Handset Makers Eye Near-Eye Displays and Pocket Projectors

Consumers love tiny handheld electronic devices, but don't love tiny displays that can show only tiny images. Because of this, makers of handhelds - including Portable Media Players (PMPs), DVD players and mobile TVs - hope to improve the viewing experience by offering products with pocket/embedded projectors and near-eye displays, also called Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs).

"Such display solutions not only offer a larger viewing area, but also lower costs, decreased power consumption and reduced weight and size," said Jennifer Colegrove, senior analyst for display technology and strategy at iSuppli Corp.

Shipments on the rise

Global consumer HMD shipments are expected to rise to 1.3 million units by 2012, up from 325,000 in 2007, according to iSuppli. Worldwide pocket-projector shipments will reach 1.7 million units by 2012, up from 41,000 in 2007.

The figures in the attached file present iSuppli's forecast for global HMD and pocket-projector unit shipments for the period of 2006 through 2012.

HMDs head for success

The HMD market is gaining momentum due to the technology's benefits in terms of image size, power consumption and privacy.

As its name suggests, the HMD is designed to be placed on a helmet or visor close the user's eye, providing a virtual image that is larger than the physical dimensions of the display. HMDs can display a virtual image ranging in size from 20 inches to 100 inches, providing a much more comfortable and compelling viewing experience than the 2-inch to-8 inch displays typically used on mobile phones or the video iPod.

HMDs also consume less power compared to 20-inch to 80-inch Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or plasma displays. In some cases, they are even more power stingy than the 14-inch LCDs used in notebook PCs. HMDs also offer privacy to those who want to watch video in public, such as on a plane, in a train or on the subway.

Many companies that previously made HMDs in the 1990s and earlier in the 2000s, such as Planar, Olympus and Liquid Image, have exited the business. However, a new wave of HMD manufacturers has replaced them, and has begun work on improving ergonomic designs and offering products with slimmer structures, lighter weights and lower prices.

HMDs are mostly used in the consumer market with products such as iPods, mobile phones and PCs, and are used to play video games, watch movies and view television programs.

Pocket projectors shine

The pocket projector market is growing due to the high demand for portable presentation equipment.

iSuppli defines pocket projectors as those that weigh less than 2 pounds, or about 0.9 kilograms, and have a size smaller than 60 cubic inches, or about 983 cubic centimeters, without a battery.

Pocket projectors are preferred by travelers, because they allow them to deliver presentations to small groups of people instantly, at any time and in any place required. Most of these projectors can run on batteries.

Commercially available pocket projectors now all weigh between 1 and 2 pounds, or 0.45 to 0.9 kilograms. There have been demonstrations of pocket projectors weighing less than 1 pound, but none is on the market yet.

While current pocket projectors are somewhat similar in design and specifications, future products will be more diversified. Furthermore, future pocket projectors will take advantage of microdisplay technologies including LCD, Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS), Digital Light Processing (DLP) and other Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) solutions.

These projectors in the near future also will utilize light sources including lamps, LEDs, lasers, and LED/laser combinations.

There are big growth opportunities for miniature projectors. And with the rear-projection television market losing momentum, microdisplay manufacturers should view this market as an opportunity for growth.

Posted to the site on 25th October 2007