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Mobile Technology

Samsung shows off latest Galaxy Beam projector phone

February 27, 2012
Samsung shows off latest Galaxy Beam projector phone
The Galaxy Beam is a smartphone with its own built-in pico projector
The Galaxy Beam is a smartphone with its own built-in pico projector
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The Galaxy Beam has a powerful 15 lumens projector
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The Galaxy Beam has a powerful 15 lumens projector
The Galaxy Beam's projector can produce images up to 50-feet in size
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The Galaxy Beam's projector can produce images up to 50-feet in size
The Galaxy Beam is a smartphone with its own built-in pico projector
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The Galaxy Beam is a smartphone with its own built-in pico projector
The updated 2012 version of the Galaxy Beam was shown off at Mobile World Congress this year
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The updated 2012 version of the Galaxy Beam was shown off at Mobile World Congress this year
The Galaxy Beam comes running Android v2.3
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The Galaxy Beam comes running Android v2.3
The Galaxy Beam has 8GB of internal memory
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The Galaxy Beam has 8GB of internal memory
The Galaxy Beam has a built-in 5-megapixel camera
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The Galaxy Beam has a built-in 5-megapixel camera
The Galaxy Beam has a 4-inch screen
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The Galaxy Beam has a 4-inch screen
The Galaxy Beam has a 1GHz dual-core processor
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The Galaxy Beam has a 1GHz dual-core processor
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Samsung has officially unveiled an updated version of the Galaxy Beam, a smartphone with its own built-in pico projector. The biggest feature of the phone as you might guess is its ability to project pictures, video, and other media onto walls, ceilings or any other flat surface via a 15 lumens projector that Samsung says can display images up to 50-inches wide.

Samsung originally showed off the Galaxy Beam at Mobile World Congress in 2010. At the time, the Android handset was only slated to make an appearance in Singapore. This year's announcement brings an updated version of the handset sporting Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and while release details have yet to be announced, the phone will likely be available in a few additional countries.

The 2010 version of the Beam came running Android v2.1, had a 3.7-inch screen, and a 9 lumens projector. The updated 2012 version shown off at Mobile World Congress 2011 comes running Android v2.3, has a 4-inch screen, and comes rocking a much more powerful 15 lumens projector.

The projector is the stand-out feature of the phone. Beyond that, you're looking at your standard run-of-the-mill Android handset. The phone has a 5-megapixel built-in camera, and has a 1GHz dual-core processor, 8GB of internal memory, and a 2000mAh battery.

Samsung has yet to announce pricing or availability for the 2012 Galaxy Beam.

View gallery - 9 images

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Mobile TechnologySamsungSmartphonesAndroidPico projector
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16 comments
Rt1583
Technology for technologies sake. Bad thing is, this doesn\'t really constitue an advancement in technology. What good is a 50 inch wide projection if it is coming from a 15 lumen source and crippled by a lens that is so small as to be laughable when compared to a normal projector system.
Of course the manufacturers have their consumers pretty well pegged. All they have to do is make a new product an enigma for a few months, stick a cool sounding name like Galaxy Beam on it and claim improvements, however slight, over the previous model and presto!, they have a best seller.
3razer
I agree with rt1583 exactly who needs this? Anyone with the serious need to project will carry around an actual micro projector so this is just a boy toy and hope it does not cost more than 10 bucks for that added projector into the cost of the phone
Electrothump
I love it. I'll take one.
dgate
Re: above two comments..remember when the phone was a simple device for only making calls? not anymore, unlike you I think a projector could be useful when fully developed for watching movies or stills. Not for everyone agreed but good when travelling or even showing to several viewers at once. Phones are now moving to five inch screens for better viewing so even a 15 or 25 inch projection would be a big improvement. Power consumption is the problem not the lens, until that is solved it will remain a novelty.
Ra'anan
We used this the other night to watch some home movie shots & it was unbelievable! I'm thinking about adapting this to teaching English to non-native English speakers, the portability & low price are revolutionary.
3razer
dgate, I can certainly understand and years from now a phone may put out a fully useful video projection and I also agree that tech must start off somewhere and 10 bucks more is all it should cost in the nascent stages :-)
christopher
Pico projectors alone don't have powerful CPUs, inbuilt network connections, GPS, accelerometer, gyro, cameras, USB, bluetooth, and so on.
Come on guys - you're all Gizmag readers - surely the amazing potential for a interactive projector with all these sensors etc can't have escaped you all?
Add a kinect or Wii controller to the mix, and it gets even more interesting (portable, and mobile interactive whiteboards!).
Richie Suraci
I have one I bought overseas and it works very well, not Samsung though and just a little over $200.00.
John Findlay
You are looking at the early steps for replacment of your laptop computer ! Once a forward facing projector for a keyboard is added along with more computing power these things will become the true mobile computer,phone etc etc.
Jugen
15 Lumens is quite bright, so I'm assuming it will be using superbright LED technology, which I know for a fact can get quite hot and draw quite a bit of current at that kind of brightness. So I can't see the batteries lasting long enough to watch a feature length movie, maybe just short youtube videos. The projector keyboard would be a really useful idea, so on the train or plan you could write on any flat surface at your disposal. Yer I know what samsung are trying to get at, making it easier to share motion pictures and pictures, but why not share them phone to phone?
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