Best Buy

We've been waiting for MicroVision's tech to be seen at "big-box" stores in the states.

Here it is. In time for Christmas. It's on the website so far, we'll see if it makes it onto the shelves. I think the chances are pretty good.

Find it here: Best Buy PicoPro 

Also at SEARS

Also at NewEgg

The TV Connected Market | 53 Million Devices in 3rd Quarter

There's a page over on the right called "Further Digging" It's been getting a lot of interesting stuff lately. 

For a potential of MicroVision, I have been using a 10% of the cellphone market as a target. It's admittedly arbitrary. 1.2 Billion cellphones were sold in 2014. I expect those numbers to stabilize or even decline in the coming years. (I don't think it's reasonable to expect that nearly 20% of the people on earth will continue to get a new smart phone every year.)

So, this popped up as ONE of the other markets. These are things that connect to televisions. (There are MANY other places where informational displays are used and needed) The market for PicoP is NOT restricted to Cellphones and TV connected devices.

telecompaper

53 Million Devices in 3rd Quarter

Shipments of connected TV devices reach 53 mln units in Q3

Friday 27 November 2015 | 14:30 CET | News

Global shipments of all connected TV devices (including smart TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles and digital media streamers) reached 53 million units in Q3 and are on target to hit 221 million units for the full year, representing growth of 17 percent, according to a report by the new Strategy Analytics. The digital media streamer shipments reached 9.2 million in Q3. Google Chromecast is first on this market with a market share of 35 percent, ahead of AppleTV with 20 percent, Amazon Fire TV and Roku with 16 percent each, and others with 13 percent.

Samsung continues to dominate the global smart TV market from LG and Sony and it now accounts for 1 in 4 smart TVs in use worldwide. During the quarter, Philips joined Sony and Sharp in offering smart TVs with Google’s Android TV platform in a number of its mid to high end ranges. Android TV captured an estimated 8-10 percent share of the overall smart TV market during Q3.

Within the game console market, Sony shipped more than double the number of consoles as Microsoft in the quarter although the Xbox One is expected to close the gap on the PS4 during the final quarter thanks to its appealing 1st and 3rd party bundles.

EETimes: ST Microelectronics

There's more here than simply confirming that STMicroelectronics is working with Sony and MicroVision. Check out the article at the source.

Something that's long been suspected has been confirmed.

This makes us more confident that the Lenovo Smartcast   Will be using PicoP. I'll be watching.

EETimes

A 2012 strategy to expand ST's MEMS offering into applications and market sectors that would complement success in smartphones is starting to pay off, according to Benedetto Vigna, general manager of the analog, MEMS and sensors group at STMicroelectronics.

Sandro Dalle Feste, product development manager in ST'S AMS group explained that micro-mirror driving can be done electrostatically or electromagnetically. In essence the first uses high voltages and low currents while the second has low voltages and high currents. In the interests of energy saving the former is preferable.

"And ST is also in production for MicroVision and Sony in the MPCL1 laser picoprojector, although this requires either two mirrors or a double axis mirror. The advantage of a laser-based "flying spot" system is that the image does not need to be focused – saving weight and energy – and "keystone" correction can yield a rectangular image on most flat surfaces. And ST provides the processor to perform the image correction."

Picoprojectors do have challenges. It is hard for them to be bright enough while staying within the "eye-safe" laser category and while being sufficiently low power for mobile and battery-operated applications. However, Vigna points out that optical MEMS can be used for many as yet undeveloped applications; for beam-steering of automobile headlights, for polymer curing in 3D printing.

ST's optical MEMS program is not quite at the same state of readiness as the inertial MEMS platform where ST introduced has standardized process platforms such as THELMA, says Vigna. "It's more, engage with the right partners and then let the market take off," he said.

ViewSmart Laser Pico Projector - UPDATED

FCC Document (Particularly Image #12 is of interest, it seems to be the same size and shape of the Sony PicoP module.) The size checks out with the SONY module HERE. It does appear to me that the pictures are of a working unit that was disassembled for the pictures.

Top Menu of Device at FCC

This article From Big5 is showing imagery of the ViewSmart (95% confidence) and is using this MEMS image with is showing MicroVision MEMS. Source

I believe this engine was in a working model and was removed for the included pictures which would explain the "damage" on the unit.

