ASUS ZenBeam Latte L1 portable led projector review

• The comparison
• Visual audio
• ASUS ZenBeam Latte L1 portable led projector review

Projection is the display technology that doesn't disappear quietly, it seems. The humble cathode ray cylinder is all but extinct, while the projector survived the flat screen revolution and still offers concrete uses. Part of the answer to this longevity lies in products like the ASUS ZenBeam Latte L1, a take-anywhere projector that can handle viewing in places you couldn't simply bring a large TV or monitor. Is this your cup of coffee, or does the need to run on batteries place too many restrictions on the Latte L1?

Prices and availability

The typical UK UK cost for Latte L1 is € thirty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine at Amazon UK UK and € thirty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine at US online retailers.

Image Credit: Future (Image Credit: Mark Pickavance)

Integrated

Asus Zenbeam Latte L1 specifications Native resolution: 720p HD (1280 x 720 pixels)
Maximum resolution input: 1080p (one thousand nine hundred twenty x one thousand eighty pixels)
Light Source: LED
Bulb life: thirty,000 hours
Contrast ratio: 400: 1
Color gamut: one hundred and twenty% sRGB
Throw Ratio: 1,2: 1
Projection Distance: 0,8-2m
Projection size: thirty-one hundred twenty inches
Zoom: fixed
Focus: Manual
Speakers: 2x 5W by Harman / Kardon
Ports: HDMI (x1) and USB-A (5V / 1A output power)
Networks: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Battery capacity: XNUMX Wh (up to three hours of video projection)
Accessories: Soft carry bag with wrist strap, charger, remote The fact that this product came to be called Latte is undoubtedly a combination of its coffee cup shape and the perceived market it is likely to be sold to. It embodies a strangely anachronistic takeaway mentality, ironically in a world where most people aren't running anywhere now. But, as we'd expect from Asus, this is a very stylish device built with a canvas surface that's comfortable to handle. To project it on the go, Asus incorporates a flexible case with a zipper, and it is also protected in its box by a sturdy cardboard cylinder. With the L1 you get a wrist strap that attaches to the soft cover, a laptop style power supply for charging, a small remote control. And ours also had 2 power cords designed for the US and EU markets. As the spotlight fades, the Latte L1 has all the usual features you'd expect, but they've been arranged closer to cylindrical shape rather than boxy. Inputs include full-size HDMI, USB, and charging power line all around the lower rear edge. On the side is a vent for cooling, and closer to the top are the focus wheel, IR remote sensor, and lens assembly. And lastly, at the top is the same menu and feature selection as all projectors these days, and all of those features are answered on the remote.

Image credit: Future (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Although designed to sit on a coffee table, a tripod-compatible threaded hole in the base allows it to be reversed with a ceiling mount. Our initial reception of this stuff was positive, as it was primarily an intuitive design that featured many of the features we'd expect from a portable projector. But, as with most projectors, the devil is in the details.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Use

Setting up this device is easy, assuming you have a surface to point it at and don't expect it to work outdoors in direct sunlight. Once turned on, you're presented with a basic menu that lets you configure settings with WiFi access passcodes and connect the Latte to Android phones as well as iOS. Under the skin, it's an Android distro built around a 1-bit ARM SoC, and essentially works like a phone or tablet running that operating system. And this, unfortunately, where our Latte LXNUMX review took a sharp left turn. Or, more particularly, when we try to augment the default set of applications with some to our liking. That's when we found out that Asus decided not to make it a Google-compatible device, meaning there's no official access to the Google Play Store. Instead, users get Aptoide Tv, an alternative option store with a considerably more limited selection of apps that can be installed. It wasn't a good sign that Asus mislabeled "Apdtoide TV" in the menu, and when we discovered that it uses Facebook login principles as its account control mechanism, we were even less excited.

Image credit: Future (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) We found our skepticism about this choice well-founded when we tried to install certain apps, and the device refused to honor those requests. Despite a strong wireless connection, apps would not install despite copious attempts and reboots. A quick search on the Internet found that this is not a new scenario for those who have used Aptoide Tv before. In our attempts to fix this issue, we have tried to update the firmware of the Latte L1 since Asus had a newer version. The device refused, insisting that the update it chose to download was not for this device, which is confusing. And, after multiple failed attempts to fix this issue with Asus support, we draw a line under Aptoide Tv and Latte L1. Long story short, given their achievements, we're sure Asus will fix these issues soon, and maybe they will by the time you read this. But, using an unknown source from the app store and not having a more robust update mechanism for the device makes the Latte L1 more of a work in progress than a finished commercial offering.

Image Credit: Future (Image Credit: ASUSTeK Computer Inc)

Competitors

There are plenty of unknown brands making low-cost portable projectors that use LED lights and LCD panels, all for a fraction of the cost of the Latte L1. But, the established brands are usually much closer to the cost of Latte. The ViewSonic M2e is a native 1080p LED projector with a 720 lamp (LED lumens) and USB-C connections, all for £XNUMX in the UK or £XNUMX. In the US, that price doesn't include a battery, of course, but the device's specs are better in almost every way. Another alternative option is the Anker Nebula Capsule II projector, a device that bears some resemblance to the Latte in terms of form factor. It offers XNUMX ANSI lumens, a XNUMXp resolution, Android TV, and a XNUMX-hour battery life for video. This device can be found for just £XNUMX in the UK and around £XNUMX from a US online retailer.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Final verdict

Aside from the fact that you can buy a traditional projector for that money and get higher resolutions and brighter projection, this device's main selling points are its portability and the flexibility it offers. It's very portable, despite Asus dropping the bullet on the charging mechanism, limiting its lifespan to just 3 hours on battery. Where it's a little less amazing is in terms of flexibility, as it lacks a few features that we'd reasonably expect. Since it includes a USB port, you can connect external drives to the Latte and then play your content, but there's no default app or mechanism to do this, oddly enough. Yes, with Aptoide Tv you can load equivalent tools, but they should have been integrated or preloaded. And again, there are no pre-installed DLNA-compliant apps for getting video files from network storage, although you should be able to install them. Consequently, this device is waiting for a lot of work on the owner's part to give it the features it should have had from the start. But these are not the only drawbacks here. Users normally feel that 1080p is a minimum quality that they would support, that this device employs scaling to deliver which is surely not good enough. The projection is clean and well oversaturated, but larger projections reveal a lack of image definition. And, the last con is the cost, which for a 720p LED projector is decidedly high, as some alternative options offer native 1080p projection for the same or less. As pretty as the Latte L1 is and as portable as it is, it's not the best mobile projection solution we've seen, and it's not cheap enough to be a rash purchase.