The Twenty Smallest Portable XGA Projectors

Epson Powerlite 700c
Epson Powerlite 710c

At COMDEX in November, Epson announced a pair of high-performance XGA projectors that are scheduled to commence shipments in February. Built on the same 5.8 lb, 247 cu. in. chassis, the 700c and the 710c vary only in ANSI lumen rating and price. The 700c is rated at 800 lumens, with an MSRP of $6,999, and the 710c is rated at 1000 lumens with a retail of $7,999. Though a thousand dollars is a bit much to pay for a mere 200 lumen increment, at discounted street price levels, the premium for the 710c should be about $650.

The Epson products are driven by a three-panel 0.9" polysilicon LCD light engine with a 120-watt UHP lamp. The 710c pumps out an amazing 4.0 ANSI lumens per cubic inch, more than any other projector on the market. They have a 1:1.2 manual zoom, and offer up to UXGA compatibility.

Once they begin to ship, we should see Internet pricing for the 700c around $4,600 and the 710c at $5,200. At these budget levels, the only other significant competitor in price/performance would be the Mitsubishi X50 and X70, which are two models priced identically to the 700c and 710c respectively. The Mitsubishi models are 1.2 lbs heavier, and a bit larger in form factor. However, they offer a different performance and feature set for the same price. Buyers will want to check out both vendor's offerings. We expect both to sell very well, especially in light of the supply difficulties being faced by their DLP-based competitors.

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