.jpg)
An image appears on the wall, being projected from Samsung Electronics’ new phone, during a mobile fair in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday.
/ Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Samsung Electronics Tuesday unveiled the first-ever mobile phone to feature embedded projection capability.
The introduction comes on the sidelines of the world's biggest telecommunication fair, "Mobile World Congress," which will run through Thursday in Barcelona, Spain.
The phone, which just arrived on the Korean market with a price tag of some 900,000 won, or $670, will make its official European debut in the coming months, Samsung executives said.
They say the world's second-biggest maker of mobile phones hasn't yet set details, including prices for the North American and European launches.
Samsung spokesman Lee Seung-han said the device uses Texas Instruments' (TI) DLP Pico Chipset.
The chip is 20 percent smaller than existing types but with the same capacity and can provide brighter image projections with double the resolution and a higher power efficiency
But officials say the DLP Pico Projector is not the only feature of the models ― I7410 in Europe and W7900 in Korea ― as there will also be an OLED color touch-screen and five-megapixel camera.
In addition, the projector smart-phone can also use Powerpoint slides, allows the viewing of e-mail attachments and pictures and the possibility of using the projector as a flashlight.
"I tried to make a phone with a simple and compact design. Amid ongoing digital convergence, the phone will enable Samsung to open a new chapter in the mobile industry," Kim Eun-young, the phone's designer, told The Korea Times by telephone.
"This is an exciting time for the mobile phone industry, as we are transcending the limitations of the mobile phone," Lee Won-sik, vice president of the R&D Planning Team at Samsung, said.
Samsung has recently been concentrating on the smartphone segment.
Samsung has showcased 20 new phones with PC-like Internet functionality and other complex applications.
The market for smartphones, which use advanced application chips, is expected to remain strong.
Market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA) forecasts smartphones to grow some 13 percent this year, even with the overall mobile phone market expected to decline.
"Even though the overall industry is looking downward, phones with advanced chips will gain growth momentum," an analyst at SA said.
yckim@koreatimes.co.kr
|
[단독] 르노삼성, 본사 모델로 한국 공략
