Cool glimpses into the Future of AR.

To make Augmented reality work you need the best near-eye display. 


Spar3d -- much more at source

This video from Fracture games adds a lot of scale–it demonstrates how HoloLens data can be used to show proposed changes to the London skyline. Fracture has also included a lot of nice aesthetic touches, like a small plane flying over the model, or a view that includes the London underground.

That’s not the only reason the video looks nicer than we’re used to. It was also shot from an external camera with HoloLens data superimposed and, likely, cleaned up a little bit.

It’s an intriguing look into the future of the HoloLens, and a possible taste of what happens when designers start paying more attention to the little details.

*******

And -- this about how Microsoft may have a huge advantage. In AR -- because of cost (economies of scale?) and they have tools to work with the content already.

iTechPost

Also being used for battlefield info -- From the Ukranian Arms and Security Show

MSPowerUser  -- More at the source.

Lifeboat Blog

Now Ukrainian company LimpidArmor has shown off a new application for the augmented reality device on the actual battlefield to improve the field of view of tank commanders without exposing them to additional risk. The technology was shown off at the Arms and Security show, held in Kiev from 11 to 14 October.

LimpidArmor’s hardware and software system uses a HoloLens integrated with a helmet and cameras mounted around the tank to give commanders a 360 degree view of their environment in both optical and thermal and makes this available in real-time.

It also overlays telemetry and other information of the battle environment, both internal and from field commanders. The developers say they also plan to include the ability to control armaments and receive information from drones and other aerial vehicles.

Augmented Reality Art Book

PicoBit up on Celluon's Website

I think this is the product that takes us to the next level (unless the release of something else is bigger and imminent.)

Stand-alone projectors are great, but it takes a minute or so to connect the projector to a phone and make everything go. (And I've found that in Wifi "noisy" areas, establishing and retaining the connection can be difficult. -- like in a phone store.)

With a device that has its own operating system, focus free, with no connection issues and essentially an "instant-on" condition -- a lot of difficulties are answered.

THIS device -- with only Netflix loaded on it -- is your portable big-screen TV.  It hasn't been noticed by very many people yet, but it will be. 

Stand alone was proof of concept, this is where things get really interesting.

Celluon Picobit Website

Share your passion

Show off with this ultra-slim, ultra-portable projector that lets you do more than you ever imagined.

From wireless and HDMI connections to even SD card memory, PicoBit provides the easiest ways to project a big screen experience.

Go90 -- Ecosystems

A lot here. With Go90, Verizon is prepared for where the market is headed... to mobile.  

Note that their service is ad-supported, people spend an average of more than 30 minutes on the app, and -- this is important -- focused on short, episodic content of seven to eight minutes.... this is absolutely perfect type and length of content for an embedded pico projector solution.
LosAngelesTimes  -- more at the source

Verizon would not disclose results or financials for Go90, but a spokesman said the company is “very pleased” with the number of downloads and users, noting viewers spend an average of more than 30 minutes on the app.

Some observers believe that Verizon might eventually buy CBS and Viacom to bulk up in a similar way that AT&T is trying to do with its acquisition of Time Warner.

But Verizon has said that the AT&T-Time Warner deal doesn’t affect its focus on attracting millennials and teenagers to smartphone apps filled with articles and short shows.

“They are going after a market that exists today. We are going after where the market is headed,” Marni Walden, the Verizon executive in charge of leading the new efforts, said at a conference Wednesday. “We’re focused on short, episodic content — seven, eight minutes. We’re not going out to make ‘Game of Thrones.’”

“There is no plausible reason for Verizon to follow suit,” Moffett said. “Verizon's strategy in content seems to be overtly in support of their wireless business. AT&T’s seems to be diversifying away from its wireless business.”

Verizon’s bid for Yahoo was driven by its desire to build its foothold in digital content and advertising. Despite the hack, Verizon executives say they expect to close on the acquisition next year.

From the Market Knows All Department

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gravity-reports-third-quarter-2016-102500291.html

Review from India -- Scan lines

Independent recent review from India -- very interesting view of the scan lines.. 

