There are a few more tit bits of information that I have gathered from the various participants. These are essentially answers to one-on-one questions by the individual participants [and not part of the general presentation] and as such may account for inconsistency of some of the answers.
Financing:
Alex said there will most likely be another round of financing at some point.
Past Delays:
The past delays were not the fault of Microvision… but they were in securing the supply pipeline. Also, the move from prototype to mass production unit had some speed bumps…and that is not unexpected.
Embedded PicoP:
Considering the past delays and progress made to-date, an embedded PicoP projector for cell phones by this Christmas won’t happen… next Christmas, maybe! But, what is real is that this thing will move forward, on its own timetable, and it will succeed. However, there are many other embedded solutions [like in laptops] that will happen lot sooner. Expect to see embedded projectors in 2010, and eyewear is slated for 2011.
Product Launch:
The product launch strategy in the near term consists of three parts:
1. Private label marketing by third parties… where Microvision supplies the final product like SWOWwx to the OEMs and they slap on their own logo and use their own packaging. In such a scenario, the OEMs are expected to do their own warranty, service and support.
2. International distribution… presents a stronger market at present, as Asian and European countries take up new technology faster, and at better premiums prices than in the US. Also, the weak dollar makes American goods a compelling bargain to the foreigners.
3. Microvision sells from their website… The motivating factor here seems to be the margins and more importantly… to prove to the large OEM players that Microvision has its supply chain in place and can mass produce a reliable product for the humongous market.
Unique Color Controls:
There are 3 settings on the SHOWwx. One is “Inverse” for Power Point presentations, the second is “Natural” and the third is “Vibrant”…and my god is it vibrant! I couldn't take my eyes off the screen… it was like candy to the eyes. It is a color saturation that I haven't seen on even a TV. It is surreal. Its like the next dimension in color…you've got to see it. [A well deserved credit here to EarthKarma for his post]
Major Player in the Imaging Market Place:
“Laser steering projector is the bread and butter of Microvision for the foreseeable future and we are going to focus on the embedded PicoP to make the company profitable.” Believed to be the words of Alex Tokman?
“Microvision is positioning itself thru patents and IP to be a major player in the image community. He (Alex) said: “Microvision is not going to be a small component provider that can be marginalized by bigger players.”
Alex sees the company as an INTEL type company. He is going to make the company a player in the image industry. That explains the “Image by PicoP” as the slogan chosen for the world’s first laser based PicoP projector SHOWwx. Please read my post on…
Yes Virginia: “Its Intel Inside… but Image by PicoP.”
Here’s the link…
Alex mentioned a few things as to why he believes the product [PicoP display engine] is going to be successful…
• Uniqueness: nobody has lasers… nobody is doing what we are doing.Corning and Osram [the two supply chain partners] are not only improving the laser light technology, but performance and price as well. The next generation of Green Laser and PicoP display engine will bear this out.
• Thin Form Factor: nobody has our size and nobody can do HD images without getting bigger.
• Longer Battery life: up to 2 hours currently vs. 45 minutes for the competition.
• Infinite focus: nobody else has it.
• Larger screen experience: from 12” to 150” diagonal under certain ambient light conditions.
• Superior small font readability: we are the only one that has 10 pt readable font.
• Uniformity of brightness: Images are uniformly bright from edge to edge, unlike some other competitors.
• No rainbow effect.
• Twice the color gamut (range) of NTSC
• WVGA resolution with sharper image detail
Mass production of laser lights and PicoP display engine is expected to be in 2010.
That pretty much covers what I see in my notes. If I find something else, I’ll get back to you. Please feel free to comment.
Anant Goel
http://www.wealthbyoptions.com/
One is “Reverse” for Power Point presentations, the second is . . . "
ReplyDeleteIt's actually "Inverse" not "reverse."