Many of us remember when projectors were bulky things the size of a suitcase. Not anymore. Now they are phone sized. NTT Docomo is getting into the act too. They unveiled a prototype cell phone that doubles as a video projector and demonstrated it at CEATEC JAPAN 2008. The projector would give you a 20-inch image from a distance of about 80 centimeters and roughly 100 minutes of viewing time, which is enough to watch TV shows, podcasts and short films, if not 2 hour movies.

Red, green and blue LEDs are used as the light source. Pixel count is 480 × 320 (HVGA), and its luminance is 7.5lm. The power consumption is about 3W. The company plans to have a working version of the device ready for market in about three years. The way the tech in these projector phones is shaping up, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took half that time.

If you have ever worked with your laptop on an airplane, bus or in another crowded area you have probably glanced up to see someone nearby looking at whatever you are working on. This may not be a big deal if you are sitting at Starbucks writing, we all know you have to be seen writing to be a writer. However, if you are working on something confidential, nosey people can be a big problem.

Dell has addressed this problem for users of its Latitude E6400 notebook. Dell has announced that it is now offering software with the notebooks that reduces the viewing angles of the screen to keep people from the side from being able to read what is on the screen.

If you want a really big picture for your home theater, there are several ways to go about it. You can spend tens of thousands on a really big LCD of plasma TV screen. That’s far outside the capability of most of us. Or you can opt for a projector and get about 100-inches or more of home theater goodness.

Sanyo has announced a new projector called the PLV-Z3000 that would make for a great home theater. The Z3000 can throw an image 100-inches from 10 to 20 feet away from the screen. The projector also features the first utilization of 5:5 pull down that allows users to watch broadcast TV and more in movie theater quality.

When Moti Barzilay had to design something iconic in the Apple universe of products, something he felt was missing, the iShow was the end result. It’s a portable projector designed for Apple’s line of iPods, iPhones, and MacBooks.

The body turns on when you pull the two discs apart to reveal a pico projector and some ports. The projection system is LED based. Not very many details other then that, but since it’s a concept we can hope for HD resolution and the ability to roll itself around and take a charge by becoming a yo-yo and offering up some nice tricks with the string. That would be something to see Steve Jobs play with on stage.

If I had the space in my house, I would definitely prefer to have a projector set up rather than a normal HDTV. With a projector, you can get a giant size HD image that you can’t get with a LCD or plasma TV, short of spending $100k.

Sony has introduced a pair of new home theater projectors at CEDIA in Denver. One of the projectors is high-end and intended for custom installations. The custom install projector is called the VPL-VW70. It has a 60,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and 800 ANSI lumens of brightness. It can also use an optional Anamorphic lens to provide large screen sizes with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The VW70 will retail for $8,000.

Epson announced their latest addition to the MovieMate line up, the MovieMate 55. The 55 model will have the same WVGA (854 x 480) resolution as the 50 model, but with a brighter 1200 ANSI lumens. The MovieMate 55 will also have a built-in DVD player inside the projector, which will play standard DVDs and CDs. If you want HD quality you can connect an external player.

It’s able to display an image up to 150 inches, diagonally, from a projection distance of less than 15 feet, making it an ideal portable to take movie night with you wherever you go. It also sports 8 watt stereo speakers with Dolby 5.1 Digital DTS technology for the best sound possible. The MovieMate 55 is already available for purchase on the Epson website and will retail for $699.

It’s no R2-D2 projector clock, but Coby’s CR-A78 alarm clock is pretty cool in it’s own right, having kind of a 2001/Robot head with a laser look. In addition to the built-in projector that creates a virtual red LED time display on the targeted surface, the clock also has an AM/FM tuner, music alarm option, and a timer function. When I first saw this I thought the price would be expensive, but it’s only a very cheap $13.50. This one will fit right in with all of your other Futuristic looking gadgets.

