“In an age in which the latest movies can be watched on your iPad or even iPhone, it’s questionable exactly what the point of going to an actual movie theater is. Unless you’re a fan of seeing movies projected, that is,” Luke Dormehl reports for Cult of Mac. “Well, soon Apple may be set to disrupt Hollywood in that area too — at least if you believe a patent published on Tuesday.
“Describing a Video Delivery System Using Tablet Computer and Detachable Micro Projectors, the application asserts that future iPads may feature one or two detachable projectors, which users would clip onto (or otherwise sync with) their iOS devices to turn their front rooms, office walls, or even the back of a train seat into a miniature screening room,” Dormehl reports. “It would even be possible to increase the screen size, as the patent goes on to explain how the two projectors could be positioned to project two adjacent screens that would each show a portion of the the bigger picture.”
Read more, and see Apple’s patent application illustrations, in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]
projection is logistical nonsense for handheld devices.
Not enough lumens or picture fidelity.
Logistics alone, first it has to be stationary, then it has to be dark, then you have to have a screen…unless it’s holography, projection for a handheld devices is nonsense.
You are correct suh! More novelty than useful.
lol, forgot there can be no fat jackasses between the projector and the screen, totally eclipsing the image when “down in front” riots ensue.
Been planning on this anyway!
I have a nice new deck in the backyard, with the side of the garage available to put a screen of some sort up on. Add a mini projector, sound is a given around my house, and we’re ready for a big end of summer bash.
Will be interesting to see how Apple wants me to do it, though. 🙂
Kind of an odd patent… It specifies that the one or more “projectors” are “detached” from the tablet computer. It seems impractical to design a tablet that has the weight, volume, and energy requirement of projectors.
If would make more sense if the “tablet” in the patent was a “stand-in” for a future Apple TV, to help disguise the real purpose of the patent. Notice that the first step of the description is to transfer the media file to the projector. If the “projector” is an Apple TV, that could describe selecting a movie to watch on your iPad (or iPhone) and making it available (cached) directly on the Apple TV’s local storage.
Then, the Apple TV is actually the projector that is physically “detached” (not connected to) your iPad (or iPhone). An Apple TV has unlimited power from a wall outlet and lesser constraints on weight and volume.
There’s obviously some people that have no idea what a home theater is.
Frivolous patent filing. Companies file patents on just about anything including the kitchen sink.
Does anyone know how long the ability to post comments on this thread is likely to last?
JP, what color is your kitchen sink? White is probably preferred for projected images, and the sink should be empty. 🙂