Samsung Galaxy Beam hands-on pictures and video

We’ve just had a chance to check out Samsung’s Galaxy Beam here in Barcelona, a phone that’s not very interesting at first blush — Android 2.3, 4-inch WVGA display, and a 1GHz dual-core processor — but the hook here is the presence of a built-in TI DLP HD projector at 15 lumens of brightness.

by Chris Ziegler

Feb 26, 2012, 1:57 PM UTC

Gallery Photo: Samsung Galaxy Beam closer hands-on

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We've just had a chance to check out Samsung's Galaxy Beam here in Barcelona, a phone that's not very interesting at first blush — Android 2.3, 4-inch WVGA display, and a 1GHz dual-core processor — but the hook here is the presence of a built-in TI DLP nHD (640 x 360) projector at 15 lumens of brightness. Samsung says that at 12.5mm, the Beam "isn't any thicker than any other phone in the world" — clearly that's not true, thanks in no small part to Samsung's own devices like the Galaxy S II, but this is easily the thinnest retail-ready projector phone we've played with. That thickness also permits a 2,000mAh battery, which is big for an ordinary 4-inch device without LTE support... but add in a projector, and it's another story. Samsung says they're aiming for over three hours of continuous projector use on a charge.

What struck us in playing with the Beam, though, is that it could pass as an “ordinary” phone that doesn’t have an integrated projector, no question about it. Projection isn’t necessarily better than in pico projecting phones of years past, though — it doesn’t work at all in a bright room, though you could pass it off for a quick slideshow among friends if you dim the lights.