NEBULA Mars 3 Air Portable Outdoor Projector, Built-In Battery

Why it's worth it

The Mars 3 Air gives you 400 ANSI lumens, a built-in battery, Google TV and dual 8W Dolby speakers in a package built for backyards. It's the least expensive way here to get genuinely cordless projection that doesn't feel like a compromise.

If your main use is movies in the yard, this hits the important notes without spending much. The 8W speakers are louder than most portables, which matters when you're outside and sound just disperses into the dark. Owners who compared it against the Capsule specifically chose it for the audio, and they don't seem to regret it.

Setup is fast. Anker's Intelligent Environment Adaptation does autofocus, keystone and obstacle avoidance in a few seconds, and Google TV is built in with Netflix, so there's no stick to pack. At 400 ANSI lumens it's brighter than the Capsule but well short of the Epson — plan on dusk or later.

From our review of 8 portable projectors, by Adrian Locke, Senior Tech Analyst

What we like

• +If your main use is movies in the yard, this hits the important notes without spending much
• +Setup is fast. Anker's Intelligent Environment Adaptation does autofocus, keystone and obstacle avoidance in a few seconds, and…
• +Anker rates 2.5 hours of video playback, which covers a movie, or about eight hours as a music speaker
• +It's a bit chunkier than the pocket-sized models but still easy to carry one-handed, and it works well on the imperfect surfaces…

What to know

• –Anker asks you to update the firmware before first use, and people who skip that step hit app compatibility problems
• –Some owners upgrading from older Mars models feel this one gave up ground on build quality and battery
• –A tripod makes it much more usable, and it's not included