Optoma has announced a brand spanking new projector that hovers below the $1,000 price point. Barely. The HD20 is a DLP-based front projector featuring a 1080p resolution and is aimed squarely at computer and home theater users. You can take the image all the way up to 120-inches and it has a contrast ratio of 4,000:1, with 1,700 lumens of brightness.

Some other features include two HDMI ports and a VGA connection. Some analog connectors are also included like RCA and component. No release date yet, but the $999 price tag sure makes it tempting.

AAXA Technologies has unveiled their latest pico-projector dubbed the P2. It measures only 4.3-inch x 2.1-inch x 1-inch and weighs just 260 grams. The palm sized projector sports a 800 x 600 resolution, 33 lumens brightness, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 1GB of storage, a microSD card slot and a 1,700mAh rechargeable battery that lasts up to 35 minutes.

It also comes complete with 1W stereo speakers, a 3.5mm composite A/V port, a mini USB port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and VGA port. The AAXA P2 is available now for pre-order for $349.

Your wait is nearly over. And I know you’ve been waiting patiently. WowWee just announced that the Cinemin Swivel is available for pre-order today for those in the US and in Europe. Today as in now! It will cost you $349.99.

Before you know it you’ll be watching movies everywhere. On other people’s walls and in public, on the ceiling, in restrooms, on the road from your bicycle, on someone’s back, on the snow while snowboarding. Your options are limitless.

Vivitek has announced its all new 1080p model projector that should hit US retail this August for $999. The company’s H1080FD will be based on Texas Instruments’ S450 chip / light-engine design with Dark Chip II technology.

Some other specs include 1,800 lumens of brightness, a 5,000:1 contrast ratio, two HDMI ports, composite / S-Video / component inputs, RS-232c control connector and a 12v trigger. Lamp life is rated at 3,000 hours and Vivitek has designed the cabinet for easy bulb access, if you need to replace burned out lamps.

Fireworks are awesome. Big booms accompanied by pretty lights are always cool. But alas, indoor fireworks are dangerous. So rainy days tend to be boring. Not anymore. Sega Toys has unveiled the Uchiage Hanabi. Now you can get your fireworks on indoors.

It’s a projector that displays “fireworks” on your walls and ceilings, with realistic movement and sound. You can even create your own fireworks and program your own shows. You won’t feel the booms and you won’t smell the smoke, but at least it’s pretty.

The iJector arrives next month, capable of projecting videos at a decent brightness up to diagonal sizes of 50 inches. It will also play back amplified stereo audio, and even features a “made for iPod” device certification. It will work with just about any video-enabled iProduct. We aren’t positive whether that includes the iPhone 3GS or not.

Here’s the punchline. That 50 inches of projected imagery will have a low 557×234 resolution, and will cost around $670 when it ships in Japan next month. So we aren’t sure why you should bother.

The Trou Hologram cellphone has no screen, instead relying on 3D holograms projected onto the vacant area to display what you are looking at. Small projectors are lined up on the inner surface in order to bring the most lifelike images to life before your eyes.

They will have to figure out how to solve the power issues, since projectors suck a lot of energy. But one day we may just have this device in our hands fully working. That day is a long way away, but if we can envision it, we can eventually do it.

WowWee’s Cinemin Swivel pico projector first showed up back at CES, when it was announced along with the Stick and Station models. This DLP is the first of Wowwee’s iPod-compatible multimedia pico projectors powered by Texas Instruments’ DLP Technology. It boasts 480 x 360 resolution, an adjustable 90-degree hinge so you can do things like project onto the ceiling easily, and a three-hour battery life to boot.

We now have official release and pricing information. Well, for the UK. It will be making it’s debut in the UK this September, where it will retail for £349 or around $571.

Along comes this interesting new concept to shake things up in the mobile projector industry. The Nokia Pulse Projector combines an LED-projector and a NXT-speaker with Dolby sound processing into a single device. It works with your cell using Pulse software and Bluetooth, basically turning your handset into an interactive remote which will control the multimedia player.

Some specs of this amazing concept include a native resolution of 1,280 x 768, a contrast ratio of 1,500:1, LED light technology, 1,000 lumens brightness and it will throw images from 15″ to 60″ at 7.87 feet.

Mitsubishi has just rolled out its newest compact DLP projector. One dubbed the LVP-XD95ST. The projector is scheduled for a May 18 release and will cost you €770.

For that €770 you’ll get a 1,024 x 768 resolution image on your screen or wall and it has the ability to throw a massive 60″ image from just 1.1 meter away. This thanks to its super short focus lens. Some other specifications include 2,200 lumens of brightness and a contrast ratio of 2,000:1.

Sanyo Japan has just announced a new high-end projector dubbed the LP-WXU700. It’s the world’s first WiFi-enabled projector supporting the IEEE802.11n standard. It measures 334.2mm × 78.4mm × 257.5mm and weighs 3.6kg.

Sanyo says that users can conveniently stream video from their PCs through the projector (it also supports the Windows Vista Network Projector standard). Some other features include a 275W lamp, a 500:1 contrast ratio and 3,800 lumens brightness, HDMI and a USB interface. The LP-WXU700 will be released in Japan on June 19 for a stunning $6,300.

Dell’s 4310WX DLP projector is now available. It will deliver 1,280 x 800 resolution in a 16:10 aspect ratio. It’s great for your living room and can also be used for business presentations or in the classroom. You’ll get 3,500 lumens brightness and a 2,000:1 contrast ratio.

Some other features include a remote control with an integrated laser pointer, VGA input, two component/analog D-sub inputs, an HDMI 1.3 and DisplayPort input and Ethernet jacks. The 5W speakers won’t deafen anyone, but they will get the job done.

I have seen several of the new breed of 3D films at the theater over the last year. The most recent was the Aliens vs. Monsters flick that used RealD technology for all the 3D goodness the film offered. I will be happy when 3D finally comes affordably to the living room so I can watch my favorite shows in 3D.

RealD has announced today a new accessory for 3D ready projectors that is design for use in the home or office on screens up to 17-feet across. The accessory is called the RealD LP and promises to bring the 3D quality from the local cinema to small venues like conference rooms and other places.

Sanyo’s latest prototype doesn’t seem to have a model name, but it’s huge, at 93- x 20- x 25-inches. Being large ain’t all it does. It will throw up a 100-inch 1080p image just 24-inches from the wall.

Pull it a foot back and it can scale up to 150-inches. That’s full 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. It also features 7,000 lumens of brightness. The no name projector has no price as far as we can tell and no word on when it might head into production.

Video Projectors have replaced the filmstrip projectors and overhead projectors that teachers used when I was in school. Today the teacher can simply pull up a page on her computer or run software and let the whole class view it on a screen or the blackboard. Projectors are certainly much better than fighting those stuttering filmstrips that always seemed to get out of sync with the audio.

Sanyo has announced four new projectors aimed at both the classroom and the boardroom called the PCL-XU355, PLC-XU350, PLC-XU305, and PLC-XU300. The most interesting pair out of the quartet are the XU355 and the XU305, both of which offer the industry’s first Simple Wireless Setting feature via a USB memory stick.