Nintendo NX -- Nintendo Switch

There was a recent release of the Nintendo NX - Now Nintendo Switch -- that was disappointing, but it's not off the radar yet. 

Of course, what's really interesting here is that the MVIS sensing tech uses IR lasers, and has done (with Microsoft, interactive projection onto hands, etc.) and we know that it can also be a wall projector.

Whether or not this feature is in the NX, Microvision or not, this is what Microvision has up its sleeves -- this and more... also the best near-eye display.

I wouldn't mind a higher stock price now, but I'm content to wait. People really want what the company has to offer.





Source1 -- More at the source

Furthermore, recently filed patents hint that the new Nintendo Switch will contain more features than what is shown in its first trailer. According to one patent, the upcoming Nintendo console could possess GPS, motion tracking, image recognition, and a built-in projector.

The patent revealed that the projector technology will include an infrared camera with "a lens, and a sensor capable of sensing light (infrared rays; specifically, near infrared rays)." However, this doesn't mean that the Nintendo NX will provide its users with a wall-sized projector display, but with a smaller display that would allow images in the game to be projected onto the user's hand.

Wired.co.uk -- More at the source

Nintendo has already said that the features seen in the reveal trailer - not only portability but detachable controllers, built in two-player, and local sync for multiplayer - aren't the only tricks it has up its sleeve, and it plans to reveal more before the console's launch next March. According to patents spotted by Polygon, that could include GPS, motion tracking, image recognition and even a built-in projector.

AR Will be bigger than you have imagined.

What will exist with Augmented Reality is a way to increase productivity immensely, and increase learning about things immensely. 

When you can label reality, people can learn faster. Imagine being able to label things as they need to be identified and tools as they are about to be used. Being able to see through things that are being studied... that's possible with AR. 

MSPowerUser -- More at the source.

Pearson, the world’s largest textbook company, has announced a collaboration with Microsoft at the EDUCAUSE 2016 to explore the power of mixed reality to solve real challenges in areas of learning, ranging from online tutoring and coaching, nursing education, and engineering to construction and surveyor training.

With Mixed Reality learning content can be developed for HoloLens that provides students with real world experiences, allowing them to build proficiency, develop confidence, explore and learn.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock and San Diego State University are both part of a Pearson mixed reality pilot aimed at leveraging mixed reality to solve challenges in nursing education. Today many nursing programs hire and train actors to simulate scenarios nurses will face in the real world — a process that is hard to standardize and even harder to replicate. As part of the mixed reality pilot, faculty at the two universities’ schools of nursing are collaborating with Pearson to improve the value and efficacy of the types of simulations in which students participate.

Microsoft Live event

Going on now

On producing Augmented Reality Helmets.

Thanks Joe!!

Just in case you have forgotten about LiveMap. The video is old, the paper discussed below is new.


SOURCE

Abstract Possibilities for creating a helmet-mounted collimated display system are explored building on an analysis of available technologies for the development of display systems. Optical calculation of components is performed as part of the study. 

Keywords: display system, projection system, micro-display. 

INTRODUCTION Active research is currently underway to develop augmented reality devices. Application of such solutions in various areas of human life can markedly simplify acquisition of relevant information in the course of dynamic activities. For example, a person driving a vehicle needs to respond fast to any change in the dynamic situation and can obtain necessary information with the use of augmented reality devices without being distracted by the instrument panel. This is especially relevant for motorcycles. Because of the small size and high maneuverability of their vehicles, motorcycle drivers often find themselves in near-accident situations, in which of crucial importance are the completeness and delivery speed of information about the situation, which the driver uses to make up their mind about further actions.
*****

