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The phone with a projector

samsung.com

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Re: The phone with a projector

#61

Post by simcop2387 »

archivator wrote: post #25

Here's a hands-on from The Verge - http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/26/2825474/samsung-galaxy-bea... . Contrast is pretty bad in an indoor-lit environment. 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.

I imagine the contrast issue is one of raw power. stuff too large a set of laser diodes in there and you end up with it stealing all of the battery life easily.

Re: The phone with a projector

#62

Post by hammock »

polshaw wrote: post #17

This is actually really neat. Another step along the 'phone is the only device you need' road. 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. Don't scoff at it beca…

To me it's a step backwards. The non-apple smartphone makers - I'm looking at you Samsung, Moto - are reusing their same old feature phone strategy, but applying it to smartphones by making gimmicky one-trick ponies. The "projector phone." The "notepad phone." The "maxxx battery phone." The "swipe typing phone." The "social networks phone." We've been down that road before with feature phones.

Experience with the iPhone might tell you though that consumers are looking for something different this time around. (not an apple fanboy here, btw)

Pico projectors are cool technology, and ought to be used more, but this phone is not a killer app.

Re: The phone with a projector

#63

Post by npsimons »

Here's what all the naysayers sound like to me:

"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."

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.

Re: The phone with a projector

#64

Post by carguy1983 »

pan69 wrote: post #5

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.

The difference is Samsung is a massive wholesaler of critical phone components to pretty much every other manufacturer, including Apple.

Ever heard of a "reference implementation"?

The linked page to me looks like a marketing sheet for a part, not a product.

Re: The phone with a projector

#65

Post by julian_t »

ctdonath wrote: post #35
gokhan wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the one in your pocket is just a phone to make calls and nothing else? No GPS? No sensors or something? Gyro? If so, I don't think it's a winner.

Yes. That's exactly what I want: a phone to make calls and nothing else. There is, in fact, such a market - and I'm surprised almost nobody has taken it seriously. I carry an iPad darn near everywhere I go. I don't want another device which demands yet another data plan. I don't need GPS, camera, projector, gyros, etc. in it. I want a phone which makes calls really well ... and I haven't found it. The phone I use now…

This. I use a Blackberry for work, but still miss my old Nokia 6310... good call quality, great battery life, and no distractions. A phone-that's-just-a-phone. And, being seriously uncool, it has less appeal to thieves :-)

Re: The phone with a projector

#66

Post by JackC »

npsimons wrote: post #63

Here's what all the naysayers sound like to me: "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." 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 wit…

I think maybe it's a difference between "this is a cool product" and "this is a cool tech demo." As a tech demo, it's a neat idea that's been tried before. It becomes news when someone manages to put together a shipping product that actually lets you do new and useful things with your phone.

So is this that product? Well I can't help noticing that every single image on the Samsung site is a (bad) Photoshop. And looking at their ad video, I'm pretty sure that's special effects too -- compare it to the Verge video at about 00:25, and they look nothing alike. So if the manufacturer is showing solely fictional renderings of how they wish their product worked ... it's possible that a little naysaying is still in order.

(That said, I totally agree that it's a great vision -- I'm just not sure Samsung has, you know, brought this particular vision into the light of day yet.)

Re: The phone with a projector

#67

Post by saket123 »

hammock wrote: post #62
polshaw wrote: post #17

This is actually really neat. Another step along the 'phone is the only device you need' road. 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. Don't scoff at it beca…

To me it's a step backwards. The non-apple smartphone makers - I'm looking at you Samsung, Moto - are reusing their same old feature phone strategy, but applying it to smartphones by making gimmicky one-trick ponies. The "projector phone." The "notepad phone." The "maxxx battery phone." The "swipe typing phone." The "social networks phone." We've been down that road before with feature phones. Experience with the iPh…

I don't think this is a one trick phone. Its a full fledged smartphone with everything what an iPhone can do plus this cool projector. Infact this is a very good innovation in field of hardware as manufacturers using Windows or Android are increasingly relying on hardware to differentiate.

Re: The phone with a projector

#68

Post by saket123 »

teyc wrote: post #24
lifeisstillgood wrote: post #11

This is a real attempt to go after a market that has been trying to exist for a while. 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. Now they can slip them into pockets. Its a real market, and the next step is I put down my phone as a projector, you control the projector from your phone.

It is also useful for casual meetings. As a side thought, while convergence is great - we no longer carry a separate music player, video player, phone and now mobile projectors, I've increasingly run into more people carrying spare batteries around.

Great point about battery. This one ships with 2000mAh. Which is enough for 3 hours of playtime. I wonder how useful such low battery life would be considering that you will rarely have 100% battery on your phone.

Re: The phone with a projector

#70

Post by sambeau »

rplnt wrote: post #19
sambeau wrote: post #3

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. 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 bu…

> I look at photos in tiny batches normally with one other person, usually in a crowded place: pub, restaurant, car. Yes, that's because you don't have a choice. You can't do it any other way with a phone right now. > I rarely watch movies on my iPhone but when I do it is usually on a train or in a car. Same thing.

No, that's because it is normal behaviour to be chatting with one person and say "I must show you a picture of it".

Ditto Movies. Will I really start showing movies in a pub because I can? Would I choose my phone over my HD TV or iPad when at home?

Also, how many headphone sockets does this device have?

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