Nebula Mars 3 Air (D2325) review

Full review

The Mars 3 Air is Anker's take on a portable projector that you can use in a garden or on a camping trip without hunting for a socket. A built-in battery gives up to 2.5 hours of video in Eco mode, or up to 8 hours of music, which covers most films. It runs Google TV and supports Chromecast casting, so streaming is simple.

The image is 1080p from a DLP chip with an RGB LED light source. Anker rates it at 400 ANSI lumens, a different and more conservative measure than the ISO lumens used by some rivals, so the figure is not directly comparable with their claims. It suits dusk and dark rooms, and the tilt-able body helps aim the picture at walls or ceilings.

The two 8 W speakers with Dolby Audio are a highlight; they are louder and fuller than those on many compact rivals, which matters when you are outdoors with no extra speaker. Bluetooth 5.1 also lets you use it as a speaker for music.

Compromises are mostly in connectivity and light. There is a single HDMI 2.1 input, and Anker does not publish an input-lag figure, so gamers get no assurance. Battery operation reduces brightness in Eco mode, and at 1.7 kg it is portable but not pocketable.