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Near-eye Displays and Pocket Projectors
2007/11/02
Taiwan`s makers of handheld devices such as portable media players, DVD players, and mobile TVs are gearing up to enhance the viewing experience of users by offering products with pocket or embedded projectors and near-eye displays (also called head-mounted displays, or HMDs), according to the iSuppli Corp., a market research company.
HMDs are placed on helmets or visors close to the user`s eyes, providing a virtual image that is larger than the physical dimensions of the display. The virtual image can range in size from 20 to 100 inches, providing a hugely improved viewing experience compared with the 2- to 8-inch screens typically used on mobile phones and video iPods.
ISuppli attributes the move toward HMDs to the love that consumers have for tiny handheld electronic devices and the dislike they harbor for tiny displays. Jennifer Colegrove, a senior analyst for display technology and strategy at iSuppli, explains that pocket or embedded projectors and HMDs offer not only a larger viewing area but also lower cost, less power consumption, and reduced weight and size.
Global consumer HMD shipments are expected to rise to 1.3 million units by 2012, up from 325,000 units this year, according to iSuppli. Over the same period, pocket-projector shipments are forecast to grow from 41,000 to 1.7 million units.
In the consumer market, HMDs are used mostly with iPods, mobile phones, and PCs to play video games and watch movies and TV programs. The market for these devices is gaining momentum, thanks to their advantages in the areas of image size, power consumption, and privacy, the research firm explains.
ISuppli points out that the original suppliers of HMDs back in the 1990s and early 2000s, including Planar, Olympus, and Liquid Image, have withdrawn from the business. However, they have been replaced by a new wave of HMD manufacturers who are striving to improve ergonomic design and offer slimmer, lighter, and cheaper products.
The market research firm says that the market for pocket projectors, defined as those that weigh under two pounds (about 0.9 kilograms) and have a size smaller than 60 cubic inches (983 cubic centimeters) without a battery, is growing due to strong demand for portable presentation equipment. Pocket projectors, most of which run on batteries, are preferred by travelers for their ability to deliver presentations to small groups of people instantly, at any time and any place.
All of the pocket projectors that are commercially available today weigh between one and two pounds (04.5-0.9 kg). Even lighter ones weighing less than one pound have been demonstrated, iSuppli says, but are not yet on the market.
Pocket projectors available today are rather similar in design and specifications, but those on the market in the future will be more diversified. They will also take advantage of micro-display technologies such as those involving LCDs, liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS), and digital light processing (DLP). Their light sources will include lamps, LEDs, lasers, and LED/laser combinations.
There will be significant growth opportunities for miniature projectors in the future, iSuppli believes. With rear-projection TVs losing momentum, microdisplay manufacturers now have an chance to expand their markets on a large scale.
(by Quincy Liang)
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