The phone with a projector

This is actually really neat. Another step along the 'phone is the <i>only</i> device you need' road.<p>It would be great for quickly sharing stuff like a youtube video. Kids could use it to watch a movie in their room, or at a friend's, or grandma's. Similarly, it could be great for the travelling. I can see some really great augmented reality uses for this, provided there is enough developer interest.<p>Don't scoff at it because it doesn't match up to your 'real' projector-- it has some cool uses. The specs may not be so great yet (640x360 resolution, 15 Lumens), but it's very impressive that they got this into just 12.5mm thick phone, and specs (particularly resolution) will improve in future products.

This sounds great at first but I'm unclear about how usable it would actually be. Any pressure on the device would cause the screen to jump about.<p>I could see it being ok in start-then-put-down mode for Movies and Slideshows. But how often do we use phones like that? I look at photos in tiny batches normally with one other person, usually in a crowded place: pub, restaurant, car. I rarely watch movies on my iPhone but when I do it is usually on a train or in a car.<p>The need for a static white wall and a conveniently tall table in an uncrowded space makes me question the utility of this at all.

This is a real attempt to go after a market that has been trying to exist for a while.<p>Back in the late 90's i laughed at Salesforce pitch people coming in dragging two carry-ons on wheels - one for the laptop one for the projector.<p>Now they can slip them into pockets.<p>Its a real market, and the next step is I put down my phone as a projector, you control the projector from your phone.

Here's a hands-on from The Verge - <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/26/2825474/samsung-galaxy-beam-hands-on" rel="nofollow">http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/26/2825474/samsung-galaxy-bea...</a> . Contrast is pretty bad in an indoor-lit environment.<p>I also can't tell if it's autofocusing or a laser projector. I can't imagine having an autofocus lens on a package this small but then again the contrast is worse than what I'd expect from laser projection.

A local cellphone company called Micromax has been offering a projector phone in India since last year, and its been doing rather well. Anecdotally, people [in Mumbai] seem to be using it as a TV replacement, both due to the lower cost and higher portability (important because of the impermanence of the chawls and slums that house just under half of the city's population).

This is a new version of the Samsung i8520 [1], announced/released in 2009/10, but with a lower resolution camera and projector (although that says little about quality).<p>[1]: <a href="http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i8520_beam-3150.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i8520_beam-3150.php</a>

There are a few other micro projectors on the market:<p><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/03/sanwa-iphone4-projector/" rel="nofollow">http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/03/sanwa-iphone4-projector/</a><p><a href="http://www.microvision.com/showwxplus/" rel="nofollow">http://www.microvision.com/showwxplus/</a>

As someone who has forgone any TV's in place of a pretty heavy duty projector in my living room, I can say with some certainty that 15 lumens will barely be visible even in a pitch black room! My full-size/spec projector puts out about 2500 lumens and is still hard to see with the curtains open in the day time!<p>I view this in the same way I view "fun-size" candy bars...an interesting novelty for kids, completely impractical for most everyone else!

It sorta looks like Samsung is turning into the next Nokia. Putting out a lot of devices with gimmick features. I guess there must be a market for it.

Here's what all the naysayers sound like to me:<p>"A phone with a camera? That's just a useless gimmick, it will never take off. The resolution is horrible, there's no flash, no zoom and the picture quality is bad besides."<p>Those who want "just a phone" may have a valid argument (side note - look into the Jitterbug, it might be just what they want), but the rest sound like the arguments of backwards-thinking people with no vision.

Back when Nokia was cool (maybe 2005) I saw them demo a phone that could project not just a display, but a working full size keyboard on a table.

Projectors might be a bit gimmicky, but bundling certain functions into a phone's design can have drastic effects on a market. For instance, the most successful mobile phones in central Africa are those that have a torch and/or a radio, because that is what people in that area need. How many people will want a projector in a phone that will use it for serious business?

I like the idea but.. 3 hour battery? <i>OUCH!</i>

It seems like Samsung are throwing phones out to see what sticks. While I think projectors could be useful, I'd be concerned about battery life and heat, not to mention what was cut out to fit this in. Hopefully they'll come to realise that the experience of using the phone is what wins, not how many widgets you can stick on one.

Am I the only one that thinks their use case of leaving the phone in your child's room projecting a unicorn on the ceiling to help them sleep is just pure nonsense?<p><a href="http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxybeam/use_occasions07.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxybeam/use_occas...</a>

Another way for teenagers to annoy the hell out of me on busses...<p>(after the invention of the mobile phone speaker)

Reminds me of Sixth Sense [1] as demoed on TED, but the projector is placed in a bad location for this kind of application.<p>[1] - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SixthSense" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SixthSense</a>

Well, it certainly looks sleeker than LG's attempt at this [1].<p>[1] <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/07/lg-expo-projector-hands-on/" rel="nofollow">http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/07/lg-expo-projector-hands-o...</a>

Nice idea but heat and battery life will be an issue.<p>There is a market for this but most will just hook up to their monitor or iPad. People serious about projection will must likely have a real one.

Neat idea, but the resolution is awful. What can you do with 640x360? This would be great if it could do 1080p or even 720p. Not 360p.

Does anyone know which projector technology they are using in this?<p>Edit: Should have googled first, its a TI DLP nHD projector apparently.

Another great addition to the android family. Samsung is a forward thinking company unlike the other guys. Sure many of us may not use it. But it's a TOOL and many of us will use it!<p>My Android device has HDMI out, reads SD card and even picks up FM radio for Emergencies . Apple's iPhone is a deathtrap without the internet.

I was great this is awesome then I watched their promo video and have to say I feel I just ate way too much cake. I feel ill now. Wow this is bad. I am just not used to this kind of shit anymore after years of watching everything commercial-free on the internet.

Is there a chance a future iPhone would ever include this?

Those Samsung web people have some serious Photoshop skills! For a second there I thought that was a real photograph of a hockey puck flying out of a phone screen.

What is with the 6 gb ram and 8 gb rom?

This could be the device for coding on the go.

The gimmick-ness of this is just astounding.