NionCom is preparing an Android 2.3 mini-tablet reference design that includes an embedded pico projector, capable of displaying content on a wall or screen sized up to 100 inches diagonal. The “MemoryKick Vision” offers a 4.3-inch capacitive WVGA display, 4GB flash memory, a 500GB hard disk drive (HDD), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, plus HDMI in and out ports, according to a story in Picopros.

Picopros announced the original MemoryKick Vision reference design for NionCom back in January, and now has posted an "exclusive review" of an updated version of the reference design, which it says will form the basis of a commercial product due in the second half of the year. While the reference design has a 3.5-inch touchscreen, the final version is slated to move up to a 4.5-inch, 848 x 480 display, says the story.

MemoryKick Vision reference design; final version will have a larger 4.5-inch screen.
Source: PicoPros
(Click to enlarge)

The review is written in glowing marketing speak — Picopros' love for the mini-tablet shows no bounds — so we will avoid their opinions and focus on the stated specs and general observations.

NionCom is pitching the device as "a hub for multi-user content," including playing games or sharing an interactive presentation, says the story. Future apps are planned that will allow multiple players to use their own devices as gaming controllers, the publication adds.

The embedded pico projector can expand images to project at up to 100 inches, or about eight feet diagonally on a projector screen or wall, says the story. The YouTube video shown farther below, however, limits the projection demo to 14 inches diagonal.

MemoryKick Vision projecting to a 14-inch display
Source: PicoPros

The projector is said to be based on MicroVision's PicoP technology. PicoP combines a laser light source, combiner optics, and a MEMS scanning mirror, says MicroVision.

No processor or RAM specs are listed, but the tested reference design device is said to offer 4GB of internal flash memory, as well as a separate microSD memory card slot, expandable up to 64GB. As noted, the final version will offer a 500GB HDD.

The overview video shown farther below blocks out a brand name, suggesting the device itself is a modified version of a third-party Android smartphone or portable media player. One reader in the comments section under the story speculates that it might be a Samsung device. 

Samsung announced an Android-based I8250 phone (pictured) with a pico projector in early 2010. However, the design was slightly different, and it reportedly used Texas Instruments' DLP (digital light processing) projection technology, as does TI's Linux-ready Pico Projector Development Kit. The I8250, which was expected to ship in Europe and Asia last fall, offered a 3.7-inch WVGA "Super AMOLED" display, an eight-megapixel camera, and up to 16GB of internal memory.

The MemoryKick Vision is said to be further equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There's no cellular network card, but the tablet is capable of making Skype phone calls via Wi-Fi, says the story.

The device offers both a mini-HDMI-out port for mirroring content to an HDTV, as well as an HDMI-in port for hooking up a Blu-ray player or another device to project content, says Picopros. Other features are said to include a five-megapixel camera, a full size USB port, and accelerometers.

The Android 2.3-based firmware is designed to project anything you might see onscreen on either an HDTV or monitor via HDMI, or on a projection screen or other flat surface via the PicoP projector.

Otherwise, the device is like a large Android smartphone or mini-tablet, except without a cellular radio. It offers a web browser, Android Market, and all the other Gingerbread goodies. Also available is ThinkFree, which allows users to manage Microsoft Office documents, says the story.

NionCom also bundles the ImageAmmo 3D photo app, designed to spice up photos and presentations. In addition to acting as a standard photo viewer app, ImageAMMO allows the user to interact with images in a virtual three-dimensional environment. Image sets are presented as 3D shapes, and can be rotated as the user sees fit, and specific images can be expanded to full size, says Picopros.

Hardware overview of MemoryKick Vision on YouTube
Source: PicoPros
(Click to play)

Projection demo of MemoryKick Vision on YouTube
Source: PicoPros
(Click to play)

Availability

The MemoryKick Vision will be available in 2Q 2011, according to PicoPros. More information may be found in the PicoPros review.

More on the earlier, non-Android (and possibly Linux-based) MemoryKick Si portable media player and backup device may be found on NionCom's MemoryKick Si website.

---

This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.