Advancing the smartphone
Remember when telephones were used for making actual phone calls? They used to have cords and a rotary dial, and they weren't very smart. Not like today's devices, anyway. The modern day smartphone is used for all kinds of tasks, even occasionally making voice calls, and models continue to get smarter. Enter Lenovo's concept phone called Smart Cast, which among other things can project a virtual keyboard onto whatever surface you're working on.
This isn't the first time we've seen a projected keyboard. Laser projection planks already exist, like the one Brookstone sells for $120. But unless someone wants to set us straight, Lenovo's Smart Cast would be the first phone to integrate a projected keyboard.
To use it, you'd flip the kickstand in the back and prop the device up in portrait mode. On top is a swiveling projector that you turn so that it can beam the keyboard onto your table, counter, or whatever surface you have in front of you.
What's neat about this is that you're not limited to just a keyboard -- it can project a virtual piano, games like Fruit Ninja, and whatever else developers conceive. Check it out:
"Whereas today smartphones are limited to consuming content, Smart Cast changes the paradigm by giving users a smart phone with built-in laser projector, infrared motion detector and high-performance algorithms," Lenovo explains. "This first ever technology combination opens a new world of interaction: Users can project a large virtual touch screen onto a table to type with a virtual keyboard and work with specific productivity apps (calculator, drawing, note-taking and even edit in Microsoft PowerPoint)."
As shown in the video, you can also use the built-in projector to show movies and video clips on a wall or give presentations.
Pretty neat, though whether it ever evolves from concept to shipping product remains to be seen.
From maximumpc
from http://bit.ly/1AwiEW2
