The increasing popularity of mobile phones as complete multimedia devices has been hampered by one obvious problem – screen size. That problem has seen the development of different projectors and projection technologies eager to provide the solution. The latest to enter the fray is the Mili Pro - a stylish unit from mobile phone accessory developer PhoneSuit that is designed to give the big picture treatment to Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch.
The projector is of the Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS), LED variety, which can pump out a 640 x 480 resolution image for a lifetime of around 20,000 hours. PhoneSuit claim the MiLi Pro can project images from 5-70 inches in size, but with a brightness of 10 lumens you’d want to be deep in a cave at midnight on a moonless night when pushing the projector past its prescribed optimal size of 40 inches.
Featuring a Star Trek communicator-like design, the MiLi Pro flips open to form a stand and reveal a standard Apple dock connector for your iPhone or iPod Touch. Connecting the unit to a computer via the standard mini-USB cable even allows users to charge and sync their iPhone or iPod and MiLi Pro. Additional VGA and RCA input cables are included for compatibility with other sources such as a laptop or DVD player, which users can cycle through using the input source button. Meanwhile, the volume of the built-in speakers can be controlled via an integrated touch panel.
The MiLi Pro is powered by a removable Li-ion battery pack with PhoneSuit including an extra battery pack with the projector. It is listed as being compatible with the iPhone 3GS, 3G, 2G and iPod Touch, but we did see it in action with a plain old iPod Classic at CeBIT 2009 earlier this year.
Budding directors still have time to make use of the video editing capabilities of their iPhone 3GS before screening their masterpiece using the MiLi Pro, as it’s not due to hit shelves until September at a price to be announced.