LG eXpo created a stir with its unique design and features when it was released. It has a biometric sensor for its interface navigation which also doubes as a security device. Another thing which excited the curious minds was that the phone supported a portable projector. The $179 Pico Projector by Texas Instruments has finally been released for the use with the LG eXpo phone.
The LG eXpo itself is a high end model with 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen display. It is based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and has a hardware QWERTY keypad. Here’s the full list of specifications of this model.
The Pico Projector from Texas Instruments is a sensible to the eXpo considering the fact that the phone is aimed for business people – a great way to share Word documents or PowerPoint presentations in a smooth and portable manner. Engadget took the phone and projector for a test drive and their experience was mixed. The phone, when attached to the projector, looks strange. It gets a very thick look and becomes quite heavy. Even after all this, the phone does not feel awkward for talking. If you have a larger pocket, this phone would easily fit in with the projector attached. But you would have to take care of the battery cover (which has to be removed to use the projector).
The device detects the addition of the projector on its own. The camera is disabled at this point onwards, and the dedicated camera key works as an orientation toggle button, switching between landscape and portrait modes, without the need of rotating the phone. The site noted that the display is quite average at a decent distance of 8 feet. There’s a slider on the side of the projector for manually focusing the device which you will be forced to use quite often. Further, the projector may churn decent images at a projector screen, but the quality at a dry wall was plain average. It also consumed an inordinate amount of battery while running and became a bit hot for their liking.
We would like to reserve judgement on the utility of the Pico Projector until we get our hands on the device. It’s a good idea, and a new product category, and like any new product, it might take a few iterations to get just right.