Microvision: Open Letter to Microvision CEO Alex Tokman

For a company that launched laser based SHOWwx in September 2009, and announced the availability of the hottest consumer electronic product of this decade, your management team is awfully quiet on all fronts of news with no visible signs of product promotions, marketing or sales. Granted, the backorders and future product introductions do count; but then again who knows for sure what the future would bring, and if the delivery would be made at profitable terms.

Market does not like the lack of any significant news for extended periods and reacts by selling [and short selling] the Microvision stock. Just over the last one week, the stock price has dropped by 30% [down from $3.60 to $2.64]. This kind of price drop, it seems, has become a norm for Microvision stock after every Qtr earnings CC or the Annual Share Holders meeting.

Lack of news; or lack of any visible signs of product promotion, marketing, or sales does not build confidence in Microvision business model… and as a result, more and more investors [and supporters] abandon the MVIS stock every time there is carnage in its market price.

I don’t know if you realize how important the Microvision investors are to the well being, survival, and future prosperity of your [our] company?

Think about this…

At this early stage of the game, your first wave of prospective customers will be the Microvision investors [their family & friends], employees, vendors, hot leads from trade shows, and a few live ones from the ROV customer base. That’s your “hot” prospective customer base that you can easily tap for “placing the sensors in the ground”.

There are over 1,000 investors of MVIS stock that track the company’s news like a hawk on a daily basis. Each one of us [investors] has at least 200 people in our center of influence. If you do the math and add-up all the numbers you get over 200,000 people that would love to provide comments [and feed back] and be part of this paradigm changing technology at this early stage.

President-elect Obama used the Internet to reach out to millions [and continues to do so to this day] in a very short period of time and raised over $1billion in donations for his Presidential election. If Obama can evangelize his “Change We Need” slogan, then why can’t Microvision do the same with its “PicoP Green Machine” slogan? Let’s face it… sooner or later Microvision will have a HD PicoP Projector/TV that could provide large screen HDTV experience to a billion people in energy starved China and India. In the U.S. and Europe, it could easily replace millions of power hungry LCD/Plasma TVs in every room.

Investors need more frequent news on product developments; and also need to see visible signs of activity in promotions, marketing and sales… no matter how small. It keeps us interested and engaged. Share more information with us [Microvision investors] and make us part of your viral marketing strategy. It costs you nothing and results could be 200,000 times better than what an expensive team of executives with fancy titles would bring to the table.

For a moment think Apple…
To succeed like Apple, companies need to understand more deeply the consumer they are targeting. Apple recognizes that it can't have everyone as its customer. It is willing to alienate some segments by appealing to a strong core of people that sociologists refer to as the Cultural Creatives. These are the people who wait in line overnight for the latest iPod, iPhone, or the iPad. Focusing on the Cultural Creatives in turn attracts followers who might not otherwise trust the brand.

[The concept is presented in the book The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World (2000), where the authors claim to have found that 50 million adult Americans who can now be identified as belonging to this group. They estimated that there were an additional 80 to 90 million Cultural Creatives in Europe as of 2000.]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Creatives

Observe the next 10 people you see on the street with an iPod and ask your self how many of them represent the Cultural Creatives featured in Apple's advertising.

One, may be two?

Address your core audience… and the rest will follow. That's how you sell 10 million iPods in one quarter.

In the hands of an artful company like Apple, design is the vehicle for driving meaningful, relevant experiences that are authentic to the brand. It's not about paring product lines or making cool stuff. Done right, design can add value to the bottom line and the brand. However, design done right goes beyond the appearance and behavior of the object itself. It takes the entire product ecosystem into consideration. Design done right sees technology as an enabler, not just the solution.

Apple creates holistic experiences that inspire customers, strategic partners like accessory manufacturers, and content providers to build up the platform. Apple understands: “It's not about market share. It's about mind share.”

There are two ways to reach this group of prospective Microvision customers... the first is by more frequent e-mails… and the second is more organized, like the formation of “PicoP Green Machine User’s Group”. With that as a means to reach out and touch, you could hold the interest and engage your core Cultural Creatives… in exchange for latest news or sneak-peak at the technology that could save the Planet Earth.

You know what I mean? You get the idea!

It doesn’t cost you anything and it can build your e-mail list very quickly. Think “Obama” every time you want to reach out and touch millions in a hurry.

The foresight to go live with your Blog “The Diaplayground” was an excellent idea in this internet driven world… and the timing could not be any better. Perfect stroke of genius!

However, there is total lack of response to visitor posts at your Blog site… and that is the second issue.

