11/5/2002 10:08:00 AM
Miniaturization efforts are focused on bringing to market the world’s
first SVGA resolution electronic viewfinder for digital cameras
BOTHELL, Wash., Nov 5, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
Microvision (Nasdaq:MVIS), the leader in light scanning technologies for
displays and imaging, announced today that it has achieved significant progress
in the miniaturization of its unique retinal scanning display (RSD) technology.
On February 11, 2002 the company announced that it had built the world’s first
full color SVGA (800 x 600 pixels) display incorporating a tiny, Silicon-based
“bi-axial” scanner and just 3 light emitting diodes (LEDs) to target high volume
consumer electronics applications, such as electronic viewfinders for digital
cameras and high quality displays for mobile phones, PDAs and gaming devices.
The company has successfully reduced the size of the scanner package and the
internal electronics and has been able to incorporate smaller optical viewing
elements so that Microvision’s current display fits neatly into one palm and
occupies a volume approximately one quarter of the size of the display announced
just nine months ago.
Microvision also reported that it has recently completed the successful
development, testing, and shipping of components of a similar system to a
prospective customer who contracted with the company in March to begin
definition and prototyping of a consumer electronics product. According to
company President Steve Willey, the results were well received and the companies
are working to define objectives and timelines for a possible follow on phase of
development. The additional miniaturization effort was undertaken in parallel as
part of the company’s internal effort.
“Miniaturization of the scanning engine is a key aspect of incorporating
Microvision’s display technology into consumer products,” offered Willey, “and
it will also enable significant enhancements to virtually all of the company’s
other display and image capture products. The fact that we can make this kind of
progress in such a short time is also solid evidence that we are gaining
significant momentum with the technology. We intend to shrink the current
package even further over the next several months, but it’s fast approaching the
right footprint for certain consumer electronics products.”
“We are especially excited about the market opportunity for miniature displays
in electronic viewfinders or “EVFs” for digital cameras,” Willey added. “Our
current prototype is anywhere from 4 to 8 times the resolution of EVF displays
currently in the market and features both a broader range of color and better
color fidelity. We believe that we are going to be unique in delivering this
kind of quality at a cost that is compatible with consumer electronics products
such as digital cameras. There has been strong interest in this application from
many of the segment leaders because it positively changes the experience of end
users, and because it has potentially important implications for how the camera
is configured and packaged. In essence, every digital camera with a high
fidelity EVF becomes a single lens reflex (SLR) camera only without the complex
optics that are traditionally required in an SLR camera. By eliminating the
optical viewfinder you also reduce the overall footprint of cameras with higher
power zoom lenses making them more compact. These are potentially important
developments in the market.”
Nick Tredennick, Editor of Gilder Publications’ Dynamic Silicon newsletter
describes Microvision’s prototype display and its potential application: “(…)
Imagine looking into your camera’s viewfinder at an image that looks better than
the display on a typical laptop computer. (…) It shows you, in full color,
exactly what the camera’s image sensor sees. This is new; there’s no way you can
get this level of detail from a film camera’s viewfinder. This points the way to
future cameras that let you see the image at its print resolution as you take
the picture.”
The company says that it intends to target camera manufacturers for the
professional and enthusiast or “pro-sumer” segment of the market as an entry
point, but believes that with increased volume it can achieve low enough costs
to address the mass market for compact digital cameras where the addressable
market may exceed 40 million per year by 2005, according to the McLaughlin
Consulting Group.
About Microvision
The company, located on the web at www.microvision.com is headquartered in
Bothell, Washington. Microvision Inc. is the developer of the patented retinal
scanning display technology and a world leader in micro miniature optical
scanning technology for display and imaging applications. The company’s
technology has applications in a broad range of military, medical, industrial,
professional and consumer information products. Nomad is a trademark of
Microvision, Inc.
Forward Looking Statement Disclaimer
Certain statements contained in this release, including those relating to
bringing products to market, possible contracts or contract extensions, future
miniaturization and commercialization of display technology, future marketing
activities and product applications are forward-looking statements that involve
a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected in the company’s forward-looking
statements include the following: market acceptance of our technologies and
products; our financial and technical resources relative to those of our
competitors; our ability to keep up with rapid technological change; government
regulation of our technologies; our ability to enforce our intellectual property
rights and protect our proprietary technologies; the ability to obtain
additional contract awards and to develop partnership opportunities; the timing
of commercial product launches; the ability to achieve key technical milestones
in key products; and other risk factors identified from time to time in the
company’s SEC reports, including in its Annual Report on 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2001 and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
CONTACT:
Microvision
Matt Nichols (media), 425/415-6657
or
Brian Heagler (investors), 425/415-6794
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