The technology behind this display might not be new, but the approach to demonstrating it is absolutely captivating. Good thing too because the idea here is to combine Epson's rear-projection technology with 3M's 0.3-mm thin Vikuiti film to project talking avatars on shop windows in a bid to lure lusty nerd-boys and impressionable Cosmo-girls in for a closer look. Check it after the break courtesy of Impress.

The pico projector market has practically exploded over the past six months or so, but all the while it was 3M's MPro110 leading the charge. Given that you've now had a few months to toy with it, we're wondering if this thing really has lived up to the hype. Is having a projector in your pocket as awesome as advertised? Is the image quality sufficient for impromptu wall splashings? Would you recommend holding off for round two? We have all ideas we'll hear tons of "make it brighter!" and "where's the 1080p version?" type comments, but if you have something else besides that to add, then -- by all means -- drop some knowledge on us in comments below.

The MPro110 has picked up some pretty positive vibes in the burgeoning pico projector market, but 3M is already looking well beyond that. At this year's CES, the company is debuting the LCoS-based MM200, a micro projection engine that is destined to find its way into cellphones, handheld accessories and digital cameras of the future. Reportedly, the device can project a 50-inch image while only drawing a single watt of power, and best of all, it'll be "available for consumer purchase in 2009." Yeah, as in, this year. One more look is after the break.

3M's MPro110 never set out to blow minds, just to wow those who thought projectors could never be this small. According to Gadling's hands-on review, it achieved its goal(s). With a brightness of just 7 lumens, the actual image that it produced wasn't exactly stunning, but it was deemed "far from useless." The biggest knock was just how limited it was in terms of real-world usage; unless the room was perfectly dark, it wasn't the most gorgeous thing to look at, which means those midday sales presentations may not fly if there's a window in the room. In the end, the MPro110 was found to be more of a geek's toy than a proper presentation tool, but who says that's a bad thing?

Sure, we frequently come across gizmos so small that tweezers and eyeglass repair kits are needed to dissect 'em, but rarely are those gadgets projectors. With the new wave of minuscule beamers comes a new kind of tear down, and Tech-On has taken the time to split apart and photograph both the 3M MPro110 and Optoma PK101. The splaying gets pretty detailed, too, with us being informed of two large LSIs on the former (one from Weltrend; one from TI) and a hard look at the LEDs of the latter. Have a peek at the writeups and accompanying images below, and see just how long you can go without uttering an "aww" -- we'll bet it's not long at all.

Read - 3M tear down
Read - Optoma tear down

From our perspective, it appears that we've reached a tipping point with regards to interest in the electric / hybrid automobile. No wonder considering the environmental and national security risks presented by a continuation of an oil-only approach. Unfortunately for the troubled US automotive industry (and economy), the single biggest money generator from a global fleet of electronic vehicles -- the lithium-ion battery cell -- is likely to be manufactured in Asia along side the lithium ion batteries found in our consumer electronics. According to the Wall Street Journal, "More than four dozen advanced battery factories are being built in China but none, currently, in the U.S." That could change, however, with a little determination, private investment, and a government willing to clear the way for manufacturing of this highly toxic contributor to the US infrastructure. Already, we've seen that Intel is being coaxed into building electric car batteries. Now, a group of 14 firms (including 3M and Johnson Controls-Saft) have stepped up to form an alliance with a US government laboratory. The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture is modeled after SEMATECH, a public-private venture from the 80s that helped restore US prominence in computer semiconductor technology. The goal is to create a shared-cost, "open foundry" for members to perfect and ultimately produce automotive batteries. Problem is, they need upwards of $2 billion to build a plant to manufacture batteries that no one has ordered. Of course, that's a pittance when compared to the bailout requests made by the Big 3. Hmm, jobs and an industry dominating money machine... hey Obama, you listening?

[Via Ars Technica]

With the holidays at hand, all these improbably-small projectors we've been seeing around for the past year or so are starting to land in force, and 3M's MPro110 is certainly a contender. The little unit shoots a VGA image onto screens as large as 50-inches (though we wouldn't recommend it), with a long lasting LED backlight backing it up. We got an up-close look at the thing last night, and have a few quick notes: the image is about as dim as you'd expect, and looks exponentially better the smaller the area you're trying to project on -- at about 30-inches in a decently lit room the image was insufferably dim, but at around 17 or 18-inches we were getting some pretty good definition brightness. The projector autofocuses plenty fast, which is clutch for a "handheld" projector, but it does get fairly warm despite its LED usage. Overall, we can't fault the projector too much, with a $359 pricetag and a "paperback book" form factor, but the application is certainly limited at the moment, and we're guessing these will be getting a lot better in the future. The MPro110 is now shipping.

