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If you need to give a presentation from your laptop, your choices are simple, as projecting the image from the screen isn't difficult at all. But what if you need to demo something from your cell phone, smartphone or PDA screen? In that case, pick up Project-a-Phone, a device that makes it simple to show the contents of your handheld to a roomful of people.

Project-a-Phone is the only product from Project-a-Phone, Inc., and it can be found at www.projectaphone.com. It's sturdy, although it does have a homemade look about it. To use it, tilt its camera away from the stand and then unfold the stand itself to form an inverted "V" shape. Two clamps hold your handset or other handheld device securely on the front.

You'll need to install the included software before connecting it to your Windows 2000 or XP computer. Project-a-Phone displays images up to 800 x 600 pixels in resolution. At VGA (640 x 480 pixels), it delivers 30 frames per second video.

The Project-a-Phone works with just a USB cable connection; there's no power cord to bother with. Plug the Project-a-Phone into your computer and then launch the software. You'll instantly see the image from the Project-a-Phone's camera on your screen.

Its camera is on an extending arm, so you can adjust the distance up or down to where you get the best image. We wish it where more fully adjustable, though, so that we could tilt it back and forth to better center the screen.

The Project-a-Phone has two hardware controls: a button on top of the cam that lets you take screen shots and a focus dial below the camera.

Bundled software does even more, letting you record live video from the camera or take a series of screen shots (you can then view those shots from the software's browser tab). The software also lets you resize your image so that it completely fills the screen, or adjust zoom, brightness, and color saturation. The software is well laid out and a breeze to use.


Project-a-Phone software shows you whatever is on camera
and even lets you record it.

It's easy to see how the Project-a-Phone could be useful to anyone who regularly gives presentations. With cell phones and smarpthones doing taking on more functions nowadays, this is the perfect time for a device that makes them presentation-capable.

With the Project-a-Phone you can easily display your phone's screen on a desktop, laptop, or projector. The only drawback is that controlling your phone while it's being held with the Project-a-Phone isn't as easy as using your notebook while giving a presentation. You'll want to make sure your phone's backlight stays on, so your audience can see the material. That wasn't an option with the phone we tested, so the screen kept going dark.


You can blow the on-screen image up to fill your screen.

While a good first effort, we have a wish-list of things we'd like to see in the Project-a-Phone's second generation. The lens quality should be better for a device with this price tag. As is, the image doesn't look quite sharp or detailed enough. We'd also appreciate a built-in light to illuminate the phone's screen.

When not in use, the Project-a-Phone folds up small for easy carrying. The device weighs 1.2 pounds in its case. It sells for $199, and the site offers discounts for large purchases.


Project-a-Phone folds up small when not in use.