A projector for cell phones

(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- Many phones can play just about any video you want as long as you're willing to watch it on a 3-inch LCD. But a supplier of wearable displays for the U.S. Army wants to change that.

In July, Redmond-based Microvision (Charts) inked a deal with Motorola (Charts, Fortune 500) to develop a built-in projector for mobile devices. The result: the PicoP, a gadget about the size of a Thin Mint that can project a high-resolution, television-screen-size image on any surface - lat or curved - from your phone.

The plug-in version, for smartphones, will arrive at the end of this year. Phones with embedded PicoPs should be available by 2009.

"Teens will be able to project movies and pictures," says Microvision CEO Alexander Tokman. "Business users can give the ultimate elevator-pitch presentation with their phone."

25 million phones now have the technology to support a projector. By the end of 2008, that number will double to 50 million.