Big things in Phones that didn't live up to the hype.

An interesting article. And some of the things mentioned did seem silly even at the time. Most interesting here is the commentary about the quality of the projector. The projector phones mentioned had things going against them in a big way. Poor resolution and focus wheel requirement. 

The Motorola Instashare seems to be getting some traction, and it still has poor resolution and a very touchy focus wheel.

Smart Cast hasn't been released yet. -- And Microvision has the ability to release a really good projector.

As far as not having any use... well, every phone has a camera -- to capture images. Projectors are for sharing images - and people like that a lot more than capturing them.

TechRadar -- More at the source.

1. Projector phones

Notable examples: Samsung Galaxy Beam and Galaxy Beam 2, Lenovo Smart Cast

This is possibly the best example of something that was made because it could be, not because it should be. How many people really want a sub-par projector bolted on the side of their phone?

OK, Powerpoint Pete would probably be happy not to have to take a laptop to his dull sales presentations, but the rest of us?

Projector phones came about because pico (ie, tiny) projectors were suddenly possible, so of course someone had to put one in a phone, in case that was the magic bullet that killed the iPhone.

Spoiler: it wasn’t.

When the inexplicable sequel to the first Galaxy Beam came out, a pico projector expert told us: “It's a bit of fun - when people first see pico projector phones, they say ‘Wow! That's really cool!’."

But the novelty wears off quickly – in fact, as soon as they see that they're not actually any good".

Nonetheless, they do reappear occasionally, usually in China (they’re making projector smartwatches now too).

The most promising reinvention of this tech was the Lenovo Smart Cast in 2015, which projected a touchscreen - in other words, you could actually interact with the projected image to play a virtual piano and other such gimmicks.

But until the projector quality improves and someone actually thinks of a use for these things, it looks like the writing’s on the wall for the poor old projector phone.

Samsung Galaxy S8

Tech Radar is a pretty good source, so posting from there.

Rumors are rumors. Treat them that way.

Given that previous upgrades caught fire, new features should be far more compelling.



TechRadar -- More at the source

AI upgrade

The same source also claims that both phones will use the Viv AI assistant, which Samsung recently bought, and it could prove a rival to Google Assistant, as it’s been built by some of the creators of Siri. 

Finally, and unsurprisingly, some versions of the phone (likely the US models) will apparently use a Snapdragon 830 processor, while other versions are said to use the Exynos 8895. But these are both top-end chips, so the phone should have plenty of power with either. 

If these rumors prove accurate, then coupled with other things we’ve heard, like the possibility of 6GB of RAM, an iris scanner, and even a built-in projector, the Samsung Galaxy S8 could be the phone to beat in 2017, and with an announcement rumored for February 26 we shouldn’t have too long to wait for it.

Samsung S8

Trying to know which which rumors to ignore is difficult. This one is from better sources than normal, so perhaps we should pay attention.

Samsung Galaxy S8 spec leak reveals 30MP camera and built-in projector

TechRadar  (More at the source)

We're likely still months away from the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8, but that hasn't stopped someone leaking a full spec list, complete with pricing details.

The leak, if accurate, points to a seriously impressive phone, with a 3.2GHz octa-core Snapdragon processor (likely the Snapdragon 830) and 6GB of RAM.

The display is said to be a 5.2-inch 2160 x 4096 one (up from 1440 x 2560 on the Samsung Galaxy S7), and the S8 will apparently have a 30MP rear camera with optical image stabilization, a 9MP front-facing one, a massive 4200mAh battery, a retina and fingerprint scanners, wireless and fast charging, a mini projector, 64GB or 128GB of storage and a microSD card slot.

YahooTech

Obtained by Tech Updates by way of Weibo, the Galaxy S8 is said to feature a 4K display, a massive 4,200-mAh battery and a whopping 30-megapixel camera. Plus, the spec list includes a built-in projector. That's a lot of tech to stuff into a flagship phone, which is expected to debut as early as February 2017.