Is this really necessary?

[Nick Bounty]

This may be old news to some of you but according to this [http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/06/lgs-projector-laden-expo-smartphone-gets-demonstrated-on-video/] the LG eXpo is LG's newest mobile phone that will be hitting the market through AT&T. What's speical about it?. It has a projector in it, specifically a pico-projector powered by a Qualcomm 1-GHz processor.

It's all very impressive but I can't help but ask, why would anyone need a projector...ON THEIR PHONE?. What possible purpose does it serve but to project things on a screen with possibly crappy audio and perhaps dubious graphics. Also according to an official AT&T/LG data sheet, the phone will go on sale first through business channels, not consumer sales.

So this phone is for businessmen only to top it all off.

I don't understand why all this kind of exclusivity is needed for a phone among other things.

 

[j0z]

The guys at apple once said "Why would people want to watch video on their computers?"

I would have no use for this phone, but some might.
Besides, I want a droid.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Because we're living in the future?.

On a more serious note this could be badass years from now when the projector is small enough to hide inside the headphone jack. I actually could see a lot of uses for it and besides I remember a lot of people thinking "why would I need a camera in my phone?" when that technology came out.

People are constantly going to ask "why do I need [blank] in my phone?" until the day they ask "Why do I need a computer?"

As for the business angle, I'm sure by 2020 this will be a commercially available product. If not then you all have to buckle down, study hard and get into the world of business.

 

[Jou]

I can imagine a few whacky office pranks to pull with a projector phone. Like projecting a bad picture onto your boss' head during a meeting, or someone you don't like. It could be fun messing with people. Like sitting in a mall and projecting an outline of jesus on a wall and watch the crazies gather in awe.

 

[ctrl-alt-postal]

Popularizing the technology. 5 years from now, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Movies, video conferences, music vids, ect.ect.ect.....all just projected, onto a wall, tent side, mates t-shirt, whatever. Also games.

 

[ctrl-alt-postal]

One word (okay, technically three). Badly Pixellated Porn.

Not to mention it keeps woobling up + down across the wall.....

 

[BonsaiK]

This may be old news to some of you but according to this [http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/06/lgs-projector-laden-expo-smartphone-gets-demonstrated-on-video/] the LG eXpo is LG's newest mobile phone that will be hitting the market through AT&T. What's speical about it?. It has a projector in it, specifically a pico-projector powered by a Qualcomm 1-GHz processor.

It's all very impressive but I can't help but ask, why would anyone need a projector...ON THEIR PHONE?. What possible purpose does it serve but to project things on a screen with possibly crappy audio and perhaps dubious graphics. Also according to an official AT&T/LG data sheet, the phone will go on sale first through business channels, not consumer sales.

So this phone is for businessmen only to top it all off.

I don't understand why all this kind of exclusivity is needed for a phone among other things.

You've just answered your own question in your own OP, even though you don't realise it yet. If you can't see the purpose of a phone that projects images, then you're obviously not in the target market for it, and therefore the phone isn't being marketed to you, it's being marketed to business customers instead. Makes perfect sense. For you to then turn around and complain that you can't buy a phone that you don't even see the need for... well, erm, that's a little contradictory.

As a touring musician I would find a portable projection device that I could very easily take on the road in a travel bag and use to stream video through onto the back wall of a stage very, very bloody useful. I wish I had one right now for a show I'm preparing to do in a month or so but alas, no money, I'll have to wait for these things to popularise and decrease in price, might take a few years yet. Corporate types who want to give boardroom presentations probably would also feel pretty good about not having to lug projection gear around or relying on someone else's projection gear every time they want to show a powerpoint. Also because it's so portable you could do a presentation literally anywhere that there's a wall. Trust me, there's a market for this, a big one. Expect to see this feature more and more in phones.