It’s an exciting time in The OOC (a.k.a. the world of Online-Offline Convergence), with smartphones, tablet computers, netbooks and other tech treats competing to be the next hot gadget. Futurists are burning plenty of bytes trying to figure out which devices will ultimately triumph in the screen wars, but we’d like to go out on a limb and suggest that it’s these very screens which might make all these gadgets intrinsically short-lived.
Blasphemy, you say? Ridiculous conjecture in the face of an Apple empire built on screens of varying sizes? For now, maybe. But in the not too distant future, we foresee our favorite little technology altering the gadget world in a BIG way.
Of course, we’re talking about projections.
I know, I know – you think our unabashed love for projections has blinded us to reality, but let’s think about two long-term, seemingly-contradictory trends in the technology world: consumers want smaller and smaller devices (such as the ever-shrinking iPod Shuffle) but bigger and bigger screens (ranging from ginormous televisions to the rise of e-readers over reading on smartphones). Without some Transformer-esque engineering, it’s impossible to satisfy both trends with a single device (and no one really wants to carry multiple devices), unless…
Unless you build projection capabilities (in which “screen” size can be as small or large as you prefer) into these devices! We’ve already told you about accessories that turn iPhones into movie projectors. Now, we’re seeing digital cameras hitting the market with built-in projection capabilities, and being promoted by the bizarrely engrossing video above of Japanese boy band The Helicopter Boyz. (Man, things really are different over there.) We’re calling it now: within a few years, the war of screen sizes will be as quaint as the VHS vs Betamax debates. Just you wait and see.
So, what does this mean for you right now? For most of us, not a whole lot, since these devices are going to take a little while to reach critical mass. (Although some folks are even more bullish then we are on the prospects for “micro projection.”) But, if you’re a brand that lives on the cutting-edge, there’s an opportunity to really blow the minds of tech crowds by embracing micro projection now, especially since the aformentioned devices aren’t astronomically expensive (the Nikon camera will run you about as much as a high end iPod Touch). And, as brands continue to jump headfirst into the smartphone app space, there’s a real opportunity to break through the clutter for anyone who’s willing to design with projection in mind.
