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Projector
Phone Prototype Developed
2.22.2005
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| Start-up company National Telephone Product,
Inc. has come up with a novel embedded projector concept. |
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The idea is to build in a low-cost, alphanumeric projector into
the handset of an ordinary cordless phone. This would be used
to project a telephone number onto your hand or shirt sleeve.
Why do you want to do this? So you don't have to take the phone
away from your ear and interrupt a conversation when you get another
phone call. The phone would use the Caller ID function to project
the phone number on your free hand so you can see who is calling.
It might also be useful for displaying text messaging. Kind of
clever.
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National Telephone Product (NTP) reports that of the 121M households
in the United States, 63M make use of Caller ID, and in the US
portion of the world market, 20M new cordless phones are sold
each year, thus creating a high-volume potential market for the
concept.
The majority of the cordless phones sold in the US have a direct-view
display on the front of the handset to provide alphanumeric Caller
ID information. But, with an NTP Palm ID enabled handset, a tiny
projection lens would be positioned at the bottom of the phone
between the two battery charging connections. The projected image
would be about 2 inches wide at a distance of about 13 inches
from the phone. The image consists of two rows of alphanumeric
text, 12 characters each.
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NTP thinks this is a great idea especially
for teenage phone users. It estimates the projector would add about
$10 to $15 to the retail price of the phone, which might be okay
as phone manufacturers are struggling in a mature market to create
some product differentiation.
The company says its patents are pending, and it has not yet revealed
details about the type of light source and modulator it is using.
However, it is on its third-generation product and claims the display
is bright enough to be used in normal ambient lighting conditions.
Other planned products include a projector that can show photos,
and models that increase the size and brightness of the projected
images.
The company is looking for partners and customers.
NTP, info@nationaltelephoneproducts.com
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