World's first projector cellphone is also an iPhone clone, in Rome

Ok, not Rome, but somewhere in China. But Shenzhen wouldn't have rhymed now would it? Anyway, you're looking at what's scheduled to be the world's first projector phone from ChinaKing (aka, CKing). The bits of information we scraped off the machine translated text reveals an LCoS-based projector that relies upon a LED light source and manual focus adjustment. This brick (and we mean brick) is supposedly capable of projecting a 30-inch, 640 x 480 pixel image for up to 2-hours at a time. 2-hours you say, not possible! Perhaps you forgot about the 666 day battery. Nah. A couple more pics after the break.

[Argot @ Jun 13th 2008 5:35AM]

Yeah, that do kind of look like an iphone. Big and ugly.

[iEye @ Jun 13th 2008 9:46AM]

So they come out with a phone that has a true REVOLUTIONARY feature, a pico projector, and they go and F things up be ruining it with the iPhone icons and effects, not to mention cheap chrome plastic trim...

How do they expect anyone to take them seriously...

[Coolone3000 @ Jun 13th 2008 11:00AM]

"That do look like an iPhone" grammar please

[vdogg89 @ Jun 13th 2008 5:32PM]

yes argot that do look ugly

[DESTOS @ Jun 13th 2008 5:43AM]

So...Can you press the large wall buttons at least?

[chickenator @ Jun 13th 2008 5:49AM]

yes u can pinch on the wall. it's wall-t-touch.

[matt @ Jun 13th 2008 9:31AM]

speaking of those beautiful icons, why in God's name did they steal Installer.app's icon? they should be sued!

[MearWolf @ Jun 13th 2008 5:49AM]

it's not a fracking iphon clone because it looks nothing like an iphone, it's just the interface they badly coppied

[Deed @ Jun 13th 2008 5:58AM]

That's pretty much the point, yeah.

FUCK YEAH CKING

[Robbie Lucas @ Jun 13th 2008 6:38AM]

not fair to call anything with detailed Icons - clone - The closest clone i have seen is the w99i wiphone with winmo 6.0 and WIFI also, from Rome i suppose - http://www.wholesaleg8.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1110&HS=1

[Ed @ Jun 13th 2008 6:58AM]

Awwww, come on, give it some credit... It's even got an installer.app icon!

[ahdok @ Jun 13th 2008 7:00AM]

I'd say if it's using the actual same icons from the iPhone, then it's a clone.

[bondsbw @ Jun 13th 2008 7:01AM]

So, what would it take to call something a clone?

So, what if a computer OS has a black glassy task bar, with a circular Start button with the Microsoft Windows logo, icons that are identical to those in Vista, an identical Aero glass effect on windows (including min/max/close buttons), and a faded-black sidebar with gadgets?

Would you not call that a Vista clone? What if it used a purely touch-screen interface instead of keyboard/mouse? My example is on the same lines as calling the device in the original post a clone.

[Pepsipoint @ Jun 13th 2008 9:51AM]

frack? you watch too much Battlestar Galactica

[pwkalt1 @ Jun 14th 2008 10:52AM]

@Pepsipoint

There's no such thing as "too much Battlestar Galactica"

[nak @ Jun 13th 2008 5:58AM]

Ugg! Have you ever seen uglier hands in an Asian press shot?

[Bas @ Jun 13th 2008 6:03AM]

Clone, and Rome don't really rhyme, either.

[lance @ Jun 13th 2008 6:28AM]

eminem would thunk so

[Deed @ Jun 13th 2008 9:18AM]

Partial rhyme; been in use and accepted for centuries or something.

[teej @ Jun 13th 2008 10:31AM]

i didn't really even notice the rhyme until he pointed it out ?:-O

[Bas @ Jun 13th 2008 11:29AM]

@Deed: No, it's not a partial rhyme, nor is it accepted or in use for centuries. -One is not the same sound as -ome. This isn't rocket science, people.

@teej: I was looking for it too, until I realised that he meant phone and rome. The reason I couldn't find the rhyme is that there isn't one.

[Sean @ Jun 13th 2008 6:08AM]

it's out of juice and no signal.

[sjs2626 @ Jun 13th 2008 5:36PM]

i was waiting for someone to say that about the battery!

[Cunthor @ Jun 13th 2008 6:11AM]

Does anyone else see the correlation between Smurf's use of the word 'smurf' and Engadget's use of 'iphone'??

[lance @ Jun 13th 2008 6:28AM]

Snarf! (Pinky)

[KarlW @ Jun 13th 2008 7:00AM]

Yea, very witty. We should totally give you a badge next to your name or something.

Because, looking at that shot at the top, this thing doesn't look at all like an iPhone. The UI is entirely different. In fact, they shouldn't have posted at all about the world's first projector phone, just because it looks like an iPhone.

Seriously, can you Apple-Engadget hating fruitcackes go somewhere else?

[rock99rock @ Jun 13th 2008 10:50AM]

@KarlW

See thats the thing, its just Engadget. Not Apple-Engadget. Maybe it is and they just havent updated the banners yet. I remember 2-3 years ago when this site was not owned by Steve. They used to have all sorts of cool news. But I get it, $ talks.

[rock99rock @ Jun 13th 2008 1:16PM]

"Lowlhoalwal" (removes dick from mouth) "Damn! i couldnt breathe with that thing in there!"

Seriosly though, very original. Props.

[Gizmo @ Jun 13th 2008 6:14AM]

I suspect you'll be able to watch a couple of music videos before it craps out. But as a concept, it's hot.

Instead of your mates crowding around you to watch a tiny video on your phone, you can show your happy slapping vids to the whole class.