CHOICE OF THE DISPLAY GENERATOR This study also featured a comparative analysis of microdisplays and micro-projectors built upon various solutions. The main selection criteria included brightness and operating angles of emission, and energy consumption. The Microvision PicoP Display Engine (PDE) [1] laser scanning projector proved to be the most suitable projector in terms of brightness and power consumption. The device has the following structure. Narrow collimated ray beams from three laser sources (red, green, and blue) are superimposed with the use of a specter-dividing optical combiner. The superimposed ray beam (with a diameter of 1 millimeter) falls onto a micromechanical scanner that consists of two micro-mirrors. The brightness of the color components of the superimposed beam is modulated by video signal. The device then scans the combined ray in two dimensions thus building an image on the display similar to electronic ray scan in a television picture tube. The beam is focused on a typical distance to the display of 0.5–1 meter. With beam diameter at 1 millimeter it can be considered collimated. The system does not envisage focusing at a distance less than 60 millimeters. The micro-projector in question has the lowest power consumption. Ray deflection angles at the PDE exit are 49.7 horizontally and 25.4 vertically.

Another interesting AR application

If we go back to the very basic things. That is learning to recognize things in our environment -- things that we face on a daily basis. You can learn about it in a classroom, but if we could teach in the classroom about it, and then have technology alert us to the conditions we have been taught about -- that should improve education dramatically. 

Augmented reality could make people a lot smarter. 

Microvision has the best near-eye displays. 

Mashable -- More at the source:

"It's not a safety device," Philip Newton, corporate vice president of Samsung Australia, told Mashable, emphasising it's not intended to replace lifesavers. "It's simply an education tool to help people become aware of what these hazards look like."

Many Australians would be hard pressed to identify a rip if they saw one — SLSA estimate two out of three swimmers think they can spot a rip when they can't. "What we need to do is drive awareness and education of what they are and what they look like," he added.

LG Supplier to Samsung S8?

LG is very much on the radar. If they are being considered as a supplier for batteries,  maybe there is more going on. 

Earlier this year a lot of sample products for MVIS had LG Logos.

ValueWalk -- more at the source.

Obviously the manufacturer cannot risk a repeat of this horrible scenario, and thus it is not surprising that the company is considering moving away from its current suppliers. Reports already suggest that Samsung will partner with LG for the battery included in the Galaxy S8, and that this will hopefully bring considerably more stability to the technology.

Indeed, a Samsung executive has been quoted by the media as confirming that LG is being considered as a supplier. And it is notable that the corporation already utilizes one of the partner companies of LG to supply camera lenses.

LG used as sample products

The Market Does not know all

For a long time, people have been telling me that the market knows all, that there are no secrets and that if things were really going well, the market would know and the stock price would be higher.

I respectfully disagree and continue to compile the examples of that particular wrongness.

Microvision will follow suit, because it has the right technology, for multiple emerging markets: Bigger screens for mobile devices; Augmented Reality displays, and 3D Sensing.

Sony Further Along in AR than we thought

As much as we follow this, there are always things that slip through without being noticed.

The importance of good social media promotion and advertising -- and continuing to connect things.

Come on Sony -- people are promoting as new and fantastic, stuff you did four years ago and forgot about!!!

Offline Sales China

The market of smartphones in China... background insight. 

Offline smartphone sales are booming.

This explains the strategy we are hearing about many physical point of sale locations for the Qualper phone. 


Tech.co -- More at the source.

Recently the market research firm Sino released a market report about the Chinese smartphone market. One of its major conclusions is that the market share of Apple, Samsung and other global brands has declined to 13.3% in August, while last year this market share was clocked at 21%. This is a clear indication that those global brands have lost an important slice of the market share to Chinese smartphone companies.

In contrast, and looking back at Chinese smartphone companies, you’ll find that they have increased market share from 79% to 86.7%. A possible reason behind this is that these Chinese companies are putting huge efforts in the offline sales channel – a channel that increased by 23.6%, comparing to least year.

Throughout the whole country, from big to smaller cities, Gionee has over 100,000 corporate sales point, more than 70k special areas, and over three hundred thousand sales counters, exporting to more than 40 countries and regions around the world, and its smartphones are now being sold by eight telecom carriers outside China.

