Anker “Nebula Mars II” Portable Projector
Anker has a proven track record of producing quality chargers and devices that truly give their more expensive competitors a run for their money. One area I hadn’t expected them to delve into — though I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised at this point — is movie projectors, and mobile ones at that.
The awesomely named Nebula Mars II is a portable mini projector that’s perfect for casual streaming and movie watching, wherever you put it. At only 720p, this isn’t the kind of thing you’d buy for a high-end home media center setup; it’s more for those of us who like to throw a Netflix show on from time to time.
It’s about the size of a Bluetooth speaker — which it actually can be used for when you’re not watching something — so you can take it from room to room, or move it around within a room, no problem. The cool part is that it’ll automatically correct the image after being moved, both in terms of picture focus and accounting for the “keystone” angling effect. You don’t have to fiddle with settings every time you set it up, it just works.
The dual 10-watt speakers (one on either side) offer a rich, room-filling level of audio on their own, but if you want, you can still connect to external speakers with a 3.5mm cable or via Bluetooth. When you’re not plugged into a wall outlet, the Nebula Mars II’s rechargeable 12,500mAh battery provides about 4 hours of video playback.
Get the Nebula Mars II for $500 on Amazon. If you’re okay with giving up the built-in Android 7.1 OS, an hour of battery life, and wireless connectivity, you can pick up the “Lite” version for $264.