[Sasha @ Jun 13th 2008 9:49AM]

I agree, it's a cool start and a great concept, i'll be curious to see where this goes

[ahdok @ Jun 13th 2008 6:44AM]

It has the iPhone intention in Shenzhen?

[Skry @ Jun 13th 2008 7:29AM]

What the hell that looks nothing like the Iphone, and the Iphone was definitely not the first phone to use that interface, I've been using something very similar on my sony erricson from atleast a year before the Iphone and it will go back further then that. Stop calling Iphone clone at every new phone to come to market when most features from the Iphone were copied from earlier phones themselves.

[conor @ Jun 13th 2008 7:54AM]

I am not by any mEANS AN APPLE FANBOY BUT, WHAT PHone you talking bout?????????????????????

[Das Boot @ Jun 13th 2008 8:50AM]

I totally agree with you (you can read my other postings about the gayness that the iphone is). iPhone wasnt anything new in terms of technology. There were other phones doing similar things, the only thing that was different about the iPhone was that Steve Jobs "invented" it and bc alot of apple fanboys just want anything that has the apple logo on the back, they think anything that doesnt have it and seems similar to the iPhone is a clone. Get over yourselfs people, the iphone isnt all that great. Can you text or call someone while you drive? i dont think so. Can you voice dial? i dont think so. OK, so maybe i hate the iPhone just bc people think its the shit, but i do like apples ipods, but i could be fine with something else like a zune or a CD player; you gotta love the old school.


in conclusion, please stop calling anything that resembles an iPhone, a clone.




p.s. is anyone selling their first generation iphone, my grandma wants one,errrah, yeah my grandma......

[David MacMillan @ Jun 13th 2008 9:23AM]

Oh, seriously Das Boot - quit bitching.

If you noticed, the article is about the WORLD'S FIRST projector cellphone. They've mostly stopped posting about iPhone clones unless there is something notable about them; this would be notable even if it wasn't an iWannabe.

It IS a clone, simply on the basis that the factory firmware used Apple-designed icons. If you use Apple-designed icons on your phone, it's an iPhone clone. I don't care if you have a BB Pearl...if you stoop so low as to mod it to use the iPhone's icons, you've made it an iPhone clone (though not an official one, since the factory didn't make it that way). Is that somehow difficult for you to admit? If so, there are some good counselors that I can recommend - they've done wonders for a friend of mine.

"Get over yourselfs [sic] people, the iphone isnt all that great. Can you text or call someone while you drive? i dont think so."

Thankfully what you think doesn't dictate reality. Yes, you can text or call someone while you drive. It's not that hard. Not at all.

"in conclusion, please stop calling anything that resembles an iPhone, a clone."

Stop lashing out blindly whenever someone mentions a Cupertino product.

[teej @ Jun 13th 2008 10:33AM]

Das Boot,
Engadget does it...not us.

[Coolone3000 @ Jun 13th 2008 11:03AM]

Das Boot is a tool

[r3n @ Jun 13th 2008 7:57AM]

Wow...these comments have eventually filtered down to contain nothing about the original Engadget article. (Remember the World's first projector cellphone?)

I agree with Gizmo, as a world's first "projector cellphone" concept/product - it's great, and certainly captures the whole idea about users being able to "share" their multimedia content (read: life) with others.

Give it a few revisions to have those kinks worked out of the device and it'll be great.

So go on, it's time the big manufacturers start copying these "copiers".

And if we still want to ramble on about how this phone looks like some other phone that's been made before - I think the back of the phone is a copy of the Motorola E368 (go check).

[Wolfticket @ Jun 13th 2008 7:56AM]

No matter how craptastic the implementation is, the fact it exist at all is pretty exciting for the future of micro projecting devices oh my.

[neofolklore @ Jun 13th 2008 8:30AM]

FUCK YEAH CKING

now if everyone replies and says the same thing, it'll catch on and start to be funny

[directive0 @ Jun 13th 2008 8:52AM]

Before you all shit bricks, yes, this is an iPhone clone. The case design is an obvious homage, and the interface is just a straight rip off. Yes it has a full keypad and buttons, no it doesn't mean it's not a clone. No this doesn't mean any phone with a silver trimmed bezel or a touchscreen is an iPhone clone, but this is obviously INTENDED to look like an iPhone. Deal with it.

[David MacMillan @ Jun 13th 2008 9:26AM]

Okay...this is totally cool.

Yeah, it's stupid that they did it in an iPhone clone. Maybe all the Chinese phones have to be iPhone clones now becuase of its popularity...I really don't know and I really don't give a crap. But a projector phone? Not on paper, but in reality? That's a benchmark.

Seriously...give credit where credit is due. This might be a crappy brick phone, but it can friggin' project video on the friggin' wall!

[calvinki @ Jun 13th 2008 11:00AM]

I totally agree! Remember the size of the first cell phone? This thing is awesome! I guess they spent all their money on developing the hadware and left nothing for the UI design.

[John M @ Jun 13th 2008 9:47AM]

China King! They make good General Tso's Chicken

[calvinki @ Jun 13th 2008 11:02AM]

you are SO funny!

[shimmy shimmy yah @ Jun 13th 2008 9:52AM]

The old radiation king

[Don @ Jun 13th 2008 10:31AM]

Did anyone happen to see the projector on this phone? Leave iPhone out of it for crying out loud. Also, this phone has a keypad never saw an iph*ne with one of those. This damn site is so biased...don't know why I keep coming back. Fuck all you closed minded fandorks.

....waiting for a low rank for speaking the truth.

[Cal @ Jun 13th 2008 10:58AM]

Looks like an improvement on the iPhone to me, tactility ftw.

[Y00. @ Jun 13th 2008 11:48AM]

What's the deal with the two wires?

[couchpundit @ Jun 13th 2008 11:54AM]

Heh--see the battery level? It probably stays that way hence the wires!