The efforts that Chinese smartphone companies put into offline markets are snagging them larger market shares and, in the near future, this sales strategy will likely be adopted by more and more smartphone companies, further confirming its success.

Thanks for the heads up today Dave.

From a market research report teaser.


My NewsDesk

OpenPR

As per the report, factors such as low power consumption, portability, wide angle view, and less space are predicted to propel the global market for screenless displays. The preference for new gadget and devices is increasing in many regions. However, even today, in many developing nations, there is a lack of awareness about the advanced technology, which is a threat for the key companies operating in the market. 

Screenless displays might cause trouble to the eyesight, which is another factor expected to hamper the growth of the global market.Some of the prominent players listed in the report are Sony Corporation, Seiko Epson Corporation, Fujitsu Ltd, Microvision, International Business Machines Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and Olympus Corporation. Companies are concentrating on promoting the new products and screenless displays to increase the clientage. With this, the key companies are expected to create new growth opportunities in the global market. Key companies are focusing on developing screenless display technologies such as the virtual retinal display, light-guided optical element, and retinal scanning display. Companies are taking efforts to add innovations in the screenless displays so as to capture a bigger share in the global market.

For a detailed analysis, the analysts have regionally divided the market into Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and Rest of the World. Key companies are targeting different areas across different regions to increase their client base. With this, they aim to maintain their dominance throughout the forecast period. The adoption of low-power screenless displays is increasing, which is a plus point for the growth of the global market. The rising technological awareness among emerging nations will further propel the global screenless displays market, predict the analysts. 

Foxconn & Arm Holdings to cooperate

I clipped a lot of this, because they restrict access. 

This is the kind of relationship building that deserves watching.
AsiaNikkei  -- More at the source.

TAIPEI -- Key iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn Technology Group, is trying to expand its foothold in the semiconductor industry by partnering with SoftBank Group-owned ARM to create a chip design center in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, people familiar with the matter told the Nikkei Asian Review.

The move highlights the ongoing efforts by the world's largest contract electronics maker to build more key components and tap into new technologies for future growth faced with weakening global demand for smartphones. While Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou has set an annual sales growth target for his manufacturing empire of 10%, Hon Hai's revenue for the first nine months of 2016 dropped more than 3% year-over-year.

***

Other than Apple, Foxconn also assembles handsets for major Chinese brands including Oppo, Huawei and Xiaomi, with Japan's Sharp also planning to increase its smartphone offerings.

An industry executive said that Foxconn has been trying to develop an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a customized chip, even though the company's presence in the semiconductor field has been very limited so far.

**

The person further said that Foxconn has recently made a strong investment commitment to the Shenzhen authorities with the signing of the memorandum of understanding.

Shenzhen is already home to Foxconn's China headquarters and now it seems that the coastal city may play an even more vital role in the Taiwanese manufacturing titan's future, with Apple also expanding operations in the area.

***

Earlier this month when Chief Executive Tim Cook visited Shenzhen, Apple, which accounts for more than 50% of Foxconn's annual revenue, announced that it will set up a research and development center in the coastal city, coinciding with Foxconn's move to deepen ties with local authorities.

During Cook's trip, Gou accompanied him to meet Chairman Xu Shaoshi of China's National Development and Reform Commission and other senior Shenzhen officials.

Meanwhile, the new Foxconn-ARM chip design center is being created following close collaboration between Gou and SoftBank Chairman and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son.

Both share the belief that the IoT will be a major growth driver in the future and it should become a core business of their respective companies. This conviction led Son to acquire ARM for 23 billion pounds ($31 billion) earlier this year.

More Moto-Mod Reviews

This review showing why Microvision's solution is so much better.


