Samsung Galaxy Beam - Big Screen In Your Pocket

At a glance

·         Display: 4-inch/ 480 x 800 pixels

·         Camera: 5 Megapixels / autofocus / LED flash

·         Battery: 2000mAh

·         Talk Time: Up to 9 hours and 40 mins (3G)

·         Price: $648

First seen at Mobile World Congress 2012, and later at the Samsung South East Asia Oceania Forum 2012, the refreshed Samsung Galaxy Beam is finally here. Its predecessor, the older Samsung Galaxy Beam, first made headlines two years back, condensing pico-projector features into the mobile phone. So what's new?

Samsung Galaxy Beam

When the first Beam was introduced, it was criticized for being overly bulky and clunky. The пеw Beam seeks to address this issue with а smaller body. However, at 12.5mm thick апd 145g in weight, it's still thicker and heavier than most modern smartphones, given the built-in projector hardware that must be squeezed in.

On the other hand, there's no doubt about its general performance; it ran apps smoothly, internet browsing was speedy, and the user interface was responsive. Nonetheless, some might be turned off by the discovery that the Beam runs оп Android 2.3, though ап Android 4.0 update is iп the works for Q4 2012.

The new Beam's projector function did show an improvement over the old. Quick Pad, а feature that allows the user to bring up а cursor-shaped pointer or type text, and Visual Presenter option , another feature that allows images or videos to be captured via the cameras lens and projected real-time, reappear on the new Galaxy Beam. The Beam also gets а boost with а higher output level of 15 lumens, up from its predecessor's 9.5 lumens. This makes it easier to discern projections in difficult lighting, such as with brightly-lit places.

The Beam comes with the capability to focus/rotate, as well as turning the projector into а torchlight.

Of course, the Beam is still far from matching up with dedicated projectors, as Samsung rates the Beam to only display images up to so inches, at а resolution of 640 х 360 pixels. Our test findings reveal the best projection is achieved if the output size is kept at no larger than 40 inches across.

The asking price is quite steep, given that you can get а slimmer smartphone with better hardware for that much (but obviously without the built-in Pico-projector) on the other hand, the built-in projector would certainly appeal to businessmen as well as those working in sales, as you can now conduct presentations without having to be confined to а meeting room.