As you can see the dimensions are the same as claimed in the SONY release about the PicoP engine they make. (HERE)

So, where should we be with degree of confidence on this? There are some key terms used and some inconsistencies to consider:

Two Points against

1) The Viewsmart company claims their guy created the technology.

2) The Viewsmart company claims higher resolution than the SONY engine we know about provides.

Points FOR it being MicroVision:

1) The engine has the same shape and size of the SONY engine.

2) The engine is using lasers,

3) The engine is using MEMS

So, I'd give about 95% confidence that this is a MicroVision enabled product. There is enough given that points towards MVIS, and the things that point away would be explainable as the input going into the unit could be 1080P, and the resulting display being better than 720P... they may  be giving themselves the benefit. As for credit for inventing the technology, one guy probably could have assembled the components and made this device possible.

From Giznoise

From an Article by Andrew Strachan

Hot on the heels of the Celluon Pico Pro and Sony MPCL-1 it seems that the world is finally waking up to portable laser pico projectors.

The latest rumors are that we are about to see another laser projector hit the market in December 2015.

From the images within the FCC filing, it seems that the ViewSmart PS1 utilizes a 5 laser Microvision/Sony PicoP laser module system very similar to that which Celluon and Sony have recently implemented in their models.

My personal opinion, is that the PS1 is using the same (or similar) Sony module that you will find inside both the Pico Air, Pico Pro and MPCL-1.

From what we can gather, the ViewSmart PS1 will contain at least the following features :-

1. Android OS
2. Icon driven menu system
3. Touchpad
4. Wi-Fi / DLNA
5. PC Connectivity
6. Video Player
7. Music Player
8. Photo Browser

So, if you have thought about getting a laser pico projector or you would like a pico projector with better features than the Sony MPCl-1 or Celluon PicoPro, it may be worth waiting until December to see what the ViewSmart PS1 has to offer.

Source: FCC, ViewSmart

More Content from SONY

Music Videos are an ideal portable content for mobile sharing - and for PicoP. One of the things about mobile is that attention spans are relatively short. Most videos are just a few minutes...

And they all have advertising -- which is another important theme for PicoP adoption.


Broadway World 

BoardMemberz' newest platform, The Leak, is quickly becoming a giant in the digital music space. Vevo originally struck a syndication deal with the parent company of The Leak, BoardMemberz, back in 2011. At that time, The Leak was generating well over 15 million unique visitors a month. The renewed syndication deal affords The Leak with rights to stream Vevo's entire music video catalog. That extensive catalog includes original programming, live streamed events, and performance footage, in addition to music videos.

That deal also includes access to major labels such as Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, which include Def Jam, Interscope, Epic, Columbia and more. This provides The Leak with the unique opportunity to release over 100,000 videos from the top artists in the world.

"I know we are making history with this platform," says BoardMemberz President, Wayne Rose. "We have the first platform that rewards the artists, contributors, and fans. People are already sharing content all the time. Now they can share the music that they like, and earn some money while supporting their favorite artists," states Rose.

http://www.theleak.co/index.html

MicroVision will make HUGE money for Big Tech

Two of the biggest tech companies make the majority of their revenue from advertising: Facebook and Google.

They serve their customers very well, by targeting the advertising to what the people they are serving want.

The ecosystem in which they function is critically important. There are conditions they need to be successful, and new technology can open entirely new markets to them. 

They need:

Willing advertisers
Receptive viewers (Finding these people is the key to their success)
Content to draw viewers
Bandwidth to deliver content and advertising
A medium to show the content (a "screen")

Without any of these things, their business doesn't function. The bandwidth and the medium depend on advances in technology 

They know your behavior
Facebook knows what you're doing on your computer. If you'd like to figure this out, go and shop online for something that you are normally not concerned with. For example, look for an unusual hardware item. Just pretend you really need to find an unusual part for something around the house. Spend 20 minutes looking for it online, then sign back on to Facebook. You will find advertisements you see on Facebook now feature these items.

Google and Facebook KNOW what you're doing with your device. That will serve MicroVision very well in the not too distant future.

Mobile was a new market 
The smartphone was a new medium. Before the first iPhone, the mobile phone didn't deliver advertising very well. When the smartphone came into being Facebook and Google got new markets. Their businesses grew.

