No matter on what kind of a computer you’re working and spending your days on, you can always benefit from adding an additional screen. If you are using a Mac, then you can easily find an additional monitor as well as the cables you need to connect it your computer since all of these components are being manufactured and sold by Apple. On the other hand, you can always go for a third-party solution, which is always a good idea since. Among those solutions are pico projectors that can be used to project your screen onto a wall, but which are small and light enough to be easily carried in a bag. Continue reading this article, since we will tell you more about one of the latest pico projector that appeared on the market.
AAXA P700 Projector is actually a pico projector, but one of the biggest from this category. This projector is made for those who are not interested in small pico projectors due to their usually low picture quality, but also for those who don’t need a full-sized fixed projector. This product comfortably sits somewhere in the middle, and I think there’s a real demand for this kind of projector. AAXA’s P700 is compatible with any iOS device, so you can connect it your iPhone, iPad, and iPod, as well as any Mac and AppleTV.
P700 is measuring 6.9” wide by 3.9” deep by 1.6” tall, so it not pocket-sized, but still brings travel-friendly dimensions. The projector brings rather traditional design, in terms of buttons and ports layout, adding a glossy black top across otherwise white chassis. Even though this is not the most attractive design I’ve seen, the product seems very quality made, which is a plus.
In the packaging you will receive a series of basic video cables, a tripod, a wall power supply, and a very basic remote control. This means you will need to supply an HDMI cable for AppleTVs and Macs, or a Lightning to Digital AV Adapter for supported iOS devices. What also needs to be mentioned is that there is a Micro SD card slot and that the projector includes a built-in media player capable of reading USB flash sticks and playing non-protected media files. Like most pico projectors, P700 also includes a rechargeable battery so you can use it on-the-go. You can count on up to 70 minutes of run time, which is on par with similar products. On the other hand, this comes with a price. Since AAXA P700 Projector features a bulb capped at 650 Lumens, this would drain the battery rather quickly. This is why the projector is capped at 350 Lumens when the projector uses its battery.
When it comes to the performance and picture quality, P700 disappointed me initially. After I connected the projector to my iPad, I noticed that P700 displayed the iPad’s UI, in terms of icons and labels, small enough to be hard to read. In addition, the aspect ratio was being cut to a nearly square image. After researching online, since I believed that I made some mistake, I saw a couple of other individuals pointing out this exact issue. On the other hand, the performance was great with any other 16:9 video sources, including videos from my iPad. The projector occupied the full width of the output, with very bright and legible projection against the black background. There is no issue with the output when playing an HD movie from my iPad, but when I returned to iOS or launched an app or game – the projector returned to that small, square box.
During my testing, I noticed that P700 achieves the best result by being 16” away from a surface in order to create a 20” image. So this is the proportion you need to follow in order to make the image larger. According to the official statements by AAXA, P700 can create a 12.5-foot video display while being connected to a wall outlet, and being 10 feet away from the wall onto which the image is being projected. This is a very good result for such a small and portable projector.
When it comes to the supported resolution, P700 supports a slightly higher 720p resolution of 1280×800. This seems enough to render most iOS and OSX UI at their non-Retina levels. I think this is also a very good result considering the size of this projector. You can always find much more expensive projectors that can create 1080p images without a problem, but this comes with a serious price “upgrade”.
Finally, a few words on the projector’s sound output. AAXA P700 Projector includes stereo 1-Watt speakers. This seems like barely enough, especially due to the projector’s 30dB fan, but the sound can still be clearly heard. On the other hand, the quality of this sound is quite disappointing. Distortion is evident even at around 65% mark on its volume slider. The only positive thing is that P700 brings somewhat louder sound in comparison to the newest iPad generation. If you are planning on playing movies and TV shows, this is not the best speaker in this category, but I guarantee you won’t be disappointed either since it sits somewhere in the middle.
As I mentioned earlier, AAXA P700 Projector brings a small tripod as well. I need to mention this since the tripod seems useless. It doesn’t level the projector on any axis, which creates a trapezoidal image on the wall. However, you can use the projector’s manual controls and play with the springy legs to achieve a more acceptable output. This is not the most affordable product, which I why the cheap-looking tripod needed to be mentioned. I am sure you will need a better tripod if you plan on using this projector on a daily basis.
AAXA P700 Projector is one of the better projectors that I tested, with one serious flaw. However, I am sure issues with the iPad can be resolved via software update, and I sincerely hope to see the company fixing this. Until this gets resolved, I can’t give my full recommendation, especially considering the price of $449.
