Tiny (size not brand) projectors seem to be the in thing at the moment, with the Samsung SP-P300MK Pocket Imager due to be released very early next year. A Finish company Upstream Engineering are working on new projector technology that will make the size of Samsung seem unbelievably large.

The picture above is a non-working prototype to demonstrate the size that the Upstream projector will likely be. Comparing it to the AA battery makes it look the size of 2 matchboxes which is pretty diddy. One of the techniques used in this miniaturization is by using LEDs instead of conventional projector bulbs which will also reduce power requirements.

A new way of doing something obviously demands a new techy name so Upstream are calling it, Photon Vacuum technology, though I’d just call it an LED projector (I never was good at marketing). They currently have a working prototype (not pictured) that is the size of a matchbox but Upstream claim that they can reduce this even further to the size of a sugar cube.

This is the sort of technological advancement that I can see entering the mobile phone market. Many modern mobiles boast multiple mega pixel cameras, built in MP3 players, Internet browsers and games. When projector technology gets small enough what’s to stop it being the next mobile must have. Having a video call would certainly be improved if you were talking to a life-size face on the wall, and games too would be much easier to see (though you’d need a new form of controller to prevent you moving the projector about with each move).

With the speed of technology advancements I wouldn’t be surprised to see a mobile phone with an inbuilt virtual laser keyboard projecting out of the front and a display projector at the back. All you need to do is add a mouse and you’d have the smallest PC ever and if a company manufactures this I want a free same and “review” model as thanks for the idea .