Mobile Projectors to arrive “by 2010”

LG have been outlining what they see as the new technologies that will shape the screens we use on our mobile phones.

Speaking at the 7th International Meeting on Information Display (IMID 2007), President and Chief Technology Officer Hee-Gook Lee stated that LED- and laser-based mobile projectors will be integrated into mobile phones by 2010, and will become established quickly.

As far as display technology for mobile phones goes, mobile projectors are something of a holy grail. The screen is one of the limiting factors in a mobile phone’s size, as it must be big enough to be visible and ergonomic enough to actually use, yet still be small enough to fit in your pocket.

A mobile projector is the perfect solution as it projects the screen’s image onto a wall or surface, enabling you to see a much bigger screen image without having to worry about the size of the screen itself.

Mobile projector technology has been around in prototype form for some time now, but this is the first time that one the big 5 mobile phone companies has suggested a time-frame in which we’ll see them in actual products.

It’ll be interesting to see how widely they are adopted, how good they’ll actually be, and also what other innovative applications people will find for them. It’s not just the user interface of your phone that can be displayed on your wall, remember – it’s anything. Imagine your phone projecting a picture on your wall, or a TV programme – that would certainly drive the adoption of mobile TV.

Better still, imagine a video call with your girlfriend’s face suddenly beamed large on your wall by your mobile phone. Who needs a vibrating ring-tone to alert you when you’ve got a 10 foot face suddenly beaming down at you?!

[Source: NikkeiBP]