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The Beam is interesting as a proof of concept, but we don't see it blossoming into anything more than that at the present time. That's not to say this über-specific category doesn't have a future, but something as unique as a projector would likely find more success in a more premium phone.

Despite weak software, the Samsung Galaxy Beam's bright projector pushes boundaries, and strong smartphone features make it a worthy standalone device.

The Samsung Galaxy Beam is definitely one of the more interesting releases of 2012 so far. It's essentially an average, mid-range Android phone that boasts a built-in HD projector as its key feature. With a brightness of just 15 lumens, however, we can't possibly see this feature being used.

If you have a need for a projector that’s also a smartphone, or a smartphone that’s also a projector – this is your only real legitimate choice.

If you've come to this review simply because the Galaxy Beam is one of the smartphones that fits your "next smartphone" budget and the projector is not a must-have, then you should know that there are plenty of devices with more firepower that cost about the same.

All in all, just like in the case of the Nokia 808 PureView, the Beamer is in a category of its own - a niche device for enthusiasts - yet it carries the better Android OS, also doubling as a normal mid-range smartphone. Now off to phones with hologram capabilities, R&D!

If this is only the second generation of projector phones, there's a lot of hope for the segment in the future – make the output two or three times brighter and you'll have a really fun feature on your hands.

The Samsung Galaxy Beam may be a little quirky, but it's colourful design and projector skills certainly made it stand out. Many will struggle to find a scenario where they'd need to project a video onto a wall using their phone, but it's a interesting idea and we look forward to testing it in more...

The big question is, why on Earth would you want one? For impromptu business presentations, the brightness isn’t really good enough. It just isn’t practical to have to dim the lights and draw the curtains before you start. ... Still, nice try Samsung.

If it's mainly the projector bit you're interested in then you may think it's worth the money, but if you're primarily looking for a speedy, high-end phone and will only use the projector occasionally then it's probably best to look elsewhere.