Mobile Projector First Look

Mobile projectors have been shrinking in size for years now, with the smallest models on the market right now being not much larger than a CD case. While these projectors are travel friendly, the ultimate business travelers still want something smaller, perhaps even built into a notebook or cell phone. This year at CTIA, two companies made incredible advances in this technology, bringing projector technology into devices no bigger than a cell phone or iPod.

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Why are we talking about mobile projectors designed for cell phones? Because most industry insiders agree that mobile projectors will be integrated with notebooks sometime within five years or less.

As ultraportable notebooks get smaller and smaller we've had to accept the fact that our screens get smaller as well. Not anymore. Imagine a 10-inch notebook with a mobile projector hidden inside the lid. When you're on the road you can use the 10-inch LCD, but when you arrive at your office or hotel room all you need to do is press a button and you've got up to a 60-inch display with 1080i ... someday.

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Texas Instruments brought their DLP technology to the table, bringing the component size down by an incredible amount, letting them build a projector into a gutted concept cell phone. While this prototype is just a simple working model, it shows just how small they can make them once they get companies on board who want this technology inside their products.

Here is a video showing a demo of the TI phone prototype in action. Please note that the phone was not functional, except for the projector. (Video comes courtesy of our sister site Brighthand.com)

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Microvision was also showing off a prototype micro projector, with their model being more refined, almost to the point of being a finished product. The model was based off a technology that used three laser modules that fired at a wobbling mirror which scanned lines on whatever surface you pointed it at. Compared to the Texas Instruments version, this had a few advantages. The three lasers give a much brighter screen, there is no focusing adjustment needed if you changed the distance from the wall, and in dark rooms the projector made viewable screens upwards of 80&quot; and 90&quot;. Microvision planned on selling the external projector first, and then moving to internal projectors for cell phones or notebooks when the technology became more refined.

Below is a video showing the Microvision Pico Projector in action. In both settings they are showing off an Ipod Nano connected to it, but in one clip the video is paused.

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At this time Microvision was the only company with set plans on releasing their product in the upcoming months. If they are available at a reasonable price, you can bet my iPod, ThinkPad, and PS3 will have a new best friend.

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It's going to be pricey but I'd spend my money for it! Looking forward to news/reviews on it

 

Talk about hand-held computer. I've never had experience with projectors. How large can you go without distorting the picture?

 

Thats pretty neat. Can't wait to see them in stores and see just how great they really are.

 

The DLP would need to be refocused if you move it out of its set range.

The Microvision one would keep going until the screen wasnt bright enough anymore. In a dark room we managed a 80-90" video on the wall.

 

that's friggin gnarly!!!! I want one!!!

 

Yeah, I want one also. I bet they'll easily be in the thousands.

 

Think about how fun this would be for kids to use in school. Projecting images from your cellphone on to the back of friends walking down the hallway. Kids of the future will be projecting "Kick Me" signs onto people instead of taping signs on them.

 

For price, the parts cost on these units were quite low, and even with retail markup I wouldnt expect anything above 600-700 bucks. I think they wanted to price them low enough where they could compliment an iPod, without being 10x the cost.

 

obviously, some of you never heard of mini projectors that use LED lighting. They are small and can be used with optional battery for portability for below $400, but the downside they are not bright enough for anything other then dark room, so I don't see how these will be any better.

http://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-PK20-Pocket-Projector/dp/B000I28EGC

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001099

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/LED-Projector-Samsung-SP-P400B,news-27622.html

 

Maybe you didnt notice that these projects barely draw any power, and can fit inside a notebook or cellphone?

We know travel projectors exist, these are a fraction of the size. The Microvision module that only needs LCD driver and power is about the size of a small book of matches. You could fit that into a smartphone.

 

Very very impressive! Hopefully they're less maintenance than the full size projectors. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these products.

 

I want one!

 

so, are they LED projectors?

 

The TI unit is DLP, the Microvision projector uses a new technology using multicolored lasers and a moving mirror.

 

They dont put out heat, and no fans to suck in dust. The only thing that comes into play is the light lifespan of probably 4000-5000 hours.

The attached image shows the microvision unit a bit better. The thing on the far left is the "projector", the module being the display part, and the other 2 being phones. The bulk of the projector right now is the battery and the video processor. If it was inside another device like a phone or notebook, it would use the video card of that device. The battery was about the same size as that of an ipod or other similar multimedia device.

 

dude, i think there is a considerable size difference from those mini DLP projectors and the ones in the links.

those DLP things seem ridiculously amazing. almost hard to believe!

 

Well, with SSD, CPUs and Memory shrinking to nail sized, the largest component of a (ultraportable/UMPC) lappy is the screen and keyboard.

With virtual projection k/boards already outand this coming out soon....I guess I can expect really small, usable mobile devices soon (I don't exactly deem my HP iPAQ phone very "usable")


Battery development would still throw a spanner in the works since its still behind in terms of capacity and packaging. Probably will take a while for battery tech to catch up.

 

The target at least with the Microvision projector is a 1.5w power consumption rate, or basically equal that of a standard cellphone display with backlight. In a notebook that rate would be 2-4x less than the LCD consumes, meaning BETTER battery life.

 

Very cool ... but Im going to wait for the screened on air video holograms coming soon after .

 

Cool stuff, you can tell from the scan line effect that the refresh rate is slow probably and thus not really good for video. As far as this tech being in notebooks I think heat is going to be the main enemy not size.

I understand they dont produce alot of heat now but they are not really usable in regular lighting and the resolution is probably very low.

You need a very bright light to see it in a decently lit area or to be far enough away from a screen/wall to make presentation even fathomable. A bright light is going to generate alot of heat. So while the concept is there I think it has a long way to go before its anything more than just a "cool toy" for showing pictures to friends standing next to a wall.

 

Lol the new technology sounds like DLP

 

Similar, but one uses mirrors for each pixel, and the microvision unit uses 1 mirror for all pixels.