Mobile By Lee Mathews Jun. 3, 2014 9:30 am
Samsung’s Galaxy Beam was a rather clunky attempt at building a smartphone with a built-in pico projector. The next one we see may be much more exciting, thanks to a tiny projector module being built by the brains at Ostendo. And although it’s small, it’s still capable of projecting images with an impressive 48-inch diagonal.
The module is roughly the same size as the camera you’d find in any of today’s smartphones, which should mean that designers won’t have to sacrifice sleek lines just to integrate the Ostendo projector. Manufacturers will still have to figure out if projection is something that consumers are willing to spend extra cash on, and it might be a tough sell when wireless display options (like Wi-Di, Miracast, and even Chromecasting) are already plentiful. The Galaxy Beam hasn’t exactly been a hot seller.
Ostendo’s pico projector is just the first step in their future-focused display plans. Their next goal is delivering a practical holographic projector that fits inside a phone. It’s based on technology that Ostendo refers to as quantum photonic imaging, which they’ve been working on since 2007. The holographic chip is comprised of stacked layers of laser emitting diodes, and Ostendo is shooting for a face-melting pixel density of 5,000ppi.
They’re also planning to have the quantum photonic imaging chip ready for use in smartphones by 2015. Yes, by late next year or early 2016 you could be carrying a phone in your pocket that can actually display floating, three-dimensional images.
Ostendo’s also promising that they’ll only cost around $30, which is a little less than double what a high-quality camera goes for right now. At that price, there’s definitely going to be at least one Android phone maker that takes a gamble on Ostendo’s holographic projection chip. Assuming, of course, they actually achieve that price point.
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The module is roughly the same size as the camera you’d find in any of today’s smartphones, which should mean that designers won’t have to sacrifice sleek lines just to integrate the Ostendo projector. Manufacturers will still have to figure out if projection is something that consumers are willing to spend extra cash on, and it might be a tough sell when wireless display options (like Wi-Di, Miracast, and even Chromecasting) are already plentiful. The Galaxy Beam hasn’t exactly been a hot seller.
Ostendo’s pico projector is just the first step in their future-focused display plans. Their next goal is delivering a practical holographic projector that fits inside a phone. It’s based on technology that Ostendo refers to as quantum photonic imaging, which they’ve been working on since 2007. The holographic chip is comprised of stacked layers of laser emitting diodes, and Ostendo is shooting for a face-melting pixel density of 5,000ppi.
They’re also planning to have the quantum photonic imaging chip ready for use in smartphones by 2015. Yes, by late next year or early 2016 you could be carrying a phone in your pocket that can actually display floating, three-dimensional images.
Ostendo’s also promising that they’ll only cost around $30, which is a little less than double what a high-quality camera goes for right now. At that price, there’s definitely going to be at least one Android phone maker that takes a gamble on Ostendo’s holographic projection chip. Assuming, of course, they actually achieve that price point.
More...
