Holiday 2020 Gift Trends and Why Portable Projectors Should be On Your List

Everything’s different in 2020, and that includes the upcoming holiday season. Which means gifts and presents are slated to be somewhat unusual, as well. In a year rife with unexpected events and changes to worldwide culture and consumption habits, it’s no wonder the festive season is different. And so, portable projectors now have a firm place in the hotlist, because more people are expected to spend time at home, and many of us want new and exciting ways to consume content. Sure, TVs, consoles, and smart devices are still prominent in shopping lists, but for the first time in a long time, projectors in general and portable projectors in particular are trending. They’re easy to set up, move around, take with, and still provide big format viewing pretty much anywhere, something no other type of device does.

If you’re keen on entertainment or have people in your life who relish the thought of large format viewing, then you really should consider getting a portable projector. We’ll help explain why in a few simple and quick points. 

Oh 2020, what a year. We’ve had a global pandemic that doesn’t seem to want to go away, and a few other problems, too. Suffice it to say it hasn’t been easy on anyone. Even entertainment has suffered, with movie theaters closing for much of the year and barely re-opening in most of the world. Few films even released in 2020, and going to the movies feels like visiting a high security bio lab.

It’s a lot easier to get that big screen magic at home, the backyard, or even on the road with a portable projector. Fitted with HDMI, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, good portable projectors connect to most of your devices and apps to deliver big views on basically any surface, from walls to the side of a camper van.

In an era when sad and scary terms like “lockdown” and “shelter in place” have become normal parts of our lexicon, intuitive, simple, and effective home entertainment devices that help replicate the charm of cinematic experiences from the “before times” are naturally very popular holiday purchasing options. 

Recent surveys indicate that holiday 2020 will have a record number of people in the US opting to stay home and avoid travel. In that kind of landscape, portable projectors make sense because they’re a lot simpler to set up than full size cinematic projectors, not to mention being much more affordable. Portable projectors also offer future proofing, because they work as home, near home, and outdoor entertainment devices. So when things normalize, people will be able to take the same portable projector they enjoyed at home during the holidays with them on a long road trip.

Inevitably, the pandemic has changed people’s habits and the way they approach the holiday season. Many prefer to hunker down for a while and see what happens. Others just want to avoid crowds and don’t want to deal with travel restrictions during these trying times.

Portable projectors fit into this cultural change by meeting the demand for accessible big screen viewing that can be enjoyed anywhere, in the home or elsewhere. It’s not so easy moving a full size projector, but a portable works for family movie time in the living room after dinner, then kid story time upstairs before bed. Effortless portability, no wires, and long battery life due to efficient and bright LED technology make it possible. 

Sure, you can enjoy a portable projector solo, but being big format viewing devices, portables lend themselves wonderfully to communal enjoyment. Get together with family, friends, and neighbors and watch your favorite holiday movies in a big and bold manner far more impressive than even a very large flat screen TV.

Projectors are close relatives of movie theaters and were designed for groups of people, unlike other devices and the more private usage they’re meant for. A good portable projector also has a nice and powerful Bluetooth speaker built-in, so everyone gets to hear the movies or TV shows you’re watching with good clarity. 

Portable projectors arrive in many shapes and forms, but the good ones are easy to spot. They’re stylish, chic, and well thought out, and thus laden with helpful features.

Those include shock, drop, and water resistance for outdoors use, so you or the folks you gift the projector to aren’t limited to indoor usage. Good portables also have at least three hours of battery life, use LED technology as we mentioned above, and project a minimum of 500 lumens to ensure bright and visible images. You should also choose models that support 720p. Careful, some of the really cheap models are limited to 480p or less, and may not even have HDMI. Conversely, excellent portable projectors make sure to include USB-C these days.

So yes, check that HDMI, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth are there. You’ll need them to connect to source devices and streaming apps.

Look at the weight specs for the portable projector you’re considering. Too light (like under half a pound) means it’s a micro projector, and those are not suited to home entertainment. They’re more for quickly showcasing presentations in a meeting room in very low quality. Premium portable projectors average three pounds. That’s not heavy, nor too light: the heft indicates the tech engineers have packed into the modest form factor. Good portable projectors are durable and dense with goodies. 

Although 2020 challenges humanity in more ways than one, it also seems to be among those years when new tech just keeps on coming. We have HDMI 2.1 finally going mainstream, so a lot of 4K TVs with HDMI 2.1 are popular, though none can hope to match projectors in terms of image size and sheer impact. Similarly, the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles are big ticket items and much desired, as are new iPhones and graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD.

But the more homebound attitude most people have now affects shopping trends, and so items like kitchenware, furniture, books, and cooking implements are all bestsellers. Even hobbies that were dormant for a long time, like knitting, appear on the cusp of making a comeback, because when billions of people are asked to stay at home most of the time, hobbies suitable for the home naturally re-emerge.

We wish everyone a safe, healthy, and happy holiday 2020 season – hopefully made happier by a portable projector. But whatever you choose, please take care and have a good time. May 2021 be a better year!