Mobile phones

Young Optics say that they are very optimistic about pico projectors: shipments of embedded pico projectors are expected to enjoy strong growth. They are working with three handset makers and two digital camera makes to embed their modules into the gadgets. They are also working with 'a number of other multimedia device vendors" that have adopted their modules.

Via digitimes

Here's a nice video from the Mobile World Congress show - TI demoing their DLP pico-projector chipsets and gadgets that use it (the Samsung Beam and W9600, LG Expo and NTT DoCoMo dock F-04B).

Engadget has posted a first hands-on with the new Samsung Beam DLP projector phone. They say that it's rather thin, and it can also do a nice trick: the projector can display the image seen by the camera (5mp). Nice. Here's a video:

There's a new Chinese projector phone, but we do not know a lot about it, except through this funny advertisement. It's LCoS based (the projection module is made by iView), it supports audio/video/photo files, and also some documents. It's also a TV receiver. The phone is Quad-band with dual-SIM support. The phone is available now in Japan (at least according to the ad).

Oh, and it looks very similar to the Logic Wireless 150LGW... but not exactly the same.

UPDATE: It seems that I mistakenly thought this was Japanese... and it turns out to be a Chinese ad. Sorry!

Digitimes reports that handset makers in Taiwan are conservative about the outlook for projector phones. They estimate that sales of such phones will only reach several hundred thousand units in 2010.

Projector phones will only be a niche market segment - mostly because of privacy issues: most users are unlikely to show photos or videos in public places.

A reviewer from New Zealand is the first one to get an LG eXpo phone with the pico-projector accessory. This might mean that AT&T will soon start selling the projector unit (for $179).

The phone itself is available for $99. 

Via Slashgear

Amazon.com now lists the LG eXpo projector phone for $99, and you get $50 back (via an Amazon gift certificate).

Interestingly, the eXpo is currently #10 in Amazon's best-selling smartphone list - even before the projector accessory is actually available, the eXpo is selling quite well. It's got a lot of attention and hype over the past few weeks. We hope that other phone makers will follow suit soon with projector phones of their own.

Here's the link to Amazon.com $49 LG eXpo page, again.