I expect customers, investors, vendors and competitors to dominate the ranks of visitors that lurk The Displayground.

As investors, we are a fickle bunch and our Blog posts tend to be skewed towards topics that effect our financial investment in Microvision. We tend to be long term investors but the current volatility can be devastating… and as such, we doubt our good judgment from time to time. Sometimes our questions may be direct, inquiring, frustrating, out-of-line, etc. Some of us, at times, can’t say what we mean or mean what we say. However, we mean no disrespect, malice or harm. Now, with your corporate governance legal frame work in place, your team may or may not respond to [or even publish] our comments from time to time. We would understand your position in such a situation. However, there are ways to answer a comment, without violating legal rules and regulations, and still maintain the flow of dialog with the Blog participant.

I guess it all goes back to: “the beginning of openness and sharing of the truth with integrity and trust.”

Openness and sharing truth with integrity are important to investors… both large and small.

Anant Goel

PS: "Strive for simplicity, innovation, human-centered interaction, visual interest, and efficiency." This is the calling card for all businesses for the future.

Microvision: SHOWwx Laser PicoP Projector Launched in the US

Press Release
Source: Microvision, Inc.
Monday March 8, 2010, 6:30 am EST

Microvision SHOWWX Laser Pico Projector Available for Sale to U.S. Customers

Special Limited Edition Bundle Available Today

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Microvision, Inc. (NASDAQ: MVIS), a leading developer of ultra-miniature projection display products announced today the opening of its web store for U.S. customers for the SHOWWX™ laser pico projector. Microvision is introducing two product offerings in the U.S. -- the Standard Edition SHOWWX and the Limited Edition SHOWWX promotional bundle.

Web Store Opens for U.S. Sales of the Standard Edition SHOWWX on March 24

Microvision plans to begin taking on-line orders through its web store at 12 noon, EST, starting on March 24th for its award-winning SHOWWX laser pico projector. The "Made for iPod®" SHOWWX laser pico projector Standard Edition comes with accessories and an optional VGA dock to connect to a variety of mobile devices. The iPhone®-sized Standard Edition is priced at $549.

Special One Time Limited Edition SHOWWX Bundle Promotion Begins Today

To celebrate the introduction of the world’s first laser pico projector based on Microvision’s PicoP® technology in the United States, Microvision is offering U.S. customers a one-time opportunity to purchase a special Limited Edition SHOWWX bundle. The Limited Edition SHOWWX bundle is for the technology enthusiast and ultra-mobile media connoisseur. This special bundle comes with a personalized splash screen bearing the name of its owner, SHOWWX with 'Limited Edition' insignia, certificate of authenticity and a SHOWWX VGA dock plus other accessories not included with the Standard Edition. The Microvision web store with details about the Limited Edition SHOWWX bundle will open starting today at 12 noon, EST, www.microvision.com/showwx. The SHOWWX Limited Edition bundle is priced at $999.

The SHOWWX is the world’s first laser-based pico projector that delivers premium image quality generated by Microvision's PicoP® laser projection technology. Features include a native resolution of WVGA (848 X 480), ultra-simple plug-and-play use, fiddle-free infinite focus, very high-contrast ratio, and bright vivid colors generated from ultra-miniature laser light sources. Users simply connect the SHOWWX to any mobile device with TV or VGA out (iPod, laptop, etc.) and project DVD-quality images from a mobile device, up to 200” across, depending on the ambient light.

*****

Here’s the link…
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100308005609&newsLang=en

Microvision’s concept of selling “Limited Edition” for much higher margins is a stroke of genius.

First, the difference between the cost of Limited Edition [at $999] and the Commercial Edition [at $549] is only three hundred dollars… after you back out the cost of additional features and accessories bundled with the Limited Edition SHOWwx laser PicoP projector.

For extra three hundred dollars, you get the SHOWwx laser projector weeks sooner than the Commercial Edition product. That in itself is worth the extra three hundred dollars to someone that must have access to the competing product [from Microvision]… because few weeks matter a lot in a high profile marketplace when billions in market share are at stake.

In other words, the targeted customer for the higher priced Limited Edition is not you and me─ the cost conscious consumer, but it’s the deep pocketed competition and supply chain partners of Microvision. And then of course there will be the foreigners loaded with cheap US dollars, MVIS investors, tech media companies, consultants and sales executives with laptops, and the basket full of tech junkies. To this list you can also add thousands of tech connoisseurs worldwide.

Here’s why it is such a brilliant idea…

• With so much anticipation building over the last 3 years; in and around the Microvision supply chain partners that they would be the first ones who would use cheap US dollars to get their hands on the Limited Edition… as soon as they can get it… and not weeks later, just for the sake of saving three hundred dollars.

