Apple may add micro projectors to iPhones, iPod touches

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 51
    kbsbemekbsbeme Posts: 25member
    After a visit to the Apple store I was disappointed to learn that the iPhone and iPod Touch can only project videos. Why can't it project screen content?



    If Apple wanted to put an iPhone in the pocket of every business person in world, they should develop a mobile Keynote app that would either



    A) remotely control Keynote on the computer hooked to the projector



    or



    B) allow the iPhone or iPod Touch to project a packaged Keynote presentation or demo of an application directly. I'd love to be able to run a presentation from my iPod.
  • Reply 22 of 51
    mactrippermactripper Posts: 1,328member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OC4Theo View Post


    To get a projector into an iPhone will be a miracle. There is no more space left inside it. Apple will need to re-miniaturize the whole components once again to fit anything inside the iPhone.



    Or create a bigger iPhone.



    I proposed this long ago, that Apple should have three versions of the iPhone.



    A flip version to act like a loss leader, the regular model and a larger version with more bells and whistles like a iTablet.
  • Reply 23 of 51
    mactrippermactripper Posts: 1,328member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kbsbeme View Post


    After a visit to the Apple store I was disappointed to learn that the iPhone and iPod Touch can only project videos. Why can't it project screen content?



    Because Apple doesn't hold focus groups.



    This comes from Mr. Ives himself.
  • Reply 24 of 51
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Proximityeffect View Post


    Not bloody likely. Where do you guys find this stuff?



    Seriously.. Macrumors posted this story too but that doesn't really amount to much. You'd think these guys would have learned by now not to post garbage for the sake of pacifying their readers. It's old news and it's highly unlikely.
  • Reply 25 of 51
    hobbithobbit Posts: 532member
    Why not just provide a dock connector -> HDMI cable?



    Such a cable is surely not much bigger than the added bulk of the projector.

    And almost everyone and their friend has a TV at home with an HDMI connector.

    Makes much more sense than a low-brightness pico projector that sucks battery life...



    Ah yeah, Apple doesn't do HDMI. That's why.

    They'd probably rather add a pico projector...
  • Reply 26 of 51
    shaun, ukshaun, uk Posts: 1,050member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mcloki View Post


    Nice technology. I can see Apple making an iMac without the monitor, just a projecting keyboard.



    You would still need a screen to project onto. I really can't see this happening.
  • Reply 27 of 51
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Shaun, UK View Post


    You would still need a screen to project onto. I really can't see this happening.



    Or you could wear a white shirt.
  • Reply 28 of 51
    m2002brianm2002brian Posts: 258member
    Considering the New iPod will contain a chip capable of deciphering 720p. It would only make sense for the Company to offer HD Out. I actually believe they are leaving this feature for the iPod only (differentiate between iPhone). I'm guessing the reason they don't do HDMI is licensing, but considering the dock is now open I can imagine somebody somewhere will get smart and pay the fees necessary.
  • Reply 29 of 51
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by str1f3 View Post


    I'd rather see a flash for the camera first but wouldn't mind having it.



    Yeah, me too. A projector is nice but I'd like all the other hardware components to be fully functional. Right now taking a picture in the evening is difficult. RIM gets that people want to use their cameras at night too so why doesn't Apple?
  • Reply 30 of 51
    cubertcubert Posts: 728member
    Or, they could be headed for the rumored tablet - an end of the year iPhone revision is unusual.
  • Reply 31 of 51
    shaun, ukshaun, uk Posts: 1,050member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    According to Taiwanese rumor site DigiTimes, Foxlink, a subsidiary of Apple's iPhone manufacturing partner Foxconn, is currently developing its own micro projector technology that should begin making its way into integrated devices as early as this year.



    It doesn?t seem feasible but who knows! They have managed to shrink a camera and camcorder into the ultra slim iPhone so I guess anything is possible.
  • Reply 32 of 51
    gwarf420gwarf420 Posts: 37member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kbsbeme View Post


    If Apple wanted to put an iPhone in the pocket of every business person in world, they should develop a mobile Keynote app that would either



    A) remotely control Keynote on the computer hooked to the projector

    or

    B) allow the iPhone or iPod Touch to project a packaged Keynote presentation or demo of an application directly. I'd love to be able to run a presentation from my iPod.



    A. They do. Keynote Controller app is available on App Store.

    B. Hopefully we'll see this soon. It is/(was?) (3.0 has supposedly changed some things) possible with the video out cable and the right code using currently unofficial API
  • Reply 33 of 51
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    Yeah, me too. A projector is nice but I'd like all the other hardware components to be fully functional. Right now taking a picture in the evening is difficult. RIM gets that people want to use their cameras at night too so why doesn't Apple?



    Apple DOES get it. It's incremental. Could have had oled screens in the 3gs.. why not? have to have bait for the next go-round. Incredibly frustrating but unquestionably effective none the less.
  • Reply 34 of 51
    Aaaaaaahhhh, finally a way to project obscene images/video on my buddies back as he walks down the hall! These projectors will be new fodder for those annoying people with laser pointers. Movie theaters or any dark room will be turned into obscene image planetariums. My god the potential for juvenile humor is endless!
  • Reply 35 of 51
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kbsbeme View Post


    After a visit to the Apple store I was disappointed to learn that the iPhone and iPod Touch can only project videos. Why can't it project screen content?



    The iPhone and iPod Touch do not project anything. It is up to the device to get the data from the device and project it.

    Apple has the ability to get the data out (as seen in the iPhone keynotes) thru a cable so perhaps with 3.0, Apple will open this up for others.
  • Reply 36 of 51
    oneaburnsoneaburns Posts: 354member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CDonG4 View Post


    Help me Stevi Jobs Kenobi, you're my only hope.



    Haha, that was my first thought as well. But then I'd need an iSaber.



    (that was quite possibly the dorkiest thought I've ever had.)
  • Reply 37 of 51
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chris_CA View Post


    The iPhone and iPod Touch do not project anything. It is up to the device to get the data from the device and project it.

    Apple has the ability to get the data out (as seen in the iPhone keynotes) thru a cable so perhaps with 3.0, Apple will open this up for others.



    I think he is talking about display mirroring through the 30-pin connector, like Apple uses in Keynotes and Special Events.
  • Reply 38 of 51
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    Well, not in the iPhone. Apple's upcoming media tablet might be a better place to put one. And if the rumor is right, an introduction before christmas sounds reasonable.. I thought Q2 2010, but.. perhaps it's ready to go by christmas.
  • Reply 39 of 51
    jurajjuraj Posts: 8member
    [QUOTE=polar315;1445032]Not sure how useful it would be, but they have to keep adding features to attract new customers and have people want to upgrade.



    There's an app for that (attract customers). Good luck for the featurephone-producers.



    By the way: nobody who's caring a bit about picture quality would use any kind of projector in a room which isn't darkened (otherwise no blacks on the screen). So, this 'technology' seems a bit doubtful to me.



    And: why should Apple add it, if it's not useful?
  • Reply 40 of 51
    At this stage, I don't think Apple is interested. Projectors always need some kind of screen to display clearer and high-contrast pictures so unless there is some technology to show crisp pictures on any surface, Apple won't be interested in integration - something that would make the products look bulky.
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