Dell M109S

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By Alex Serpo, ZDNet Australia and Philip Wong, CNET Asia
Jan 5, 2009

There is much to both love and hate about Dell's M109S micro projector. It has a very low resolution, runs hot, and is only 50 lumens in brightness. At the same time, it's tiny yet has the longest lamp life we have ever seen, and is mercury-free.

Editors' note:

This review is partially based on evaluations conducted by our sister site Zdnet.com.au. Review ratings on similar products may differ due to differences in regional market trends and competing product lineups.

Design

You get a special breakout cable for power, composite-video and PC inputs.
(Click for larger image)

Oh look! It's tiny! It seems the age of the massive projector is over and small is the new black. Which bring us to Dell's M109S projector which is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and weighs only 360g. It's also piano black, meaning it will accumulate fingerprints given ever the slightest touch.

Unfortunately, the amount of cabling you have to haul around with this projector somewhat reduces its portability. We're talking about the power brick and detachable cord. On the other hand, these are also compatible with selected Dell Latitude laptops. In other words, you could easily share the adapter between the beamer and notebook. For example, using batteries for the Latitude and AC for the M109S during a presentation.

A comprehensive software menu helps tunes the projector.
(Click for larger image)

There is also a three-way breakout cable which plugs into the only port on the back of the projector. This gives you access to power along with two data inputs for this device: Analog PC (D-Sub) and composite-video. It's also worth noting that while the former is relatively long and connects directly to a PC, the latter is just a short input socket. You'll need a separate cable to hook up to a DVD player or settop box.

There aren't many control keys, ports and indicators on this diminutive concoction. Across the top is a set of backlit buttons for keystone correction, switching video input and miscellaneous functions. There are also numerous warning lights and a dial to manually focus the lens. During the review, we did encounter a noticeable lag using the touch controls which can be a bit frustrating when navigating the menu.

Tags: Adapter, Dell Computer Corp., Dell Latitude, projector, cable

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