• Microvision competition will jump on the opportunity to buy one “pronto” to take it apart to see what it is that would become their worst nightmare in the near future. If you are a smart competitor [to Microvision] you would want to see your competition’s product right away… and not weeks later, just for the sake of saving three hundred dollars when there are billions at stake.

Limited Edition at $999 will be a huge success… a sell out.

Most of the buyers [so it seems] are the competition, the supply chain partners of Microvision, the foreigners loaded with cheap US dollars, and then there are many MVIS investors, some from the tech media companies, consultants and sales executives, and tech junkies worldwide.

Sales are brisk and picking-up momentum.

How long does it take to sell-off 500 Limited Edition units… really?

 After the earnings conference call, we expect to hear additional good news shortly… like in weeks, in the words of Alex Tokman.

Then there is additional good news in the offing… like in couple of short months.

Anant Goel
http://www.wealthbyoptions.com/

Microvision: Pico Projector Commercial Ads

While reading news from this morning about Microvision’s pricing of 3.3 million additional shares, I ran into this article…

Microvision release range of Pico-projector Ads for SHOWwx
By Ben Robinson on Thursday, November 26th, 2009 at 2:23 PM PST In Accessories, The Digital Life

Microvision, which is a company that makes Pico-projectors, has released a series of Ads for it’s Show WX product on YouTube , covering a wide variety of social situations – even including two ladies who are out on the town!

In case you are thinking ‘WTF?’, Pico-projectors are portable projector units, that are touted as being the next big thing in Mobile – literally INside them! I’m not so sure if that’s going to happen on a wider scale as it bulks out the mobile device – but I can definitely see the allure of a small projector, IF it produces good quality. Microvision is one of the leaders in that field.

But enough of that – let’s check out some Ads – one embed below, and then some links for you:

Continues with links to five ads…

*****

Here’s the link…
http://www.intomobile.com/2009/11/26/microvision-release-range-of-pico-projector-ads-for-show-wx.html

I looked at those ads and my first reaction was: “these are over two years old and someone should really take them off the air… they are so cheesee and silly”.

I’m not the only one with those thoughts. Here’re some more comments that I have gathered to share with you…

• I hope the quality of creative is not typical of future efforts. Pretty weak, I think, and don’t do justice to the product. Better this than nothing? I'm not sure about that.

• These ads are maybe 2 years old with old prototype of MVIS pico projector...

• I would hope that someone would remove these; they do not do justice to the current SHOWwx. They are filled with wrong information, even to the simple eye.

• Elevator Pitch @ 30 seconds ShowWX he is pointing downward, @ 36-38 seconds his device is in color and the presentation is in Black/White, and the best for last @ 40-41 seconds look at the ShowWX he is holding it backwards with the cable coming out of the top. This very edited stuff and really should not be here.

• They are concept videos. Not intended to be 'real'. Thought that was obvious.

• "...Thought that was obvious..." With a date of 26 November 2009 and the statement "Microvision has made 5 new pico projector ads", why would it be obvious?

• Obviously mediocre, I agree, but "concept videos" don't have to be mediocre, just unpolished. What's more, I've been following Microvision closely for well over two years and this is the first time I've seen them. Still, thanks to invinonveritas for explaining that the videos are, in fact, dated material; that's reassuring to know but less reassuring is the fact that they're still out there posing as current ads, "concept" or otherwise.

• But the statement is in error. These are old videos that were posted to the Microvision about 2 years or so ago. The fake nature of the samples is clear to me - sorry, but if you can't spot cheap special effects, that's not something anyone but you can change.

• "The fake nature of the samples is clear to me." They are not fakes at all. They're just bad, a fact which is not in dispute. If they're old too, that doesn't detract from the fact that they're bad, and that Microvision, if it chooses to promote itself in such a manner in the future, had better do much better. Just as I could have done better by making a portion of its so-called "public" offering available to existing retail investors.

• http://www.microvision.com/pico_projector_displays/application_scenarios.html
Thought I posted this earlier, but it does not appear to have arrived.

• FWIW, I can second that the "new" videos are old as I remember watching them on the MVIS website over a year ago, and don't know how much longer they could have been on the site before I had found them.

• These videos should be taken-off the air.

• No man down under like this stuff.

• I will admit, that pisses me off watching that....damn it Microvision.

Here’s what I summarize, after having read dozens of comments…

“Take out the drama and just focus on mobility, physical size, image size, image resolution and quality, vivid colors, brightness of laser light source, focus feature, the low power usage, fast refresh rates, 8 point font text readability, short throw ratio [like watching movies on the ceiling], no heat, long laser life and contrast ratio.”

