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Enthusiastic for Microvision’s Pico Projector

Matthew Carmean

February 24th, 2009
by Matthew Carmean


Phones galore – sorta. Mobile World Congress not only had all the usual “coming soon” phones but some of the more innovative devices were the Mobile Internet Devices (MID) and NetBooks. These devices are smaller than a laptop, but bigger than a cell phone. Sitting right in between these categories means the user compromises on both form factor, and performance, but still has a mobile device. For these users we’ve seen an accessory pico projector is quite compelling.

Check out one of the Interviews Russell Hannigan did at MWC with the Guys from Mobile Industry Review. I would say they are enthusiastic about PicoP. Tell me what you think?


The Microvision Mobile Projector from Mobile Industry Review on Vimeo.

Link: MIR Show HD – Microvision Projector

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 1:47 pm and is filed under Pico Projectors, SHOWWX.
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5 Responses to “Enthusiastic for Microvision’s Pico Projector”

  1. Anant Goel Says:

    February 25th, 2009 at 10:41 am |

    Comments you want… comments you shall have!

    If you are willing to accept the good with the bad, here’s a collection from a diverse group of people that had a chance to look at the video:

    • “Tremendous find! This video communicates the giddy excitement that awaits those who see and play with the PicoP for the first time. Such a bright, clear, colorful image from such a tiny device is hard to accept at first, as it contradicts one’s prior experiences. Those guys were getting happy feet just like I did the first time I saw the PicoP in action. Microvision technology is going to OWN the high quality end of these emerging product categories.”

    • “The projected image is from iPod Touch that has a resolution of 483 by 320 pixels. SHOWwx has a resolution of 848 by 480 pixels. If you liked the image at 483×320 pixels [iPod Touch] just imagine how awesome the image would look at 848×480 pixels.”

    • “Follow the comments under the video… these two guys (in the video) are not on the payroll and they’re not “pumped” investors… THEY ARE OUR MARKET… well, one small part of it, anyway.”

    • “Even at the $500 launch price this product is amazing value and I for one will probably be buying several.”

    • “…the amazing thing about this projector, it’s not a shitty DLP or LCD based light engine… it’s a scanning LASER!!!”

    • “Because it’s a beam of light from lasers it’s always in focus, incredibly bright and the lasers have an immense lifetime…”

    • “The Microvision laser projector seriously impresses me (and come on, you know how cynical I am!) but I’m not at all excited by those little DLP projectors that are just hitting the market… they are built on an old technology that isn’t translating to the mobile world very well at all…”

    • “It’s worth mentioning a few facts:

    1. Due to the slight difference between the refresh rate of our camera and the laser scan lines on the Microvision projector the image appears to flicker, this does not happen in “real life” and is a side-effect of recording it with a camera.

    2. Our camera doesn’t handle low-light situations well and therefore doesn’t do the Microvision projector any favors… IMHO it still looks amazing!

    • “Needless to say, I absolutely LOVE this product.”

    • “Yeah – Dan’s mad about this, but I have to admit the demo was excellent. No focusing and a massive clear image created from a handset-sized device. Imagine sharing your images at a party on a wall…”

    • “This unit outperforms the comparable Samsung unit and the actual projector is about a 3rd of the size of an iPhone.”

    • “Those guys were stunned. I love to see the reaction of tech junkies like me.”

    • “Just get me some big fat orders and I’ll be happy.”

    • “You might mention that the flickering on the screen doesn’t show when you’re using the projector live. And yeah, I want one . . .”.

    • The two techno geeks that shot the video appear to be well connected to the worldwide tech inner circle. They imply that it was their attendance at a Sony Ericsson meeting that led them to a private showing of the SHOWWX.

    • Interesting quote early in the video:
    “Regular viewers will know that we went to the Sony Ericsson party a little while ago, and someone who organized that for us actually is organizing this room for us, so thank you if you’re watching, but he’s going to switch the lights off so we can actually use this projector properly, ’cause it’s pretty damn cool, isn’t it Dan?”

    • “So, the person who organized their entry to the Sony Ericsson party also set up their demo of the SHOW WX. Coincidence? Connection? Perhaps we’ll find out soon.”

    • “I thought the same thing, but didn’t want to get too optimistic. Also, what was that “collecting interests and back orders” Russell was talking about? I wonder if he was actually talking about actual back orders? What I liked the best was when he said (2:30 mark) a lot of Business interest. That is the market we need interest from for volume.”

    • “And here you go from being rational, if a more that a bit over optimistic, to a rumor monger blowing a little tidbit into something more than it is. You are filling the vacuum of real information with innuendo.”

    • “Almost laughable is how the “backorders” comment has been blown out of all proportion by others. They could have backorders for 10 units. Since we don’t see these projectors all over the place outside of MVIS, the backorders could be that they can’t or can’t afford to build any (or very few) units that they are willing to let anyone else have. A serious public company with serious business doesn’t require reading a bunch of tea leafs or put out a bunch of rumor fodder.”

    • “Go back and look at all the posts for the last 8 years about how many “this is it” posts on a tea leaf reading have been pronounced and how many have come true?”

    • “There’s no guarantee you’ll be right, but taking note of those coincidences and remembering them isn’t a fool’s errand. Blowing them out of proportion would be silly, but you did that – not me.”

    • “He could have been referring to a couple of large corporations with sales forces that have inquired about purchasing a number of units when available. However, I think they would want on-board memory so they can load-up a presentation without a second device hooked-up.”

    • “Looks a lot better that the Pico Pocket Projector I reviewed a couple of months ago. Looking forward to seeing this in the near future!”

    • “Brilliant! The fact that it’s non-focus is the best part.”

    • “I wonder what laws this technology will bring, once there’s flashing distracting video being projected onto every dark surface?”

    So there you have it, comments from those enamored with PicoP… those with inquisitive minds… those who are skeptics… and those that are downright nasty.

    Be careful with what you wish for!

    Anant Goel

  2. Xavier Grehant Says:

    March 11th, 2009 at 1:46 am |

    Since it’s lazer light it’s polarized while ambient light is not. There’s probably a way to take advantage of this. Wouldn’t the image appear much brighter when seen through appropriately polarized glasses? I don’t know if reflection on a wall preserves polarization..

    Another comment: The image can be offset upwards to be projected from a table on a wall above the table. I don’t know if you plan downwards offset too, and I think it’s desirable. Alternatively, if you just provide a command to project the image upside down, upwards offset will be enough.
    The reason is, I want to fix it to the top of my bed and project movies on the ceiling. One might also want to fix it to the ceiling and project on the wall.

  3. PacoBell Says:

    March 13th, 2009 at 12:04 pm |

    @Xavier: “Since it’s lazer light it’s polarized while ambient light is not.” Not necessarily… http://tr.im/polaser Still, tweaking the polarization of the beam might serve an interesting purpose, especially if it can produce right and left circularly polarized beams. These are exactly the kind that RealD 3D glasses currently use for all those new 3D blockbusters. Imagine being able to generate your own similar content on the cheap!

  4. Xavire Grehant Says:

    June 5th, 2009 at 12:53 am |

    I like the hologram idea! Microvision folks: do you plan to make use of light polarization?

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    August 23rd, 2009 at 9:38 am |

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