It's official: the age of the pico projector has arrived. And we're not talking the age of pico projector announcements, we're talking about launches. Just after Toshiba came clean with its LED Pico Projector, along comes 3M (of all companies) with one of its own. The MPro110 pocket beamer got handled by PopSci, and the results were pretty much as we'd expect. Decently bright, extraordinarily novel, but not exactly world-class. Brightness (the lack thereof, actually) was an issue, and a few movie scenes were deemed "indecipherable." Additionally, it has no built-in speaker, but for just $359, we suppose that's an omission we can live with. Best of all, this one's set to ship on September 30th. To America. Woo!

[Via AboutProjectors]

The idea of stuffing a tiny projector into a handheld device isn't a new one -- we've seen a couple different takes on the idea -- but it looks like it might be hitting the mainstream soon, as 3M has announced plans to demo a half-inch wide projection unit at CES that can put up a 40-inch image. The LCoS projector is about the size of a wireless headset, according to 3M, and tops out at VGA resolution -- which seems adequate, given the QVGA resolution of most handhelds. Apparently we'll be seeing devices with the projector built in later this year, and hopefully we'll get a chance to play with a couple at CES -- you'll know as soon as we do.

Here we have it, the black mamba of short-throw projectors: 3M's DMS800. The 0.7-inch DLP projector mounts to the wall yet throws a 1,280 x 1,024 image with a 1,300:1 contrast in sizes ranging from 50 to 85 inches thanks to that long, telescoping neck which can extend up to 4.2-feet. Inputs are available for DVI-I, D-Sub 15 RGB, component, composite and S-Video sources. You can even combine the built-in Ethernet with an optional, external sensor and you've got yourself a digital white board to share on the network. The entire kit will set you back ¥715,000 (about $6,292) as of today in Japan. Still confused? Click through for a sample installation.

[Via Impress]

The bickering that boiled over into a patent dispute earlier this year between 3M and Sony has finally ceased, but it seems like Lenovo and friends may actually still be fighting their own battles with the innovative giant. Nevertheless, Sony Corporation and Sony Electronics are now "licensed sources of batteries containing 3M's cathode technology," and while specific terms of the settlement shall remain confidential, we're sure it was no small sum that Sony was asked required to pay out. One down, several to go.

There seems to be few things that 3M doesn't have some sort of patent claim to, and it looks like laptop batteries are no exception, with the company now putting some of those patents to the test, claiming that Sony, Lenovo, and a number of other companies have been using 'em without permission. According to Bloomberg, the newly-filed lawsuit centers on the cathode materials used in the batteries and demands that the U.S. International Trade Commission block all imports of the batteries in question and the laptop computers they're used in. In addition to Sony and Lenovo, the lawsuit also points the finger at CDW, Total Micro Technologies, and Batteries.com, as well as Hitachi and Matsushita, although apparently not for their laptop batteries, with them instead getting on 3M's bad side for the batteries used in their cordless power tools. From the sound of it, the lawsuit doesn't appear to have anything to do with the now infamous problems affecting many of the batteries from the aforementioned companies, with 3M boasting that their technology results in batteries that last longer and are less likely to overheat.

3M is showing off a couple of new projectors today cued for launch in the Korean market. First up is the business-minded PD80X DLP which delivers a 1024x768 (XGA) resolution, 4000 ANSI lumen brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio, a wide range of ports including HDCP enabled DVI, HDMI, component, and Ethernet for displaying multiples sources simultaneously with a sweet dual-lamp safety net in case of burn-out mid-way through your presentation. Next is the CD10X which brings the same XGA resolution in 1.1-kg portable DLP jobbie with 2000:1 contrast ratio, 1600 ANSI lumens brightness, and just a few inputs including DVI, S-Video, composite video, and USB. It also features a special "off to go" function which manages to the cool the unit lickity-split for tearing down that underground light show on the quick as the po-po roll onto the scene. No pricing or ship dates but it's good to know that 3M's got our six with these.

read -- CD10X
read -- PD80X