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Portable projectors are coming

Tired of hearing other people's cellphone conversations? It may become worse. Soon you may have to watch their favorite television shows and YouTube videos, too, as they project them onto nearby walls or commuter-train seatbacks.

Pint-size digital projectors are in the works.

These devices, when plugged into cellphones and portable media players, will let consumers beam video content from their handheld devices to the closest smooth surface -- entertaining themselves, annoying their neighbors and possibly contributing to a new warning sign: "No Projectors in This Area."

The microprojectors, still in prototype, use light-emitting diodes, lasers or a combination of the two to cast a display of up to 125cm to 150cm, or perhaps even wider, in darkened spaces and 18cm to 50cm or so when there is ambient light.

Digital projectors were once bulky. These new models, though, are small enough to fit into the pocket of consumers who want a big-screen experience from a small-screen device.

Some of the models are expected to be on the market by year-end, or sooner.

Prices have yet to be announced. Matthew Brennesholtz, an analyst at Insight Media, a marketing research firm in Norwalk, Connecticut, says he thinks the projectors will initially cost about US$350, then quickly drop to less than US$300.

The projectors may be particularly useful for business presentations -- for example, when road warriors need to show a product video to small groups.

No coordination would be needed to arrange for a screen. Instead, a patch of wall within a cubicle or restaurant could serve for an impromptu presentation. In a pinch, a manila folder would work, too.

Carolina Milanesi, a research director in London for Gartner, the research firm, says she thinks the microprojectors are most likely to appeal to business travelers who, for example, could use them to beam PowerPoint shows from their smartphones.

But Milanesi is dubious about consumers using them in public, for instance, to project documents on a train seatback because they could so easily be read by others.

"I hate it even when I am on the subway and the guy next to me is reading my paper," she said.

The projectors will first appear in freestanding, companion units to cellphones and other devices, Brennesholtz said, connected to them by standard cables.

Later, the projector modules will be directly embedded in phones, as cameras are today. About 16 manufacturers are working on miniprojectors, he said.

Insight Media forecasts a substantial and fast-growing market.

"We anticipate total sales of more than US$2.5 billion by 2012 for the companion models," Brennesholtz said, and US$1 billion in revenue for projector modules that are integrated into cellphones and other devices.

Cellphone service providers have been a driving force behind miniprojector development, said Bae Jin-woo, business team leader for Iljin DSP, a company in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, that is working on a prototype.

"Revenue growth from voice service is becoming saturated," Bae said, "so telecom service providers are looking for new revenue from video content."

Iljin DSP's microprojector, projects images of 18cm to 150cm, depending on a room's lighting; the device's light source is a combination of lasers and LEDs. The lithium ion battery lasts about two hours, Bae said.
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