Mini-Projector

[Raen]

So this (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/01/08/microvisions_tiny_video_projector_wows_macworld_at tendees.html) was on show at Macworld. It looks pretty awesome to me.

The result is a highly compact projection engine that the company hopes to eventually embed into a mobile phone. The functional prototype device the company was showing paired the tiny engine (lower right black unit in photo) inside an iPhone-sized package (left unit) housing a rechargeable battery and its supporting video circuitry.

The device projects a ten lumen video picture, which is rapidly drawn right to left in successive lines similar to the beam of a CRT, but without the tube. Even in bright show lighting, the tiny unit could cast a bright, clear, and vibrant video picture from a standard iPod Nano, using Apple's regular video output cables.

I'm impressed to say the least. A poor quality projector this size would be fairly impressive. One that works as well as is being suggested, with the possible potential to be integrated into a handheld device at some point, just blows me away. I'd certainly get one.

[JayVe]

Well, here's the first US cellphone that includes a projector (http://i.gizmodo.com/5126754/logic-bolt-the-uss-first-projecting-cellphone).


http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/01/IMG_7039.jpg

[Raen]

Well, here's the first US cellphone that includes a projector (http://i.gizmodo.com/5126754/logic-bolt-the-uss-first-projecting-cellphone).

Looks good, although the one I linked is supposed to work well even in brightly lit conditions (at least according to the article). Regardless it's still cool to see stuff like this appearing. Making projectors ubiquitous in this way, provided they improve in quality, may not bode well for TVs etc...

[JayVe]

Looks good, although the one I linked is supposed to work well even in brightly lit conditions (at least according to the article). Regardless it's still cool to see stuff like this appearing. Making projectors ubiquitous in this way, provided they improve in quality, may not bode well for TVs etc...
I'm a projector freak. Love 'em.

I do see these becoming more commonplace as quality improves, and power consumption drops. Much like cameras cost almost nothing to drop into a phone, I can see a day when projectors take the same route and start appearing more and more. I don't know if all phones will eventually get projectors the way we have cameras, but I bet a number of half-decent presentation models emerge over the next 5 years or so.

I don't know that they will ever replace TVs though. By the time the quality/power/portability ratio reaches a point to challenge at-home viewing, home TVs will be THAT much more awesome. Also, you see how long it has taken us as a people to switch over to HDTV, the switch to projectors in cellphones will be a much slower adoption. A camera you can use almost anywhere... projector... not so much.

[Raen]

I don't know that they will ever replace TVs though. By the time the quality/power/portability ratio reaches a point to challenge at-home viewing, home TVs will be THAT much more awesome. Also, you see how long it has taken us as a people to switch over to HDTV, the switch to projectors in cellphones will be a much slower adoption. A camera you can use almost anywhere... projector... not so much.

That's true I guess. I'd rather see them integrated into laptops (which I think they are in one or two cases) and then be used as a replacement for second TV sets in your bedroom etc... But thinking on it I doubt we'll ever see them replacing the main TV. Assuming that RIM bring out a BlackBerry with this tech I can definitely see a move towards them replacing traditional projector's in conference rooms, providing they become of similar quality.

[total]

I am also a projector freak. I do all my gaming on a Mitsi HC3000U, which replaced my InFocus 4805. Couple that with Onkyo 7.1 audio and a pretty decent set of Polk speakers and I rarely go out to see movies anymore. I don't think I could go back to a regular TV as my main TV again.

[JayVe]

Apparently, Samsung has a projector phone at CES (http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/12/samsung-show-finally-makes-projector-phones-sexy/).

We're told that the aptly-named Show is inbound for release in South Korea before the end of the month, it runs Samsung's ubiquitous TouchWiz platform, and it packs DLP-based pico projector tech from TI, but that's about all we (and Samsung's US reps) seem to know about it. The projector can be used to view media stored in phone memory, pull up mobile TV via Korea's T-DMB airwaves, or simply project light, a function luddites may know better as a "flashlight." Most importantly, it actually isn't half-bad looking -- a symptom of a major manufacturer getting involved and throwing some won and industrial design staff at the thing, we bet.

[Raen]

Phone looks nice, but a shame they don't show the projector quality.

[JayVe]

Phone looks nice, but a shame they don't show the projector quality.

They do on Endadget's linked site. Not great, but it still works and would probably be fairly impressive in a dark room... for a phone.

[Raen]

They do on Endadget's linked site. Not great, but it still works and would probably be fairly impressive in a dark room... for a phone.

Yeah it does look pretty good for a phone. For a piece of tech that is obviously in the early stages of evolution (from a release to consumer stand point) I find it fairly impressive. Give it 3 or 4 years and we may see something awesome.