Business Today India

Insta-Share projector mod. The projector mod, made of plastic and weighing 125 gms, is like a thick cover that instantly snaps to the rear of the device. It packs in a 50 lumen projector lens that can project as far as 70 inches on any flat surface at a maximum resolution of 854x480p. The projection mod has a kick-stand that can rotate up to 180 degrees - this means it can be comfortably used to project on a wall or a ceiling. The automatic keystone adjustment setting comes handy here. Snapping the projector mod onto the phone and pressing the power key turns the projector on. There is a slider to adjust the focus of the projection.
It lived up to the claims of '70-inch projection', but the viewing experience was disappointing. While it is understandable that the clarity and the colour reproduction cannot match with that of the phone's display, the colours looked completely washed out when projected. For instance, the green colour in the video on the phone appeared greyish green when projected. The Projector mod heated up within a few minutes of projection. Instead of projecting videos, I ended up watching movies on the phone itself, using the mod as a stand (a very expensive one at that!). Motorola has packed in a 1,100mAh battery to the mod, which gives close to one hour of projection time.

Nintendo NX revealed (Trailer) Updated

Just Revealed. Good Concept. No mvis evident



Pure Nintendo

This is definitely exciting to finally here something about the NX after all this time but I would caution people not to get your expectations up too high.  It says a ‘preview trailer’ so it could be a preview for an upcoming Direct or event that will more thoroughly unveil the system.  The Japanese tweet for the game mentions the trailer is about 3 minutes long so it’s definitely not the length of a usual Nintendo Direct or even a Direct Mini.  Here’s hoping it gives us a good taste of what’s to come and when to expect more information.


From Twitter

Business Insider

TheVerge

More progress in Projection Mapping

This is very interesting.

Taken in isolation, it might not mean much, but if you look back to Microvision and their work with Disney, it seems to connect in a very interesting way.





In the Disney Hideout video below they talk about marking the surfaces that are projected onto, and how it can affect the projection. This is very much a Microvision project. You can see that the projector they use in the ShowWx.

First appeared here in a Project Hideout video from 2013



Good Find Fuzzie

Watching Tesla

Tesla has been on the radar for a long time.

They announce a new vehicle tonight. 

Thanks Joe!!

The Verge -- More at the source.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is about to tell us more about the company’s upcoming Model 3 vehicle. The announcement will “go live” at 8PM ET / 5PM PT and will be all about the Model 3, according to a tweet from Musk.

Earlier this year, he said that a “part 2” announcement regarding the Model 3 would take “things to another level,” and then at Recode’s Code Conference in May, Musk teased that there'd be a "big" event for the Model 3 toward the end of the year. He wouldn't say anything about what would be unveiled there, only that they'd do "the obvious thing."

We don’t know if the announcement will consist of a blog post on Tesla’s website and a Q&A conference call or as a full-fledged video presentation — but we do know that press are not in attendance.

More on Microsoft Continuum

From Here a few days ago... 

This is very interesting language from Microsoft -- 

I would be very surprised if this is accidental language and means something other than exactly what it says, so some kind of projector is probably there. 

I'm over invested in this, but this is the kind of thing that makes me want to be even more over invested in it.

I'm sure they wouldn't mind destroying the Motomod Instashare Projector.

ITechPost -- More at the source.

As stated on the Windows website, "Continuum turns your phone into a big-screen projector and a big-time productivity tool. Use a dock or adapter to connect to a TV or monitor, then use your apps and see your content on a larger screen." Thus, the capability of the Surface Phone to essentially become a mini desktop computer might prove to be its killer productivity feature.  

Technically speaking, this feature will allow the Microsoft Surface Phone to work as a PC and a projector with a little help of additional hardware. The wonder and convenience of having access to all the contents of any Windows smartphone and viewing it on a Windows 10 PC without needing a dock or an adapter is a breakthrough as well.

Microsoft Website

Another InstaShare Review

The Instashare projector is the first widely distributed phone projector, so paying attention to how it's received is important. As many reviews as can be seen.

So far, people are impressed with this projector that has dismal resolution and requires a very touchy focus wheel... and comparable brightness to the embeddable PicoP engine --that has been out for more than a year.

Good stuff for us.



