Cell Phone With a Projector

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Attention smartphone makers, this would be a feature that really gets my attention: a phone with a built-in projector for PowerPoint presentations, etc.

AT&T and LG have announced they will be introducing such a beast to market on Monday, December 7th in select cities.

The Windows 6.5 smartphone will have a 5 megapixel camera, GPS and a QWERTY keypad, as well. But the real killer feature is the Pico projector. Pico is not new. The little projectors have been making their way. However, as a built-in phone feature; that is a whole other banana.

I would love to see this take off. Mainly, I would love to have a built-in projector in my phone. I can think of a million uses both professional and private.

Wouldn't it be nice not to have to worry about making sure a full-size projector is available at your next presentation on the road? Better yet, wouldn't it be nice not to fly with one in tow?

The new phone coming out next week by LG is $199 with a two year contract. With a built-in projector, the price tag almost doubles going up another $179. Still when you compare $179 for the going rate of a full size projector, it's a bargain.

There's a lot of focus on apps for smartphones. But, there's less attention on hardware innovations. I would like to see more become mainstream, like:

- a slot to scan a business card on the fly.
- a feeder slot that prints out a business card on the fly.
- a Nintendo DSi that is a smartphone, as well.
- a bar code reader, so I can tally my purchases before I hit the checkout line or store the SKU of something I like for reference at a later date when I have more jingle in my pocket.

Renee Oricchio

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987.