ET Review: Acer K135

Rating: 4 stars

Price: Rs 44,999

Specifications: DLP + LED projector, 500 lumens brightness, 1,280 x 800 pixels resolution, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, HDMI, microSD, USB slot, 2W speaker, 430 grams

Positives: Fantastic output, good brightness and black levels, compact, MHL support

Negatives: Tends to get hot quickly, noisy fan, no D-sub (VGA) port, seperate power adapter

NEW DELHI: Acer’s new travel series projector, the K135 has a very impressive feature set. It weighs just 430 grams, has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, contrast ratio of 10,000:1 and 500 lumens brightness. You get a full size HDMI port with MHL support (cable included in price), full size USB port, microSD slot and a universal I/O port to connect with external audio devices.

The projector is even capable of playing multimedia files and documents from a flash drive or memory card. Due to its compact size, The K135 can easily be carried in hand or placed in a briefcase. However, the projector does not have a built-in power supply or battery backup and therefore comes with a power adapter brick – similar to what you get with a netbook.

The projector combines DLP with LED lamp technology. This results in much brighter picture from a compact size. We played various videos, ran a few presentations and documents and were impressed by the black levels as well as brightness from the projector. It is one of the best display performances we have seen from a compact projector.

There are a few issues as well.

It does not have a D-sub (VGA) port, so it will not work with older notebooks that lack an HDMI port. The projector also tends to heat up very quickly. We noticed that the projector heats up within 5 minutes of use and then continues to get hotter. This results in a lot of noise from the cooling fan for the entire duration of use.

In the same price you can also consider the BenQ Joybee GP3. It offers more connectivity options including a VGA port, iPod/iPhone dock along with similar specifications and performance.

ALSO SEE: Benq Joybee GP3

Price: Rs 42,990

Specifications: DLP + LED, 300 lumens brightness, 1,280 x 800 pixels resolution, 10,000:1 contrast, mini HDMI, USB slot, dual 2W speaker, 560 grams