Unwired: The tiny screen problem

It's usually labelled 'Device Convergence' but perhaps we should call it by its proper name: 'Doing more stuff on fewer, cleverer toys'. Unwired's Richard Leyland explains...

It's a major battleground for technology vendors in both business and consumer electronics: printers, fax machines, copiers and scanners are converging into the multi-functional device (MFD).

The converged mobile phone has been a roaring success and the humble handset can now include a 5 megapixel camera, MP3 player and FM radio. The ultra-mobile PC is bridging the gap between smart phone and laptop. The video iPod is well established. The Sony Mylo is the handheld media player which your children covet, with wi-fi, Skype and instant messaging built in, reaching our shores during 2007. Apple has the IT world holding its breath braced for the possible arrival of the iPhone.

Advances in wireless technology, particularly the emergence of wi-fi and 3G, have provided added impetus to device convergence, as we seek the most convenient tools to carry with us. In the future, mobile WiMax promises to envelop whole cities in ultra-fast wireless coverage, moving us towards 'always-on' ubiquitous connectivity.

Wireless from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more…

A is for Antivirus
B is for Bluetooth
C is for The Cloud
D is for dotMobi
E is for Email
F is for FMC
G is for GPS
H is for HSDPA
I is for i-mode
J is for Japan Air
K is for Korea
L is for LBS
M is for M2M
N is for NFC
O is for Operating systems
P is for Pubs
Q is for QoS
R is for Roaming
S is for Satellite
T is for TV
U is for UMTS
V is for Virgin
W is for WiMax
X is for XDA
Y is for Yucca
Z is for Zigbee

As our converged devices have become smaller, tech vendors have been battling some weighty but very basic problems: computing power has been limited, battery life has been poor, keyboards have been small and difficult to use, and the screens as they get smaller have become hard to read and even harder to interact with.

So what is being done to address this screen size problem?

One solution is to switch to projection: throwing an image against whatever surfaces are available. Today's projectors are generally bulky, immobile boxes, inefficient at projecting over short distances. Projectors are becoming smaller, with a wide variety of the optimistically named 'pocket projectors' now available, but these are still totally unsuitable for true mobility.

Now the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany has created a video projector the size of a sugar cube, designed for mobile phones, PDAs and laptops. The miniature projector is just 16mm by 9mm.

Traditional projectors use millions of tiny mirrors to project the image but this prototype projector uses a single tiny mirror. A laser is fired at this mirror which vibrates at high frequency and reflects the laser, forming the image. At present the projector can only produce red and blue, as green laser diodes aren't yet small enough to fit the tiny housing, meaning that images still have a limited colour range.

A benefit of laser-based projection is that it can be used to project onto curved surfaces. True mobile working is an ad-hoc business, and any projector and connected device combination would need to project onto everyday surfaces - in coffee shops, on trains, etc. Technology developers Light Blue Optics recently announced a full-colour, hologram laser projector, which can correct its image on uneven surfaces. The company has developed highly complex algorithms which modify the hologram to achieve instant correction and a focused rectangular image at various distances without ever needing to adjust the optical path. The projector is currently the size of a match box, and the company predicts integration into portable devices within the next two years.

Another solution to the problem of tiny screens is, well, to develop a whole new device concept. BenQ recently announced its 'Black Box'.

Rather than being a phone with added bells and whistles, such as media player and email capability, this is a transparent device designed for easy and almost limitless connectivity. Dispensing with all the internal components and baggage of being a phone and computer, the Black Box is simply a means of accessing and displaying online applications.

This change frees up valuable real-estate inside the box, which can then be used for display technology. In addition, with no need for keys the whole fascia of the device can become a display, switching to phone presentation, or media player, or web browser, as required. As Google, salesforce.com and others continue driving us towards online applications, perhaps the future of the converged handheld device is as a portal to these applications.

Looking at the weird and wonderful, how about floating an image in the air, hologram style?

American technology developers IO2 Technology have come up with what they term 'Heliodisplay' technology. Essentially their device sucks in air, 'modifies' it, ejects that air and uses lasers to illuminate an image in this conditioned air. The nature of this modification is a commercial secret but the air is safe to breathe and speculation is that the device simply uses ionisation. The image can be up to 30 inches diagonally, and although slightly unstable due to air movement, remains remarkably clear, particularly for video projection.

The Heliodisplay device is about the size of a laptop at present but plans are afoot to shrink the form factor. Could it be integrated into other devices?

This then is the next frontier in device convergence: integrating a display suitable for our divergent needs and clumsy thumbs. While the Heliodisplay may never change our world, it's only a matter of time before our hand-held devices add sophisticated projection to the suite of functions we carry around in our pocket.