Projector phone: a study of using mobile phones with integrated projector for interaction with maps

First working prototypes of mobile phones with integrated pico projectors have already been demonstrated and it is expected that such projector phones will be sold within the next three years. Applications that require interaction with large amounts of information will benefit from the large projection and its high resolution. This paper analyses the advantages and disadvantages of an integrated projector when interacting with maps, and discusses findings useful for the development of mobile applications for projector phones. We report in particular the implementation of an application that uses either the screen of the mobile phone, the projection or a combination of both. These three options were compared in a user study in which the participants had to perform three different tasks with each option. The results provide clear evidence for the positive aspects of using a built-in projector, but also show some negative aspects related to text input.