Revolutionary keyboard is as real as it gets...

http://www.symbian-freak.com/images/news/05/07/vkbtm.jpg (http://www.symbian-freak.com/news/0705/btvkt.htm)

The Virtual Keyboard (VKB) has reached market in the UK and the world will be watching over the coming months to see how this new and potentially very important device is adopted. The VKB could revolutionise the way that PDAs and Smartphones are used, exploiting much of the unused computing power of such mobile devices, thushelping users to work more effectively on the move.
The cigarette-lighter-sized VKB uses laser and infrared technology to project a full-size QWERTY keyboard onto any flat surface for almost any palmtop comp.. ...

Read more:
BTVKB a Real Taste of Virtual Reality - full story (http://www.symbian-freak.com/news/0705/btvkb.htm)

Sincerely yours,
Apoc
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The technology is probably more than 5 years old (maybe closer to 10; I think I first came across it in late 90's). Siemens demonstrated it with the SX1 some time ago (I think it was 2004 CeBiT; didn't do any web searches to check).

It may be a workable idea, but it'll still take a couple years to start picking up, if it ever does.

Cost, power consumption, usability/practicality reasons are the prohibiting factors. E.g., it needs a flat surface and some kind of a stand (either separately or built-in to the phone), so you can't use it anywhere easily. And in the SX1 case you also need to carry around a separate laser module, too (as it is not built-in to the phone).