Another day, another R2-D2 doo-dad to clutter up our lives. We’ll add this one to the droid dossier we’re compiling on the little guy. And for once, R2’s dome is intact and not decapitated. Just barter with some Jawas, bring this clock home to the moisture farm and have him project the time onto your wall.

At least having the time projected onto your wall makes it easy to see at night, plus you don’t have any shelf space left since your shelves have become a landing pad for Star Wars vehicles. The R2-D2 Projection Alarm Clock from Wesco Limited will be released in October and can now be pre-ordered. Should you be cleaning him one day with a screwdriver, just ignore any holographic messages he plays. Because the hot chick is probably your sister anyway and it will all lead to a lot of planet hopping, Jedi training and bad prequels. Wouldn’t you rather just kick back and have some blue milk?

So you’re tired of being the Dark Nerd and want to try your hand at being the Dark Knight. You’ve got your replica bat armor and you’re using an old beat up tool shed for a batcave. But you need a key ring for the keys to the Batmobile. You know, that old dodge dart you painted black.

Well, just hang your keys on this. It will project the Bat-Signal whenever you need it. Only $16. You probably should get a new hobby as I’m pretty sure your city doesn’t need a new crime fighter. You’ll end up locked up in Arkham Asylum and eventually become some other dudes villain.

Projectors are a great way to share something with lots of people at the same time, be it boring presentations for work or the latest Blu-ray film you have added to your collection. Samsung today announced a pair of new DLP projectors that are aimed at home and office use.

The Samsung A400 projector has a native WXGA resolution of 1280 x 768, a contrast ratio of 2500:1 and 2000 ANSI lumens of brightness. Connectivity options include RGB, HDMI, composite/component, S-video and monitor out. The A400 weighs 9.9 pounds and it includes a theater mode that optimizes color.

We all love our tiny devices, but what we trade off is larger screen size when watching videos. Here’s a nice compromise. Optoma’s Pico projector. It’s currently in the prototype phase, but Optoma plans to have a limited release in Europe this summer, followed by international availability in 2009.

It’s a projector for your cellphone or iPod, and can be used on anything of course. Whether it’s on a wall or some fat guys back, this device will have you covered. Because you wouldn’t want to not be entertained for even like ten minutes. Then you might have to interact with others.

There are lots of uses for projectors from home entertainment to business and class room use. Different projectors have different uses and prices can go from the low $600 range up to tens of thousands of dollars.

NEC has announced a pair of reasonably price projectors aimed at the business and education installation markets. The projectors are the NP905 and NP901W with 3000 lumens and 2000 lumens respectively of brightness. Both projectors also use Windows Network Projector functionality from Windows Vista.

How often have you wished you could bathe in the stars? You know, just lay back and cruise the cosmos in a tub full of hot water. What could be more relaxing? The bathtub planetarium sphere from Sega Toys let’s you do just that.

Just dim or turn out the lights and stars are projected everywhere. It will even project underwater scenes, even roses all over you and the room. One thing is for sure, Homestar knows how to set the mood so that you and your bath partner(If you have one) can get freaky. That is, if you have 7,000 yen to spare.

There are as many different uses for a projector as there are projectors on the market. From really big screen gaming to multimedia presentations projectors are good for work and play. Canon has announced a new hella expensive projector it claims to be the world’s first WUXGA LCOS projector.

The REALiS WUX10 has a resolution of 1920 x 1200, normally that resolution is seen only on 24-inch LCDs. Canon says the projector delivers the highest resolution of any of its projectors. The LCOS panel used in the WUX10 is only 0.71-inches making it the world’s smallest LCOS panel to achieve 1920 x 1200 resolution.

Though it likely won’t hold the title for long, Earth Trek has christened their new 90-805R projector the “world’s smallest”. It measures roughly 4 inches X 2 inches.

The device will give you a 22-inch diagonal image, though I have no idea from what distance. It sports an SD card slot and a 3.5 mm jack A/V input, built-in lithium battery good for 1-2 hours, MP4 player and built-in speaker. Nothing on price or a date yet, but expect it very soon. Not much else to see here, move along.