CGM Online -- 

A projector for your phone? Yeah, you read that right. The Moto Insta-Share Projector was for sure the craziest of the mods I used. This one is definitely for the business folks out there who need to show off a project in a snap, but it’s versatile. It has the ability to shine up to a 70-inch projection with 50 lumens of nominal brightness, so it could come in handy if something were to happen to your main projector. But don’t let its professional design fool you; this is made for projecting on the go. It’s helpful when you want to show off your latest Internet video to a bunch of people and not have them all crowded around a small phone screen, and it comes with integrated kickstand and a focus wheel to make said video look its best. A built-in battery also gives it an extra hour of life, which can be charged separately. As an added bonus, it also comes with a little carrying case.

Again, I think the price is a bit much on this, but it does produce a great picture quality. It should prove helpful for business-on-the-go.

So, check out the LibraTone, another interesting company and device to watch. This wouldn't have caught my attention much, except that it claims streaming of YouTube, Amazon, and Particularly Netflix.

I can see streaming YouTube on a speaker for some music, but I see little reason at all to stream Netflix without images coming along too. 

Given the recently released Microvision video (below) this may be another place to watch.

LibraTone

Xiaomi is another regional company worth watching. They have been on the radar as long as Micromax. If they're already doing a push into the US they would be an equally interesting regional player to be adopting Microvision's tech.


NASDAQ -- More at the source

Xiaomi is one of Apple 's(NASDAQ: AAPL) biggest rivals in the Chinese smartphone market, but the six-year-old start-up has only taken baby steps into the U.S. market. It launched a U.S. shopping portal for headphones, power banks, fitness trackers, and other accessories last year. Earlier this year, it declared its intentions to enter the U.S. smartphone market despite tough competition and concerns about saturation.

But before taking that big step, Xiaomi is taking a swing at another market where Apple looms large -- set-top boxes. Xiaomi recently launched the Mi Box -- an Android TV box which comes with Sling TV, Pandora, and Vudu credit -- as its first major hardware push into the U.S. market. The device is currently available on its U.S. website and at Vudu parent company Wal-Mart 's(NYSE: WMT) stores.

MotoMod Projector Review

Good reception of projectors and phones is good for Microvision. 

The PicoP based projectors currently on the market clearly outclass this projector -- so as there is enthusiasm for this projector, there will be much more for the PicoP enabled version. (However and wherever it appears.)

As I mentioned in the Moto Z and Moto Z Play review, everyone I showed was really interested in the Moto Mods but this one seemed to easily take the cake as far as usage applications were concerned, with comments ranging from “that would be great for watching movies while camping in the trailer on a rainy day” to “this would be awesome for presentations and business meetings.”

I’m not an engineer, but I’d love to see a future version with a 720p or even 1080p resolution.

Jason Bouwmeester

Microsoft Continuum

Microsoft Continuum has popped up before as a possibility. It's a means to extend a smart phone. 

They will be announcing soon.


The new Windows smartphone will be released by Microsoft on October 26 in an event held in New York City.

Mobile Continuum

The Windows Surface Phone will also be coming with the Mobile Continuum feature. According to the Windows Website, "Continuum turns your phone into a big-screen projector and a big-time productivity tool. Use a dock or adapter to connect to a TV or monitor, then use your apps and see your content on a larger screen."

Contents on your Windows smart phone can also be viewed on a Windows 10 PC via Continuum without the need of a dock or an adapter. Basically, with the help of additional hardware, your phone will become like a PC with the help of Continuum.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/microsoft-surface-phone-review-specs-price-release-date-mobile-continuum-170889/#xPG1wutBQUvwVmFW.99

Interesting Apple post about Supply Chain

Interesting Background on supply chain issues.

Supply chain issues can be very complex, and spooling up to mass production can be very troublesome. There is a lot to pay attention to, and multiple supply chains must cooperate to produce a single product.

If Apple were to go a ceramic case -- a huge amount of work will be done to make it happen. 

It's also interesting that one of the biggest rumors is almost certainly shot down by this information. (Or this is a distraction -- I don't put anything past companies trying to maintain secrecy.)



