I must admit, I have never heard of the WowWee Cinemin Swivel until my step-brother-in-law sent me a Facebook message asking me if I had ever tried it out. I told him that I hadn’t but that I would try to get my hands on one for a review and let him know my thoughts. Funny thing is, I actually had heard of WowWee before (FlyTech Dragonfly) but just not about this specific product. The Cinemin Swivel is definitely NOT a toy (the way the Dragonfly is, sort of). The Cinemin is a pocket-sized DLP projector which hooks up to a variety of A/V sources including iPods, iPhones, video game consoles and laptops. It is called a pico projector which are newer handheld devices that can project digital images or movies.
As my quest to get a Cinemin in-hand continued, I did a quick review of their website and reached out to their PR firm. My impression was that the Cinemin is a pretty HOT review item, but luckily they bumped me up on the waitlist and I received my evaluation unit fairly quickly. Let’s set the record straight, this is not a splurge type of purchase. The MSRP is $349 (currently selling for about $300). But when you think about the prices of larger digital projectors on the market, it’s pretty reasonable. Now, before I go into how well (or not well) this device works, let’s consider the many possible applications the Cinemin could be used for:
- A portable business projector
- In your Kids’ rooms instead of a TV
- On the back of airplane seat or car seat for mobile movie viewing
- On the side of a tent – "can’t you just leave your technology at home for once?!"
- On the ceiling above a bed for true "relaxation"
This device is really compact. It measures only 4.7” x 2.1” x 0.9” and weighs about 6 ounces. The size is about that of 2 iPhones stacked on top of each other (see the video below for details). I figured I would get the tech specs out of the way before going into the really fun things about this device.
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