A chip which will allow mobile owners to project movies from their phones is being showcased at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Texas Instruments, and specifically its DLP brand, are now making new imaging chipsets to support "pico-projection" in a new class of handheld and mobile projection products.

The DLP Pico chipset includes an imaging chip and a Texas Instruments OMAP processor (one of two) which will be available in the second half of 2008.

The DPP1500 processor is targeted at embedded applications for handheld devices, while the second processor - the DDP1505 will serve the standalone handheld companion market.

The DLP Pico solution delivers an aperture ratio of more than 92%, which means tens of thousands of pixel elements, switching speeds of less than 20 microseconds, and DarkChip native contrast ratio process technology.

Along with the DLP pico-projector, which is currently only a prototype, they are claimed to be able to allow mobile users to project content from their phones.

"Transforming and improving the way content is experienced from mobile devices has taken a giant step forward with the announcement of production availability of DLP Pico chipset," said Frank J. Moizio, business manager, emerging markets for Texas Instruments's DLP Front Projection.

"We expect projection within handset devices to start appearing in 2009, in a market where significant volumes are expected over the next five years", added Bill Coggshall, founder of independent projector market research experts Pacific Media Associates.

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