Forbes


It has taken time to build up the experience (and the machinery) to accommodate the current production line. Moving to ceramics would mean starting again from scratch. Machinery would need to be manufactured, acquired, and installed; the volume of ceramic parts produced would need to be running at new iPhone levels of demand; and the floor space required would not be easily hidden in the supply chain. Koenig writes:

In fact, if we scale the numbers used in the booklet up to iPhone size devices and cycle times, Apple would need 2 football field’s worth of kiln space for each ceramic iPhone to sinter for the requisite 36 hours. For the 2 hours of hard ceramic machining to finish the case details, Apple would need to go from 20,000 CNC machines, to 250,000. They would need another 200,000 employees to perform the 2 hours of hand polishing to “bring out the strength and luster.”

No Substitute for Human Contact & your viability experiment

This is one of the reasons that I am certain Microvision will be successful. It is only a little bit convoluted: 

We love to take pictures and videos with their phones.
We take those pictures and videos so we can share our experiences.

Try this: Take your best picture. Next time you're with a group of people, show that picture to the people right next to you. When you get a positive reaction -- other people will want to see it. Then you'll end up passing your phone around the table, and the reaction from others will be diminished.

If you have a PicoP projector, don't show it first to the person next to you -- put it on the wall. Now you're sharing with everyone at the same time. A MUCH better experience for everyone. 

That's human contact.

The same goes for sharing media -- much nicer to watch an episode of your favorite sit-com with someone else on a big screen than by yourself on a small screen.

The moto-mod and DLP -- a better, but less of an experience, because you have to fiddle with that focus wheel.

We're waiting, sure. I can wait, and buy more down here.


9to5 mac  -- much more at the source.

In the interview, Cook explains that there’s “no substitute for human contact,” again hinting that the Apple CEO favors augmented reality over virtual reality. These comments aren’t all that surprising considering Apple’s history of acquisitions in the field, as well as comments Cook has made before.

“There’s no substitute for human contact,” Cook told BuzzFeed News. “And so you want the technology to encourage that.”

Nintendo NX

Still watching the NX. 

This announcement could come any time. I don't KNOW anything about it, but this seems like a place PicoP could pop up. (These hints aside, Nintendo has some very interesting projector use-case items.)



Nintendo Insider ---- More at the source.

Nintendo NX Hardware

Nintendo hasn’t shared all of the console’s “gimmicks” with the developers yet

Hybrid confirmed but not the only “surprise”

It has been confirmed again that there are detachable controllers

There is no dock where the handheld is plugged in, but a wireless ‘dongle’ that upscales when playing on a TV screen

When playing on the handheld, the game is the same as when docked

Games look good on the handheld screen (780 – 900p), about PlayStation 4 level

Ports should be easy despite the different architecture

Very positive feedback on the dev tools

Smartphone connectivity may be possible

Virtual Reality support is not out of the question but early tests aren’t satisfying enough for Nintendo

MPCL1A Ad in Korea.

Sony Store Korea





Thanks Joe Spaz! 

Samsung Galaxy S8

Tech Radar is a pretty good source, so posting from there.

Rumors are rumors. Treat them that way.

Given that previous upgrades caught fire, new features should be far more compelling.



TechRadar -- More at the source

AI upgrade

The same source also claims that both phones will use the Viv AI assistant, which Samsung recently bought, and it could prove a rival to Google Assistant, as it’s been built by some of the creators of Siri. 

Finally, and unsurprisingly, some versions of the phone (likely the US models) will apparently use a Snapdragon 830 processor, while other versions are said to use the Exynos 8895. But these are both top-end chips, so the phone should have plenty of power with either. 

If these rumors prove accurate, then coupled with other things we’ve heard, like the possibility of 6GB of RAM, an iris scanner, and even a built-in projector, the Samsung Galaxy S8 could be the phone to beat in 2017, and with an announcement rumored for February 26 we shouldn’t have too long to wait for it.

Lessons from Samsung

There's a lot to learn from the Samsung Note7 debacle.

