The research firm In-Stat forecasts the picoprojector market will reach $1.1 billion within five years, with cellular phones and accessory projectors as the largest categories. I’ve written in a variety of articles that picoprojectors (or “microprojectors”) in cellular phones will become extremely popular and will foster mobile television — once performance improves and prices decrease.
Based on the firm’s report, “Embedded Picoprojectors to Break Out Worldwide,” manufacturers are developing LED and laser products. Green lasers are one of the important technologies.
Companies offering picoprojectors include DisplayTech, Foxxcom, Light Blue Optics, Oculon, Optoma, Microvision, Toshiba, Texas Instruments and 3M.
David Chamberlain, an In-Stat analyst, says in the release, “Technological advances in miniaturization, signal processing and light sources — including green laser — are making picoprojectors a realistic feature for small battery powered devices like cellphones, media players, computing devices and other consumer electronics.”
External and integrated units
I’ve written about a variety of manufacturers, including Texas Instruments and Microvision (see below), as well as handset vendors, developing picoprojectors that will be external units connected via a cable to a cellular phone, such as for Japan’s KDDI, or integrated into the phone.
This year we’ll see both types of devices, although it’s still a nascent industry. Picoprojectors need to offer greater resolution and brightness, less drain on the phone’s battery and decreases in price.
This year’s products are only for early adopters. But the value of a cellular phone that’s able to project a large, bright, sharp image on any surface will be so useful that the technology is destined to become widespread when the problems are resolved.
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