Weird Economics

There are some weird economics that occur with mobile devices too, weird may be the wrong term -- but counter-intuitive, and indirect. Many devices are sold at a severe discount, because money can be made from the content, the subscriptions and other add-ons that go with the device. We've all seen a $650 cell phone sell at best buy for $20 or $50 with a contract. 

In 2013,  the cost to make a PS4 was $381. It was sold for $399. So, after packaging & shipping, and allowing retailers to make money, Sony made zero selling the PS4. Yet gaming is one of their most profitable endeavors.

 The profit for the company (SONY does make a lot of money on gaming) comes from the secondary market, selling the games, the subscriptions and content through the device.

If we put this together, how can this dynamic benefit MicroVision?

Facebook Revenues (3Qtr 2015)

From Investopedia

AdWords and Search Advertising (GOOGLE)

The bulk of Google’s $66 billion revenue in 2014 came from its proprietary advertising service, Google AdWords. Of that revenue, 68 percent – or just over $45 billion – came from Google’s own websites.

Googles Investor page Financial Tables

How does Facebook Make its money? (Nice presentation, a little dated.)

1 + 1 = MicroVision Has Ford

This was posted on the Yahoo Message board, and it is included here by request. 

Check out SONY's PicoP page: It shows various use cases for the PicoP module that includes MicroVision's technology.

http://www.sony.net/Products/SC-HP/picopro/application/index.html

Check out Ford's "Sync" Page. There is a slide-show showing the SONY branded sound and navigation systems.

http://www.ford.com/technology/sync/?ef_id=Vc@EHgAAAF86YXX4:20151119210530:s&searchid=30687429%7C850837211%7C8844381872

Are there any people who connect Ford's Sync and MicroVision?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuan-lee-0119076

Embedded Software Engineer

MicroVision Inc.

October 2012 – Present (3 years 2 months)

Sr. Software Development Engineer in Test (Vendor)

Microsoft

May 2012 – October 2012 (6 months)

Develop automation code verifying vehicle diagnostic data and human-machine interface for Ford's Sync system built in Microsoft Auto & Windows CE.

Ad Samples From Korea

Good Advertising from Korea, which appears to be the most actively courted market for MPCL1 so far.

Good things coming.

Microsoft

One step from this to a completely portable PC with your phone -- when you add PicoP.

Cellphones are now capable enough to make it go -- PicoP can deal with the display, and your PC fits in your pocket.

QuickLogic RoBoHon & Power saving video.

November 17, 2015 09:00 ET

Sharp Corporation Selects QuickLogic's ArcticLink III VX5 and PolarPro 3 for its RoBoHoN Mobile Robot Phone

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - Nov 17, 2015) -

• QuickLogic's ArcticLink® III VX5 facilitates display bridging while optimizing display quality and lowering power consumption for pico projectors 
• QuickLogic's PolarPro® 3 in-system reprogrammable logic delivers twice the density of traditional FPGAs while consuming as little as 55 micro amps of static power

QuickLogic Corporation (NASDAQ: QUIK), the innovator of ultra-low power programmable sensor processing solutions, announced today that Sharp Corporation has selected the company's ArcticLink III VX5 Visual Enhancement Engine (VEE) enabled display bridge andPolarPro 3 FPGA for its new and innovative RoBoHoN Mobile Robot Phone. 

RoboHoN is a 7.7 inch tall Mobile Robot Phone. It walks, talks, sits, stands and even dances. With facial and voice recognition capabilities, RoBoHoN knows and recognizes its owner, and responds to user requests. RoBoHoN can take a picture or record a video, and then display the results on a table or wall with its built-in pico projector. RoBoHoN will also read texts and emails aloud, and with voice recognition, allows users to respond hands-free. As a digital assistant, RoBoHoN can search the internet for answers to user questions, track schedules, and make phone calls using its integrated LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity.

QuickLogic's ArcticLink III VX platform provides a display bridge from the MIPI output of RoBoHoN's application processor to the RGB input of its integrated pico projector. Sharp chose QuickLogic's VX platform due to its unique VEE technology that is optimized in the VX5 for pico projector applications. RoBoHoN also uses QuickLogic's in-system reprogrammable PolarPro 3 to support smart connectivity requirements. 
"QuickLogic's technology is optimized to address important user experience issues such as display quality and long battery life. We are very pleased that Sharp has chosen our display bridging and ultra-low power reprogrammable logic solutions to provide their customers with the best possible experience," said Brian Faith, VP of worldwide marketing.