In other words, you can use all the various settings and scenarios… but focus on the features… with emphasis on those features that differentiate your product from the competition.

We know what lamp based projectors are all about and what their applications, benefits, features and limitations are? To embrace the pico projectors to our list of gadgets that enhance mobility is a relatively small leap of vision… since we already know all about bulky projectors. It’s like going from desktop PC to the notebook PC… where the notebook PC opens-up a whole lot of applications and possibilities. Besides, for over a year now, the pico projectors from TI/DLP and 3M/LcoS have been on the market selling from dozens of retail outlets.

You don’t need to spend money or commercial time, to educate the consumer on the benefits and possible applications of pico projectors. Consumer is well aware of the projectors and understands the mobility feature of pico projectors quite well. Besides, competition has been educating the consumer for over a year now. Just because SHOWwx pico projectors is not yet released in the market place does not mean pico projectors don’t exist.

So, please cut the drama and get to the benefits and features… using the various settings and scenarios to accentuate the differentiating features. This way, you will not only get your message across in the least amount of commercial time, but also the consumer will remember the enhanced features of SHOWwx by associating them to the various real life situations and settings.

These five SHOWwx commercials as mentioned here─ and at the Microvision web site are childish, boring, overbearing and done in a very amateurish manner.

Not something that you would expect from a world class company.

Here’s an example of a professionally done pico projector commercial that gets the message out loud and clear… neat… clean… no drama… no spoon feeding… all facts and a lot left to the imagination.

Click on the YouTube streaming video at the bottom of the article…
http://www.notebooks.com/2009/11/30/take-a-pico-at-these-portable-pico-projectors/

Cinemin Swivel got it right... I have to admit.

Anant Goel
http://www.wealthbyoptions.com/

Creative Imagination at Work: Pricing Strategy for SHOWwx

Here’s an example of creative imagination at work. However, the solution we seek is not product or service related. Here, the creative imagination is applied to profitability issue in marketing and could be called “creative marketing”… or “gorilla marketing”… or plain old making “lemonade from lemons”.

Here we go…

Currently, the competition in the Pico projector space comes from two major players, TI with its DLP technology and 3M with its LcoS technology. The competition sells its second generation Pico projector for about $395 and the quality of the image from their projectors looks like the picture on the left side below. Microvision’s PicoP projector SWOWwx, on the other hand, projects its image better than the one on the right side.

http://www.picoprojector-info.com/btendo-laser-projector-vs-lcos-projector-photo-1

If $395 was assumed as the average price for the baseline model and functionality [in-line with what the competition is asking], then Microvision could [and should] charge $599 for not only the better quality and vivid images but also some very interesting and differentiating features…

• Always-in-focus on any projected surface [projecting on curved surfaces or from an angel on flat surfaces]

• Short throw ratio 1:1 [bigger picture from short distance]

• Stunningly colorful, bright, vivid and detailed images [200% NTSC]

• Large images size [from 20” to 150” diagonal ]

• Higher image resolution (848×480) with HD pathway in future models

• Unmatched small font readability [size 8 font]

• Wide aspect ratio 16:9 [for wide screen experience]

• Fast refresh [60 Hz] to prevent motion blur when watching sports or action videos and movies

• High contrast ratio 5000:1

• Easy and simple plug and play. Single connector for TV-out [composite], VGA [RGB] and 3.5mm stereo jack─ audio pass through

• Longer battery life. Movie capable battery life when fully charged. Charges via Micro-USB

• 3 year warranty service… why not with all that MEMS reliability and exceeding drop test performance

• Headboard clamp for in-bed watching videos and movies on the ceiling

• All cables and leather case included

• Trade-in offer [worth $200 in exchange value] for any future PicoP projector.

All these features are inherent in the laser based PicoP display engine and they don’t really cost anything extra but they allow you to monetize the superior product functionality that Microvision offers. There is no reason to give it away for free…

http://www.microvision.com/pek/pico/

Since Microvision has more demand than they can supply [5:1 ratio], it only makes sense to monetize [profitably] whatever they are able to supply. It positions SHOWwx as the premium high quality PicoP Projector in the market. Interestingly, it gives you a payout even greater than the “Trifecta” on the racetracks…

• Brings superior product to the market sooner

• Creates “premium high quality” image perception from the start

• Generates profitable revenues in spite of the limited green laser delivery

• Prevents negative connotations associated with “out-of-stock” scenarios when there is more demand than supply

• Immediately engages the first movers─ that are also the center of future influence on others─ into purchasing a premium high quality product

• Keeps your potential customers engaged, interested and willing to wait for the superior product when more supply becomes available and the price has come down to with-in their affordability or price/value perception range.

