Japan’s DoCoMo announces new mobile projector for cell phones [Projectors]

It’s not that there’s a shortage of mobile projectors, but when DoCoMo (Japan’s biggest cell phone carrier) announces [JP] a model for its 55 million customers, it deserves a mention. DoCoMo specifically suggests using the F01 with Fujitsu’s uber-cool “Separate Keitai”, a cell phone that breaks into two parts (and that’s currently available on the Japanese market only).

Weighing 88g, the DLP device is sized at just 11.4 x 5.1 x 1.64cm and produces images measuring between 5 and 66 inches in size at 854×480 (WVGA) resolution. It also features a brightness of 9 lumens, 150 minutes of battery life, an analog RGB interface and Bluetooth.



The device can be used to project images, digital TV programs (all Japanese phones have a tuner), games, and Word/Excel/Powerpoint/PDF files.

DoCoMo plans to ship the first 10,000 units to Japanese electronics retailers and its own cell phone shops at the end of this month, probably with a ISL 1,008.47 ($270) price tag. I am thinking the only chance for the F01 to make it outside this country is when Fujitsu decides to sell the “Separate Keitai” abroad as well.


[CrunchGear]

Pico Projector From Light Blue Optics Throws Up a 10-inch Touchscreen Laser Projection [Projector]

Light Blue Optics has been showing off their cool projection wares since 2004, so it's great to hear they're close to turning that 'holographic laser projection technology' into a viable product, albeit as an OEM.
The Light Touch pico projector throws a laser WVGA image out to the size of 10-inches, turning any available surface into a touchscreen. The angle is a pretty decent wide throw, which means the projector can be quite close to the surface.
Running on Adobe Flash Lite 3.1, the Light Touch projector has 2GB of flash memory and a microSD card slot (with support up to 32GB) for storing media on, and also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for hooking up with a laptop or device. It supposedly has a 2 hour battery life, which unfortunately seems to be the norm with these little projectors, though kudos to Light Blue Optics for throwing in a bunch of other features that could make this actually useful, for consumers as well as businesses (as the pic below shows).

[Gizmodo via Light Blue Optics via BusinessWire]

Are These the HTC Dragon/Zoom 2 Specs and Pics?

One handset that we admittedly haven’t done too much coverage on so far is the rumored HTC Dragon. Also known as the HTC Zoom 2, the phone is being reported that it will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which could put it in the 768MHz-1GHz stratosphere.

Here’s a quick rundown of some specs that were tipped our way earlier today. (Thanks Barry!)

• Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 (1GHz)
• Android 2.0
• 512MB ROM
• 256MB RAM
• 480 x 800 resolution touch screen w/ multi-touch
• GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900, UMTS 900, 1900, 2100
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• 5.0 MP camera
• Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, GPS
• FM Radio, Accelerometer

So what does a beast like this look like? According to DroidDog, these pictures may be the first to surface showing the hardware design. On the outside, its nothing too fancy – a little bit Hero, a little bit Desire.



While we’re on the subject of the Dragon, we should point you to a few screen grabs that DroidDog was able to get a hold of a few weeks back with the accompanying email.

So, what I’ve got here is a little build we’re referring to as the “Pet Dragon”. It’s highly experimental at the moment…HTC Dragon. (dubbed “Zoom 2″) —> the screen resolution is 800×480…This device is in fact operating on the “2.0″ firmware along with the HTC Sense user interface applied for style. So, it’s like an “Eclair Hero”.


But again, bare with me…it’s still very “bare bones” and needs a lot of work…but this device is going to be a GAME CHANGER! Perhaps more so than the HTC Leo!

[AndroidGuys]

I wonder what's the screen size of the beast.

Acer Liquid Finally Gives Android the Snapdragon It Deserves [Android]

The day Qualcomm's crushingly fast Snapdragon platform showed up in its first phone was the very day I started desperately wanting it to run Android. It had to happen. And now, courtesy of Acer, it will.
Finally materializing after months of agonizingly vague promises of Androidery, The Liquid A1 is a capacitive-screen WVGA touch phone, set to run Android 1.6 Donut—the first build of the OS to support nonstandard (read: G1) resolutions, among other things—as well as a custom social-networking-centric interface, a la HTC's Sense.
The software details are annoyingly sparing, as are the hardware specs, which for now include expected HSDPA connectivity, a 5-megapixel camera and GPS, but we really know pretty much all we need to at this point: the 1GHz processor and accompanying 3D chipset will make this the first truly fast Android phone, almost regardless of what software Acer shoulders it with to slow it down. In other words, your Android will do what you want it to, when your finger tells it to, and it will be glorious. Whenever and wherever this thing drops, that is.

