 50" to 100". Other settings includes Brightness Adjustment and Color Temperature. Perhaps the strangest setting in this menu is the main item Projection Mode Settings which honestly still leaves me confused til this day. I usually leave this one to standard.
Network: The network screen is fairly easy to use with the 2 main items being the Wifi and Bluetooth screens. Both uses the same format with scanned points/devices on screen. Simply use the arrow buttons to get around it and connect accordingly.
Screen Mirroring:
Screen Mirroring on this projector is made easy with the EShare app provided by Lumos Projector. You will need to download and install the EShare app by following instructions on the projector, which is quite easy to understand.
I cannot begin to describe how good this app is, it is really packed with features:
TV Mirror - Mirror the projector to your phone and control the projector from your phone itself.
Mirroring - Mirror your phone to the projector.
Camera - Nothing to test it against with unforunately.
Remote - Ability to control the projector from your phone.
For the Remote, you get standard access like home, back, keyboard which can be a lifesaver as that enables you to type from your phone which be way faster than typing using the remote and lastly access to apps.
EASE OF USE ^
Ease of use depends on what we are referring to. If you are talking about the UI and navigation, it is easy to get around the multiple menus with the arrow buttons, okay, back and home. Even if you are using this for the first time, you get used it to pretty fast I guarantee that.
The hardware buttons on the projector is fairly easy to get to with only the focusing wheel located in a weird position which can cause you to occasionally cover the lens with your hand.
The touch sensitive control at the top of the projector is fairly easy to use and it accept your input pretty well with the center navigational mouse control being either too sensitive or too insensitive at certain times.
The on screen keyboard is not exactly hard to use since you need only to navigate the letters with the arrow buttons on the remote control but don't expect quick typing if you are comparing to typing on a standard keyboard.
VIDEO QUALITY ^
The video quality cannot be compared to those top of the chart high end projectors but it easily beats entry level projector and can even be rated at a top tier mid range projector. The interesting thing lies with how you project your screen on the wall. If you are pointing the projector straight at the wall or straight up the ceiling, you get pretty sharp and crisp projection.
Now here comes the funny part; If you are like me who likes to attach the projector to a portable tripod and point it 45° to the ceiling, the quality of the projection will be slightly rough and a bit blurry no matter how much you adjust the focusing. If you are however not picky about this, it may not even be noticeable.
These sample photos are just for reference and should not be taken as a conclusive reason as nothing still beats watching it in person.
SOUND QUALITY ^
The sound system is advertised as Dolby Atmos so that means it is supposed to have better projected acoustical sound and the simulated 3 dimensional sound. But however don't expect too much from this projector if you are comparing it to an actual sound system with actual distinct speakers due to the 1 speaker construction design for this nano projector.
That said, it is not too bad. The bass is acceptable but the treble feels a bit too low which can cause it to sound soft especially if there are voices and conversation involved.
Sample sounds recording were post processed to only remove noise caused by projector fans and to increase the db to make it sound audible. Note that nothing still beats listening these in person, so take these as just a 2nd opinion.
CONCLUSION ^
At a Retail Price of SG1104, I would say it is quite overpriced for a portable nano projector. However, with an on-going sale currently (posted date of this article), I would recommend it. This Singapore home grown brand seems to have hit the right specs for a portable projector of this size.
The reasonable lumens of 1500; the 15° horizontal and vertical keystone correction; good apps coverage thanks to Google Play Store; Mirroring from both ISO and Android; Most of the specs seems right except for the battery life of 2hrs which should be enough for a standard length movie with WIFI and Bluetooth enabled but any duration beyond that, you will start getting prompt of low battery. The only deal breaker lies in the IO ports. With the lack of a USB-C port that can open up USB charging while you enjoy your movie night, I find myself at times getting the power low prompt from the projector towards the end of a movie quite often. Another thing worth mentioning is the 5Ghz Wifi band suffers from your usual connectivity issue, so streaming from Netflix or Youtube may affect your watching experience if this projector is too far away from your router and you insist on using 5Ghz band.
At a sales price of SGD654, it is still towards the higher end in terms of price for a portable projector. If you compare that with Lumos Auro which is currently on sale for SGD299, it seems like a crazy price to pay for the Lumos Nano especially when specs are all stacked towards Lumos Auro's favour. The only thing that will attract buyers toward Lumos Nano is the portability of the projector. This thing fit into your small bag and if your pocket is big enough, heck it can even fit into your pocket.
I love this preview, good job! Keep up the good work :)