Mozilla Labs Presents Seabird Concept Phone

Several readers tipped news of a presentation on the Mozilla Labs blog about what they call Seabird, "a community-driven mobile phone concept." It's an imagining of what future phone tech could look like, using dual pico projectors and a Bluetooth/IR dongle to more easily interact with apps and web interfaces. "With mobile phone companies such as Samsung, LG and Motorola moving towards display applications for projectors, the technology remains open for expanding user interaction and input at the same time. The Seabird, on just a flat surface, enables netbook-quality interaction by working with the projector’s angular distortion to deliver interface, rather than content. With the benefit of a dock, each projector works independently and delivers laptop levels of efficiency."

Re:So this projector keyboard thing...

[Sonny Yatsen]

I think Thinkgeek sold a laser projected keyboard at one point (or maybe they still do). I think the common complaint is that there is zero tactile response (since you're essentially tapping on a bit of tabletop) and the key press detection isn't very good.

When can we get the hardware & software separa

[KarlIsNotMyName]

So with these things becoming more like tiny computers than cell phones, what will it take for us to be able to buy just the hardware and install the rest ourselves?

Re:So this projector keyboard thing...

[Anonymous Coward]

Not to mention that your fingers would constantly be blocking the projection, making it very difficult for anyone that needs to look at the keyboard.

what do projectors have to do with community?

[F34nor]

A phone that could route calls through it peers seems far more community driven than some new interface. I want to be able to call someone 10 feet away without a tower, I want tol be able tol reach a tower by routing through my neighbor or his femtocell, I want an idle cell that can see a network to be a tower. Oh yeah and I want people to know that if you buy your own hardware at&t can't disable the good shit.

Re:When can we get the hardware & software sep

[mark72005]

I'm looking forward to the day these devices can plug into my television, home theatre, and use my wireless keyboard by bluetooth - replacing a computer, gaming console, cable box, etc.

Perhaps it's most telling

[sv_libertarian]

That we are starting to move away from standalone devices for a single task. I read nearly all my email on my phone. By the time my laptop is booted up, I'm already partway through the night's email. The tiny keyboard is the limitation for me right now, I use my computer for anything requiring a reply of more than a few sentences. Meanwhile, my computer makes phone calls, my amateur radio sends data, my cell phone browses the web, I make a phone call with my handheld 2 meter radio, and on and on and on.

Personally, I'm thrilled to have a tiny computer in my pocket. And if I could somehow dock it, run it off of AC power, and connect a keyboard, mouse and larger display to it (and possibly external data storage) I wager a modern Android phone would handle nearly all of my communication. A good cellphone with a decent dock could be a very useful tool. The next ten years of mobile phone evolution excites me to no great end.