Labor Day deal: Labor Day weekend means new offers and the Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air is again down to simply $470 on Amazon proper now. That is a 22% low cost which represents financial savings of $130. The value is probably going to return up after the weekend, although, so now could be the time to purchase.
CNET’s key takeaways
- Anker’s Nebula Mars 3 Air is a compact moveable projector with an affordable $599 worth (and at the moment on sale for $470).
- Regardless of its measurement, it delivers a vibrant image and loud audio for a conveyable projector. It may well even double as a Bluetooth speaker.
- Its measurement is nice for yard film nights or automotive tenting, however is likely to be a bit massive for backpackers.
I not too long ago took an epic street journey by a land of giants, and there is just one compact projector I’d take with me to finish my tenting expertise.
Anker’s Nebula Mars 3 Air made my nights at Kings Canyon National Park, house of the world’s largest grove of sequoia timber, much more picturesque, with out taking on an excessive amount of area.
I review projectors for CNET, and I’ve additionally built a DIY campervan, so I do know that plenty of the best portable projectors sacrifice an excessive amount of for his or her measurement. Not this one. With the facet of my van (which is conveniently white) doubling as a display, I rewatched some episodes of Andor I might downloaded from Disney Plus after the solar went down on the campsite, capping off a ravishing day in nature with the correct mix of vibrant image, loud audio and portability.
If you wish to watch a film with the household whereas tenting, and crowding round an iPad would not lower it — that is the way in which to go.
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My expertise with the Mars 3 Air
So far as efficiency goes, the Mars 3 Air does fairly nicely for its measurement and worth. In my lab, I measured a distinction ratio of 405:1, which is not wonderful, but it surely’s higher than most moveable projectors. Which means the picture would not look washed out or flat. (You’ll be able to see all my testing information in my information to the best portable projectors.)
Sound-wise, the three Air’s two 8-watt audio system play loudly, providing efficiency much like many Bluetooth audio system, which is becoming since it may possibly additionally double as a Bluetooth speaker.
The battery life is nice as nicely. It’s best to be capable to get round 2.5 hours of playtime for video and eight hours if you happen to’re utilizing it as a Bluetooth speaker. Disappointingly, it may possibly’t recharge through USB, so you will want to connect with AC energy to cost it.
The facet of my campervan makes for an honest impromptu projector display.
What makes the Mars 3 Air one of the best moveable projector possibility for tenting journeys is the way it does the whole lot nicely with out doing something notably poorly. It is also very straightforward to make use of.
It runs on a full model of Google TV, so it has entry to all the standard streaming companies. Many moveable projectors solely have some streaming apps, and in the event that they do help some streaming apps, they won’t help the total variations of the apps, which might make moveable projectors tougher to make use of.
Needless to say the simplest solution to watch exhibits and films on the Mars 3 Air is to make your cellphone a hotspot. If you do not have service the place you might be, like in lots of nationwide parks, you could obtain exhibits and films forward of time. This could solely be completed through a mobile device connected with HDMI, and generally not even then, relying in your cellphone. One thing else you will need to bear in mind: This projector would not present full body with a USB-to-HDMI.
The specs
- Native decision: 1080p
- Lumens spec: 400
- Lamp life: LED
- HDMI inputs: 1
- USB port: 1
- Audio output: Headphone output
- Web: 2.4/5GHz
- Battery life: 2.5 hours
Whilst you would not wish to backpack with it, the Mars 3 Air is compact and shorter than my Jetboil MiniMo camp range.
CNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Mars 3 Air is one of the best all-around moveable projector as a result of it does most issues nicely, some issues rather well and nearly nothing unsuitable. It seems to be good, sounds good and would not take up plenty of area.
There are two different choices I wish to speak about that is likely to be higher in sure conditions. The primary is Anker’s personal Capsule Air. It is the dimensions of a soda can, making it much more moveable than the Mars 3 Air. It additionally has Google TV in-built, is battery powered, can double as a Bluetooth speaker and (in contrast to the Mars 3 Air) it may possibly cost through USB-C. Which means you possibly can have longer viewing periods between expenses so long as you could have a battery bank. It is dimmer and may’t play as loud because the Mars 3 Air, nevertheless. It additionally occurs to be on sale proper now at Amazon, the place you will discover the unique worth of $400 lowered to just $260.
The opposite possibility is the AAXA M8. It is also a lot smaller than the Mars 3 Air, and considerably brighter and cheaper. Total, it seems to be fairly good, although its colours are fairly unusual. It additionally has extraordinarily loud followers, and the streaming choices are much more restricted. If you wish to create larger-than-TV-sized pictures on the go and do not thoughts screaming little followers when you’re watching, the M8 would possibly work higher for you than the Mars 3 Air.
The Anker Mars 3 Air is one of the best general, although, and it is the one I will be taking with me on my subsequent journey.
