Picture walking into your next presentation. You open up your laptop, pull out your projector, set it on the table and then reach into your bag for the cable that connects the two and – oh, no! You asked your IT department to take a look at the cables last week and forgot to pick them back up before your presentation. With the client company’s CEO due to arrive within five minutes, you start wracking your brain for a Plan B while hoping no one notices the perspiration that has suddenly appeared on your brow.

What a nightmare! Luckily, NEC Technologies rolled out the ultimate solution to this scenario at Infocomm 2002 – the LT220, LT240 and LT260. These lightweight, mobile DLP projectors are the first to offer NEC ImageXpress, a technology that gives presenters the ability to communicate in real time from a PC to the projector through a wired LAN system using a 10-base or a wireless system via Wi-Fi 802.11b. The wireless option lets users place their laptop anywhere in the room and switch between presentations on multiple laptops with the touch of a button.

The projectors also are the first to feature NEC’s 3D Reform technology, which gives users horizontal, vertical and diagonal keystone correction for perfectly square images even when projecting from unusual angles. Finally, they feature a unique sealed optical unit, enabling long-term projection in smoky, dusty or chalky environments without the extra maintenance and cleaning costs normally associated with projecting in those environments. All three projectors weigh 6.5 lbs. The LT220 puts out 2,000 lumens; the LT240, 1,500 lumens; and the LT260, 2,100 lumens. All three feature a whopping 1300:1 contrast ratio and NEC’s Vortex Technology Plus color management system, which includes an sRGB setting, individual color adjustment and white balance correction. The projectors will begin shipping in Fall 2002 at as-yet-undetermined prices.