BenQ Joybee GP1 Mini Projector: Review

The BenQ JoybeeGP1 mini projector is a very portable projector; however, does its size hinder its quality? Read on to find out.

Portability

The Joybee GP1 is one of the most portable projectors I have ever come across! It won't fit in your pocket, but it can easily fit into small bags, or a purse. The cables will add some bulk to it, but not by much. The weight is only 1.4lbs, too. The dimensions of this mini projector are 136mm x 57mm x 120mm.

- 18/20

User Friendliness

Like most projectors, everything is pretty intuitive. You have a USB port, audio out port and a multi-input socket that supports RGB, D-Sub, Composite and Audio in. It also comes with a small remote that works great if you're browsing through your thumb drive to find an image, spreadsheet or trying to find a specific point in a movie. The controls on top of the projector are simplistic and are touch sensitive; you don't have to worry about a button getting jammed.

- 20/20

Durability

The BenQ JoybeeGP1 mini projector is encased in a hard plastic. Based on its design, it should handle very well in a bag, on the airplane or even being dropped (although I wouldn't recommend trying to drop it). The lens could always crack from a fall, but that is relatively hard to prevent.

- 19/20

Reliability

I never really had an issue with this projector. Its native resolution is 858 x 600, but you can stretch it to about 1280 x 1024. I played videos in 16:9 from my PC and they looked great. Also, I hooked up a SNES and played some Super Mario World, it looked great! Hooked up my PS2 and played God of War 2, again sweet. Hooked up my PS3 via D-Sub and tried to do 720P or 1080i, but I couldn't get it to display properly. It looks like this is excellent for video games that play at 480i, which is everything except the PS3 and Xbox 360.

I was told that you could achieve a 1080i signal via D-Sub (VGA) or D-sub to component, D-sub to GP1 and component to DVD or Blu-Ray player or any other HD signal through component. However, I did try my PS3 through D-Sub and just couldn't get it to work. Honestly, I'm not completely sold on this being able to do "true" 1080i without an HDMI input.

- 17/20

Overall Experience

The Joybee GP1 is excellent and can be used effectively with almost anything. This projector also ships with some video formatting software that will convert images and videos to a format that can be played on it. It even sports a 2Watt speaker. This is an excellent projector to take with you for a quick meeting, for the kids to play a game or to watch most movies. The press release says it has HDTV compatibility, but I was unable to verify this.

- 18/20

Conclusion

At $500, you absolutely cannot beat the BenQ Joybee GP1 mini projector! It would be even better if it could allow for HD gaming and feature an HDMI port, but then it would cost a lot more. With excellent portability, simple and intuitive controls and a sturdy design, the BenQ Joybee GP1 is a great buy.

Final Score

- 92/100