The ArcticLink III VX5 solution includes QuickLogic's Visual Enhancement Engine (VEE) technology, which is based on the iridix® core from Apical Limited and is available now.

About QuickLogicQuickLogic Corporation is a leading provider of ultra-low power, customizable sensor processing platforms, Display, and Connectivity semiconductor solutions for smartphone, tablet, wearable, and mobile enterprise OEMs. Called Customer Specific Standard Products (CSSPs), these programmable 'silicon plus software' solutions enable our customers to bring hardware-differentiated products to market quickly and cost effectively. For more information about QuickLogic and CSSPs, visit www.quicklogic.com.

QuickLogic, ArcticLink and PolarPro are registered trademarks and the QuickLogic logo is a trademark of QuickLogic Corporation. All other brands or trademarks are the property of their respective holders and should be treated as such.Code: QUIK-G

OnePlus Three

OnePlus is a company that is on my watch list. When a company falls off the watch list I usually They're an interesting company that has use unique tactics to compete with much larger companies. They're a good candidate for doing something new and unique.

These are RUMORS at this point, but interesting ones.

TechnoMarui  --- UPDATE

There's also Oukitel talking about a phone projector. 

OnePlus Three for Christmas? - TechRadar

"there's going to be a second phone this year, before the end of the year. Hopefully for Christmas".

OnePlus has apparently not decided if it will be more powerful than the OnePlus 2 just yet, but from the early version that Pei has seen, he seems impressed.

"When I saw the prototype for that phone I was like 'holy s*** that's going to be my daily driver.'"

From NeuroGadget
OnePlus Three

According to the latest rumors, the third OnePlus flagship will feature an octa core processor which will handle at the speed of 3.2GHz, and will support up to 4GB of RAM. It will have an improved fingerprint scanner, a new heartbeat sensor, a retina sensor integrated into the front camera, while the rear camera will have a sensor of 25MP. Also, the device will come with a mini projector and the screen will keep its size but will sport a 4K resolution.

The expected price of the OnePlus Three will be 260£ in the UK, $420 in the USA, 26,500 Rs in India, 2550 Yuan in China, 26000 Ruble in Russia, 3200 HKD in HongKong and 1600 MYR in Malaysia.

OnePlus3.com

This site is expecting the release in July 2016 -- if this is the case they may announce the phone sooner.

OnePlus Three Specs Expected ?

• Finger print sensor
• Retina Sensor
• Heartbeat Sensor
• 5 GB S2 RAM
• Octa-Core 3.2 Ghz processor
• Mini Projector
• 3D 4k Screen with 5.5 inches in size
• 25 MP Depth Sensor Camera

Risk Psychology

****** JUST to be CLEAR ******

If you read what I'm writing, it's my own opinion, written here for my own purposes.

what you do with it is your business

I follow MicroVision because I have money at risk in the stock. I'm risking money in the stock because I think the company has particular technologies that will be in enormous demand and help a lot of people in a lot of ways. That's an opportunity for significant profit. 

(And I'm still at risk, because I'm quite sure that the risk will pay off.)

When the stock has bad weeks like we've had recently, I try to separate all the emotional things that accompany risk from the fundamental story. I work very hard to be objective -- which is often challenging. 

So recently I was reading this book about decisions called "The Paradox of Choice" 

Some paragraphs in there seemed to be perfect something to pay attention to when watching this stock -- particularly the behavior of those who are shorting MVIS.

"It seems to be a fairly general principle that when making choices among alternatives that involve a certain amount of risk or uncertainty, we prefer a small, sure gain to a larger, uncertain one. Most of us will choose a sure $100 over a coin flip (a fifty-fifty chance) that determines whether we win $200 or nothing. When possibilities involve losses, however, we will risk a large loss to avoid a smaller one. For example, we will choose a coin flip that determines whether we lose $200, or nothing over a sure loss of $100."

- - - Paradox of Choice, Page 65.

I think this is describing the behavior of those shorting the stock fairly well. If they can start a stampede out of the stock, they can cover their losing shorts. They are willing to risk a lot to create their escape. If they fail they lose it all.