The Future has arrived with Acer Liquid
Acer introduces its new smartphone 'Liquid' series: the world's first Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor based and world's first Android™ 1.6 high definition smartphone, combining cutting-edge technologies, software innovation and an ultra-fluid user interface to create an all-new mobile experience. It is the ideal solution for users demanding the best from their devices, and in particular outstanding multimedia, web browsing, social media integration and video streaming. It also brings smartphone product design forward with its unique and modern style.
Finally something different
Acer Liquid is the first Wide-VGA smartphone in the market benefiting from the latest release of the Android™ 1.6 Operating System (aka Donut) and the first Android™ smartphone in the market equipped with the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor.
This platform brings to market unique benefits for the end users and paves the way for a new wave of innovations from the developer community:
* With its High Definition capacitive touch screen (Wide VGA), Acer Liquid offers today an unparalleled experience when watching pictures or videos. But it also holds a promise for the future: the promise of an abundance of new applications on Android™ Smart Handhelds - games, professional applications and web applets that will enrich the end user experience. Now developers can be assured that their investment will build upon a standard resolution for the years to come;
* Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor, Acer Liquid provides instant access to web pages, smooth streaming of videos or music , and instant response from popular mail, maps and search applications. The high-speed processing capability and high-speed internet access (HSPA) of Snapdragon™ brings to life the Android™ experience: no idle-time, almost instant uploads of web pages and downloads of rich multimedia contents. The developer community can now take full advantage of these capabilities to bring to market innovative applications that demand raw computing power and superior handling of 3D graphics.
Unique software enhancements
Acer Liquid also bolsters a set of unique features developed by Acer and its partners:
* Improved power management to help achieve longer battery autonomy for intense users;
* A new user interface with easy access to entertainment and web bookmarks;
* An optimized camera with geo-tagging, ISO, self-timer options and accelerated auto-focus performance;
* Exclusive Spinlets™ application providing free streaming of worldwide music and video, that can be shared with friends and family through web-posting or e-mail;
* Smart integration of Facebook™, Twitter™, Youtube™, Picasa™ and Flickr™ in the address book, with realtime notification of status or content updates.
A refreshing alternative to square shapes
With ellipse curves, a choice of red, white and black colors, and a slim body shape, Liquid will please style-seeking consumers. Designed for ergonomy, Liquid fits well in the hand, and displays a smooth finish. The fluidity of its curves gives the Acer Liquid its unique character and unconventional style.

[Gizmodo via Acer via Slashgear]

C-motech Mangrove 7-inch WinMo Snapdragon MID wonder.

Here you are a dream come true, the goregous 7” (WVGA) Mangrove from C-Motech… Powered by the impressive 1GHZ Snapdragon CPU, and featuring all wireless wonders like WiFi, 3G and WiMAX, the Mangrove 7 is the ultimate Windows Mobile 6.5 Tablet or MID that we all ever dreamed off !

Not only C-Motech worked hard by offering an impressive design, but they also made sure that nothing was missing… Already impressed by the spec above? Well here you are some more for your, 3D Graphics with up to 22M Triangles/sec & 133M 3D pixels/s, High Performance multimode GPS and the choice of a 3200 or 4000mAh battery pack in just 190 x 120 x 19.5mm for 300g… What much too say? Well WHEN CAN I GET ONE !

 Full specification :
Mobile Internet Device with 7” wide display
Full touch feature with WM 6.5
CPU : 1GHz (Snapdragon Platform)
Memory : Nand 512MB / 256MB SDRAM Full web browse
Support for Converged Services(Wi-fi)
Messaging & e-mail : Yahoo, AOL, Windows Live
Music Capable - AAC, AAC+, MP3, Real Audio, AAC+V2, AMR & WMA
Cellular Video Capable - H.263/H.264, MPEG-4, Real Audio & WMV
Removable Memory : Micro SD Bluetooth Capable.

[Akihabaranews.com]