BenQ Joybee GP1 Mini Projector

We just got the new Joybee GP1 Mini Projector from BenQ today and mini is the perfect name for it. The device measures 5.4 by 4.7 by 2.1 inches The GP1 is designed to give you a good quality picture with out the hassle of lugging around a giant projector.

We fired the thing up and, after trying to get the language from Polish to English, took it for a little test run. We hooked the GP1 up to a 9-inch Dell Mini notebook and opened up a web browser to test out the projectors visual quality. The GP1 offers a full anamorphic DVD-ready 858x600 resolution, 100 lumens light, and a 2000:1 contrast ratio. For the best picture quality, you're going to want to use it on a white, flat, smooth surface. We used a white dry-erase board; not advisable considering the reflective surface of the board gave a glare from the projectors light. Aside from that little mishap on our part, the images we had up looked great. The web site we were viewing came in clear and focused and any problems we had were easily fixed.

The GP1 has many features on it that allow for picture tweaking. Our first problem was the image projected was crooked. The left side was wider than the right but this was easily fixed thanks to the GP1's dynamic keystone correction feature. This automatically adjusts the image to make the picture as close to a rectangular box as possible. Other picture features include high altitude and ceiling-mounted modes, wall color and picture temperature adjustments, numerous picture calibration, digital zoom, and multi-lingual menus. As I said, the GP1 works best on white surfaces, however, it can be adjusted to work on other surfaces like blackboards or even tinted windows with the different presets it has. The only time you lose major quality is when you display the picture on a surface that is highly textured.

Set up is simple. Once you take it out of the box, plug it in and turn it on you are ready. The only thing you have to do is adjust the focus with the silver focusing knob on the projector and you're good to go. The GP1 offers crystal clear images in a 14-inch to 80-inch (corner to corner) window as far as five feet away and near crystal clear images farther away from that. The viewing quality for 80-inch is very high in a pitch black or near black room and is about the same as viewing a 40-inch image in a room in the daytime with the shades drawn. We tested it in a pitch black room with a screen size of about 20in x 20in and it looked really good.

You are able to do a lot with this little projector. Aside from hooking it up to a laptop, you can also hook up your iPod or iPhone to it and stream your music, movies and other things through the projector which is a very neat feature. The GP1 also has a video formatting software that will convert video, audio, and picture files in a format viewable on the GP1. For video, the GP1 can display MJPEG and PCM for audio. The projector works very well for its size and BenQ has put a lot of effort into giving you a good quality projector in a small, easy to use size. I can see this device being used a lot by salesmen who do a lot of traveling presentations where they need a good projector with easy transportation abilities. It is even a great device for home entertainment. Maybe not the best one to use for your main room, but definitley something that you could put in one of your kid's rooms. It is so easy to open up the box, plug in the projector and start watching movies which makes it great for you child's sleepovers. Overall, we were impressed by the GP1. It delivered well on the visual side of things and its portability makes ideal for taking it on the road.

Now obviously the GP1 doesn't perform as well as some of the other, bigger projectors on the market. But what it lacks in performance it makes up for in size and portability. At a price of $499, this is a good device to take on the road and is great for a small meeting setting..