It's been reported to me by a reliable source that one brokerage is offering 40% to borrow shares of MicroVision. Willingness to pay this insane amount to short a stock smacks of desperation - not a rational financial decision -- a risk of $200 to avoid losing what's already been lost.

Oukitel U7 vs IPhone 6

Apparently Comparable performance, but the Oukitel will apparently come with an attachable projector.

The HansIndia

Oukitel with Projector

S6 & S7 - Early Launch Mobile World Congress theory

Samsung is one of those companies to watch.

The number of rumors swirling around this release date has reached the point where it's pretty apparent that something is cooking with Samsung. 

There are three events where we can expect them to do something interesting in the next five months: CES, The Samsung Unpacked event in February, and the Mobile World Congress in March.


Forbes

February 16, Unpacked event.

Reliable phone leaker Evan Blass, @evleaks on Twitter has suggested that AT&T is already testing two new Samsung phones with the model numbers SM-G930A and SM-G935A which will likely turn out to be the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
One potential theory is that Samsung will launch the S7 range at CES and keep the prestigious MWC slot for an entirely new kind of handset. A teaser campaign earlier this year hinted at a bendable phone, so there’s a chance that Samsung will try to launch something entirely new, while having the S7 as a backup.

SONY Content Vue TV service.

Sony owns and delivers content. A new means of transmitting that content is good for their bottom line in multiple ways.

The MPCL1 is their first product with PicoP... only the first.

SONY PlayStation VUE on Amazon FireTV

HUD, SONY & FORD

So many stockholders are waiting for an announcement, they think that MicroVision has to announce customers.

Imagine how the stock would react to "SONY to deliver PicoP HUD components to Ford. The timeframe wouldn't need to be that specific to get a huge run in the shares of the stock.

They don't have to announce. We already know that this is going to happen.

MicroVision is bound by a lot of non-disclosures. They can't come out and say it -- but here it is:

If you buy a Ford car these days, this is what you see.  Note the included navigation.

From Sony's PicoP Engine page... the following picture. HUD -- what PicoP will be used for.

They ALREADY HAVE THE CUSTOMER. If you can put two and two together, you don't NEED an announcement... the customer is there.

MicroVision's HUD Page

Sony Mutes Noise for Ford Drivers

Pay close attention to what's going on with MicroVision!! Then you'll be in the right place at the right time. 

Free Video on T-Mobile

The Ecosystem for PicoP adoption continues to improve. This is great news. John Legere also expressed great enthusiasm for RoBoHon on Twitter. Mobile and video are together, and PicoP powered devices will be there.

Geekwire

From Yahoo News

T-Mobile (TMUS) announced a new program on Tuesday to allow customers to watch many popular online video services on their phones without counting against their monthly data allowances.

The new "Binge On" service, which will include HBO, Hulu, Netflix (NFLX) and ESPN among others, will show video in slightly lower quality, comparable to a DVD, not a high-definition TV picture, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said at an event in Los Angeles. The Binge On service starts Nov. 15 for new customers and Nov. 19 for all existing customers on monthly Simple Choice plans who pay for at least 3 GB of data per month, T-Mobile said.

Legere said the service will start with 24 partners but more will be added over time. Asked if a pornographic service could be added, Legere said: "yes, of course," adding that any legal video stream could be included eventually.

The lower quality picture could be a risk for T-Mobile, since the newest smartphones are capable of displaying higher resolution video, Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research noted. But, the headline of "free video" will be "hugely appealing for customers," he said.

T-Mobile executives insisted that the differences in video quality were indiscernable on a phone. Much online video is streamed at high resolutions dubbed 1080P,  which offers 1,080 horizontal lines of pixels per screen, and 720P, which offers 720 lines, to look good on big screen TV sets. T-Mobile's service will drop down to 480P, or 480 lines of pixels.

However, the Binge On service will automatically default to the normal, higher resolutions if a user shifts their phone onto wifi from the mobile network. And customers can use a T-Mobile app to turn off the service to watch higher resolution video, if they so desire, which would then incur data usage. The lower quality 480P picture reduces the amount of data needed to transmit video by about two-thirds from a 1080P picture, Grant Castle, T-Mobile's vice president of engineering, said in an interview.

SONY PicoP Engine Pages

I have basically scraped this page, because I know that companies change their pages from time to time and want to save it. Check it at the source, there is more information there.

