China-based projector brand Wanbo has released the Vali 1, a model it has dubbed "truly flexible, portable and intelligent."
Why cover this unit, instead of the sea of others flooding Amazon? The answer is simple: its quoted brightness.
Wanbo claims the Vali 1 will deliver a brightness level of 900 ANSI Lumens and that this will result in " vivid and vibrant visuals even in brightly lit daytime rooms."
For such a small model, that is quite a bold claim.
Take, for example, the best current overall portable projector – the Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air. We praised this four-star model for its solid picture quality, but it only offers up to 400 ANSI lumens of brightness.
This is far from being an outlier, however, with the Anker Nebula Capsule 3 reaching a maximum of 200 ANSI Lumens and BenQ GV31 capping at 300 ANSI Lumens.
One of the only ultra-portable projectors to have passed through our test room and surpassed Wanbo's claimed brightness cap is the Epson EF-12, which supposedly reaches 1000 ANSI Lumens.
This model launched at £899 / $900 / AU$1768, though, which is more than triple the price of the Vali 1.
At only £269 / $319 (around AU$555), this is cheaper than any of the portable models we have reviewed.
Even one of the most recent entry-level portable projectors we tested, the Xgimi MoGo 4, still clocks in at £509 / $499 / AU$1299.
Outside of this the Vali 1's specifications are generally in line with its affordable price.
The 1080p projector features a 200-degree adjustable gimbal stand and a claimed screen size of up to 130 inches, with an Android TV system running behind the scenes.
Smart calibration is on the cards as well, with auto-keystone correction on offer in an effort to make setup "effortless."
In terms of sound, two 6W speakers are built into the body with a dedicated port to connect headphones or an external speaker.
If the Vali 1 can indeed reach its claimed brightness levels, it could be an affordable way to watch a quick film in the sunshine and one to watch this summer. But, we'll need to get one in for testing before we can confirm this, or recommend it in any way.
We've tested plenty of portable projectors with decent specifications that fail to deliver the goods in the real world, after all.
MORE:
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Check out our review of the Xgimi MoGo 4
