Hands-on: Samsung Wows with MBP200 and First Pico Projector Phone

If you’ve seen one pico projector you’ve seen them all, right? That’s what we thought until we had a chance to go hands on with Samsung’s new MBP200, which weighs only 5.6 ounces but can pump out an image as large as 50 inches. What makes this pico unique is that it sports a 2.2-inch LCD, so it doubles as a portable audio/video player. Plus, not only can you connect your mobile phone or laptop to this mini marvel, it accepts microSD cards.

We had a chance to play with the MBP200, and the image quality when projecting the movie Madagascar was surprisingly good–although you’ll get the best results with an image size closer to 20 inches. We also found it simple to focus using the built-in control.

The only thing that could be better than a pocket size projector is one that is integrated directly into a phone, and Samsung had one on display called the Anycall Show. The device uses Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, and the lens for the projector is on the top side of the handset. This phone, which should be available in South Korea soon, wasn’t much bulkier than an iPhone, and it displayed MPEG-4 videos with barely a hiccup. All we had to do was fire up the media player app and aim the Show at a small screen.

We’d love to see Samsung bring someting similar to market by the end of the year, as it could be a boon to presenters on the go and those who just want to watch video on something larger than a phone’s display. Check out the gallery and stay tuned for a video of these ambitious picos in action.