I'm reasonably confident that this summarizes where they intend to take PicoP in the near future, and one of these they are already selling. Where and when we'll see the other applications we'll see soon enough.



SONY Global Pico Projector Module

SONY Pages

Application Examples

Stand alone pico projector

Our module can realize a pico projector product which is so small to carry in a shirt pocket and which also provides always infocus image with high contrast ratio and wide color gamut.

Embedded pico projector

Our module can realize a mobile product like smartphone and tablet PC, which can project always infocus image with high contrast ratio and wide color gamut.

Head-up display

Thanks to the focus-free technology, our module can project an image to either flat, curved or uneven surface, to show necessary information for a vehicle driver.
Moreover the module can display much clear images or characters with high contrast ratio, high resolution and wide color gamut.

Projection mapping / Digital signage

Thanks to the focus free technology, our module can project a crisp image to either flat, curved or uneven surface.

Furthermore, the projected image is always in focus even if its projection distance (from the pico projector to the screen) is changed.

This technology can realize to project images to moving materials, deforming materials or soft materials like cloths.

Britecell Samsung Name Trademark

This is an interesting new trademark name, and it's connected to SONY. Another place to watch closely. They admit that they don't know what it is. 

I admit that I don't know what it is, but BRITECELL would be one of the names I'd pick for a cell phone with a projector.

Phone Arena

Next in line is another set of Galaxy S7 camera rumors - it was recently brought to our attention that Samsung had trademarked the word BRITECELL for its future phone cameras, and is also in talks with Sony to obtain the ultrafast camera sensor that made a cameo in the new Xperia Z5 trio. That's not all, though, as it became known last week that Samsung is prepping a 12 MP shooter with large 1/2" sensor size, breaking away from the megapixel chase for the sake of quality low-light snapping. We hope that Samsung is planning some of these sensors for the Galaxy S7, of course. For more on last week's most interesting news, flip through the slideshow below.

From PhoneArena

Now, this patent might be related to the new 20 MP sensor, as Samsung lists it with a RWB color pattern for enhancing light sensitivity, and improving the signal-to-noise ratio in low-light conditions, hence the term "BRITE." Given that Samsung still uses ISOCELL to describe the 20 MP sensor, however, BRITECELL might be related to something totally new and yet-unreleased, rather than the new RWB pattern. Yesterday, Korean media spilled the beans on an alleged 12 MP sensor developed by Samsung, which will sport a large 1/2" surface area, allowing for huge pixels that collect more light, instead of mindlessly chasing the megapixel count, with an ever-decreasing pixel size as a result. 

GSM Arena


Now that the word is out that Samsung might be going in a whole new direction for the Galaxy S7's camera, sources have dug up a patent filing that all but confirms the rumor. What could BRITECELL possibly mean, but a rather obvious word play on "bright" indicating a sensor with low light shooting capabilities, just like we'd expect from a 12MP type 1/2" imager.

And we know it's a sensor that the trademark defines, because Samsung's current lineup of smartphone sensors is called ISOCELL. That, and also the fact that the patent docs contain the words "image sensor for mobile phones".

Thanks Joe!

So, my friend Joe started digging up some more videos. Enjoy.

Check out the SONY Korea YouTube Channel

New Sony Smartphone factory -- producing Phones.

The first we heard about this was a little more than a week ago, that SONY will launch a new smartphone factory.

Now, we find out that it's been producing products since September.

Very interesting news... stay tuned.

Sony to open Factory in Thailand

NST | Channel News Asia | Reuters

BANGKOK: Japan's Sony Corp aims to make 600,000 to 700,000 premium smartphones in the first year at its new wholly-owned plant in Thailand which began production in September, a spokesman said.

The start up of its first overseas mobile phone plant in two decades is part of Sony's strategy to turn around its loss-making mobile phone business by prioritising profits over volume and shifting its focus to high-end smartphones.

Teeradej Pruksawananon, a spokesman for Sony in Thailand, said the firm began small scale production of its premium smartphone models, including the Xperia Z3, two months ago and started shipping the phones globally from October.

"Sony finds it easier to implement cutting-edge technologies at its own plant to produce such phones," said a Sony spokeswoman in Japan.

Sony currently produces most of its smartphones at its joint venture in China.


SONY's TINY TV TUNER 

SONY TV TUNER BEING TESTED

PlayStation Vue (SonyRumors Today)