According to Taiwanese website DigiTimes, Foxlink – a subsidiary of Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn – is developing micro-projectors that will be integrated into smartphones, including the iPhone, in the near future.

They claim they have inside information that suggests that partners including Nokia, Samsung and Apple all plan to launch handsets with built-in micro projectors by the end of this year.

Micro-projectors would mean that a smartphones visual content such as photos and video are not confined to the small screen on the handset and can be projected onto any flat, light surface.

It’s an exciting prospect although there will be many annoyed Apple-fans out there if their iPhone 3GSs become dated within the year if Apple releases a new micro-projector iPhone.

(via DigiTimes)