[The Trifecta or triple is a bet made in horse racing to pick the first, second, and third place horses in a race. The payouts for hitting the Trifecta can be astronomical.]

This premium price strategy is what’s called “gorilla” marketing… where you choke the demand to bring it in-line with supply… all at the same time increasing your overall profitability… and keeping the competition trapped in their comfort zone of lower prices and at bay.

Apple uses this strategy all the time, why not Microvision?

Microvision can always drop the prices in the future, as the supply catches-up with demand. In the meantime, this strategy allows Microvision to convert a bad situation into profitably good strategy… like making lemonade from lemons.

This is another example of creative imagination at work… that just happened to be so appropriate and timely.

Anant Goel
http://www.wealthbyoptions.com/

Creative Imagination at Work In Product and Applications Development

Albert Einstein said, "Imagination…is more important than knowledge.  Knowledge is limited.  Imagination encircles the world."

Some folks are born with vision and have a higher degree of imagination. Others can learn to be visionary and imaginative. Here are two examples to demonstrate how creative imagination can work in coming-up with great ideas on what you can do with a laser based PicoP projector.

Here’s our imagination at work…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY

http://www.microvision.com/displayground/?p=566

However, in order to fully appreciate this creative work, it is important to first understand…

“Imagination is an experimental partition of the mind used to create theories and ideas based on functions. Taking objects from real perceptions, the imagination uses complex “IF - functions” to create new or revised ideas. This part of the mind is vital to developing better and easier ways to accomplish old and new tasks. These experimented ideas can be safely conducted inside a virtual world and then, if the idea is probable, and the function is true, the idea can be actualized in reality.”

So what is it that allowed this Intel engineer, for one example, to be visionary or imaginative in creating a PicoP display engine based application? Here’s your answer…

It’s the availability of the four enabling [and true] what IF-functions that only laser based PicoP display engine could provide:

1. Always-in-focus on any projected surface
2. Short throw ratio… meaning large projected image from short distance
3. Vivid and uniform color images from laser PicoP projector… not like the DLP or LcoS images that are brighter in the center like a flashlight.
4. And high contrast ratio… like 5000:1 with laser PicoP projector.

That’s what stoked the imagination.  Now it only stands to reason that as the list of laser PicoP display engine functions─ fast refresh rate, user adjustable throw ratio, or brighter HD images─ grows, creativity will be stoked again and brand new applications that never existed before will come to the market.

Do I hear “Image by PicoP ubiquitous, woven seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life”?

It seems that there is no shortage of great ideas on what you can do with a laser based PicoP display engine. And just when we think we’ve heard them all, blammo - out of left field, or sometimes from the right, there comes another innovative use for laser PicoP projection display technology. The innovative use of laser PicoP projector, as depicted here, is sure to un-stick your imagination… and maybe even set it on fire.

Can you imagine...

• Shopping isle infomercial projectors… in every supermarket and shopping mall.

• Infomercial projectors in office building hallways, airports, museums, art galleries, fancy restaurants and other commercial and public places.

• Safety, security and emergency guidelines, instructions and procedures video-on-demand at the airport, industrial, commercial, construction and other sites.

• Emergency kits with video-on-demand instructions for life [or a limb] saving procedures.

• Advertising outdoor displays for drive-by passenger cars… with quickly changing slides per ad, for example, or 10 ads per display, for example… as compared to one fixed ad [or may be two] per display.

• Color video projection for large classrooms, seminars, meetings and conventions.

• And the list goes on.

Now imagine that Microvision’s laser PicoP display engine is the [only] technology that makes all these wonderful [and high margin] applications possible… with no competition in sight!

Here’s why I said: “laser PicoP display engine is the [only] technology”…

“To make the above mentioned applications possible, you must have at least two differentiating and enabling functionalities: 1) always-in-focus projected images on any surface and 2) short throw ratios.”

As of this day, there is no competition from any of the DLP or LcoS based Pico projectors… because they lack always-in-focus and short throw ratio features.

Only Microvision’s laser PicoP display engine technology has the always-in-focus and short throw ratio functionality… and as such, owns this market for the foreseeable future. Not only that, there is a tremendous ad value for the laser PicoP brand name, and Image by PicoP slogan, in being seen at these high traffic places… day in and day out.

Do I hear “Image by PicoP as ubiquitous, woven seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life?

Just for the record, PicoP is the registered trade mark of Microvision… like in PicoP®

Anant Goel