Fancy a smartwatch with a second screen? Or a smartphone that comes with an in-built projector that turns any surface into a touch keyboard? These concept products may hit the shelves in the not so distant future – if Lenovo gets its way.
At the inaugural Lenovo Tech World event in Beijing this week, the Chinese PC giant showed off the Magic View smartwatch, an Android-based smartwatch with a second virtual display on the watch strap.
By offering a virtual display that projects an image 20 times larger than what you would see on a regular watch face, Lenovo says it is solving two issues with smartwatches today: small screen size and privacy.
During a quick hands-on with a prototype running Android Wear, I could view an image of the “Bird’s Nest”, China’s National Stadium, on the virtual display from different angles. The visual effect is close to what you would experience with a virtual headset.
While having a second screen is a novel idea, it’s hard to see how the idea will take off, simply because the virtual display is awkward – and unnatural – to use. You’ll need to raise your wrist to eye level, then position one eye close to the virtual display, akin to how you would look into a VR headset.
Lenovo’s Smart Cast is an easier sell. It’s essentially a smartphone with a built-in pico projector, infrared motion detector and high-performance algorithms that work together to convert any surface into a touch screen. For example, you can use the device to project a virtual keyboard on a table to work on documents or play games.
During a stage demo, Lenovo executives invited renowned Chinese classical pianist Lang Lang to play a full rendition of The Entertainer on a virtual keyboard while viewing sheet music displayed from the smartphone’s projector.
For fitness buffs, Lenovo demonstrated the idea of a smart shoe with sensors that track and analyse fitness information using big data. It can also map your running route and even provide directions to places – a boon to runners if the idea comes to fruition.
While Lenovo executives did not reveal when these concepts will hit the market, noting that there are still some technical challenges to overcome, consumers can look forward to Lenovo Cast, a US$49 streaming media device that streams content from mobile devices to a TV, using the Google Cast standard for Chrome and Android. Available from August, the 70mm wide device with 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity also supports Miracast and DLNA on Windows 8.1 and iOS devices.
The slew of products that Lenovo showed off this week signals Lenovo’s intention to improve its brand reputation as a tech innovator. Specifically, by moving into smartwatches and tapping on mega trends such as big data and Internet of Things (IoT) – the smart shoe is one of many IoT devices to come – Lenovo will be better able to refine and develop variants of these products for the enterprise market, which is expected to contribute a bigger share of its revenue in years to come.
