Moto toys with combo cellphone-projector

Microvision said this week that it will work with Motorola Inc. to develop pico projectors for mobile handsets. The goal is to enable handsets to project Web sites, presentations and multimedia visuals onto a nearby surface.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microvision said it has a miniature, laser-based display engine called PicoP, which is small and uses little power, thus the attraction of adapting it for use on handsets.
The two companies are working on a prototype device that also incorporates Microvision’s wide angle scanner.
“We are pursuing ways that projection technology can redefine how mobile consumers view and interact with the media they take with them,” said Rob Shaddock, CTO in Motorola’s mobile devices unit.
The announcement is not the first in the field of projection technology for handsets. Indeed, before offloading its handset business to BenQ, Siemens showed off a handset with a projector that could display a keyboard. The offering allows users to project a virtual keyboard onto a desk or similar service, and-via a motion sensor-input information into the phone using the virtual keyboard.