The projector in your phone
[intro]Micro projectors could be the solution to miniaturisation's biggest problem: the tiny screen[/intro] Last year I saw a demonstration of a ti
Last year I saw a demonstration of a tiny projector designed to plugged into a palmtop computer or portable games console. But today Texas Instruments went one better and showed off the prototype of new DLP pico-projector designed to be integrated into mobile phones.
Aside from acting as a useful torch, this projection technology could help overcome one of the biggest problems facing technology – how to make tiny things useful.
The fact is, squinting at a movie on a postage-stamp sized screen is no fun. Trying to work on one is even more difficult. The long term solution probably relies on the sort of foldable screens that Philips (and others) have been developing for years. But for now, a pico projector might just do the job.
There aren’t any details about the quality of the TI DLP pico-projector yet, but it has a cool name and some nice mock-up images so it’ll keep me happy for now. Mind you, if my previous demonstration (of the Digismart LED micro-projector) was anything to go by, it’ll be a while before these things are properly usable, at least in a room with natural lighting.
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