Being absolutely sure something works as intended before you throw it out to the public is of paramount importance. If you screw this up, you end up with huge recalls which are incredibly damaging to all of the companies and shareholders involved -- and the customers who are negatively impacted.

This episode is also a sign of something else -- mobile phone companies are even MORE desperate now than they were before. They have made these phones as fast and efficient as they can -- before they start causing fires. They have gone beyond the limits of what can be safely improved in processing power and battery life. So, to sell the next models they need to come up with a new feature.

 I'm eager for our product to hit the public in a big way -- for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is because it will make Microvision's stock a lot more valuable. I want to watch people using it, I want to see people sharing their pictures with them.



Boston Globe -- A lot more at the source

Samsung Corp.’s decision on Tuesday to abandon its troubled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, after dozens exploded or caught fire, will cost the company billions of dollars. That may be the price Samsung has to pay to rescue its good name — and to keep competitors from undermining its position as the world’s largest seller of smartphones.
Willy Shih, a professor at the Harvard Business School, said that in trying to make the new phone thinner, lighter, and more powerful than the one before it, while retaining long battery life, Samsung pushed its technology too far.

“To me, it illustrates those trade-offs that designers and engineers make as we get closer and closer to the edge,” Shih said.

Or maybe Northland Knows something Himax doesn't

Scraped because I don't want to lose the content. 

Barrons -- Source

Himax Slips as Northland Slashes Microsoft ‘HoloLens’ Estimates

By Tiernan Ray

Shares of display technology vendor Himax Technologies (HIMX) predawn 25 cents, or almost 3%, at $8.50, after Northland Capital Markets’s Tom Sepenzis this morning warned the stock has “little chance of a positive catalyst until the second half of CY17” given a sharp drop-off in revenue from Microsoft’s (MSFT) “HoloLens” device for augmented reality.

Sepenzis maintains his Outperform rating on the shares, and his $12 price target, as the thinks Himax “remains well positioned longer term.”

Microsoft is cutting orders for components for HoloLens as it rejiggers the product, which is still at device mostly for developers to play with:

"AR – We believe that the primary customer is rapidly reducing orders for LCOS and WLO components. This could result in approximately $60 million in LCOS/WLO revenue in CY16, down from an expected $90+ million, and have a significant impact in CY17. Originally pegged at $270 million in potential revenue in CY17, we now expect this customer to drop off almost completely in the first half of CY17 as it looks to refine its AR products. We were modeling $230 million in revenue for AR components in CY17, and we are reducing our estimate to approximately $35 million, back to R&D levels."

He cuts his estimates for Himax for this year to $810.9 million and 41 cents a share in profit from a prior $856 million and 50 cents, and he cuts 2017 numbers to $802 million and 31 cents from a prior $1.06 billion and 79 cents.


Sepenzis is not discouraged, noting that this can happen with emerging technologies:

"While the change in estimates is rather profound in CY17, the primary reason involves the augmented reality business, an area where future sentiment swings wildly from quarter-to-quarter. We continue to believe that this market will eventually develop, and Himax is working with most of the major OEM’s to deliver viable products, so we do expect it to be one of the primary winners once the dust settles. We are therefore not changing our rating or target price at this time. However, we believe the stock will not see any major catalysts until the second half of CY17 when the second major AR device is expected to be delivered."

Seattle Leading the Way in VR and Augmented Reality Development

Microvision in the right place with the right product.

Note the highlight at the bottom. The development of these systems is very difficult, and there is a lot of work involved in making it work right. 


GeekWire  (More at the source)

The region’s legacy as a gaming hub with the presence of Xbox, Nintendo, Valve, Bungie and others, makes for an easy transition into VR/AR, which in many ways is the next evolution of video games. Many of the most well-known headsets are made by companies based in the Seattle area or with offices here, such as Microsoft and the HoloLens, Facebook and Oculus Rift and Valve/HTC and the Vive.

“Because of our deep talent pool in video game development, the Puget sound region has become a center of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Realty development” said Kristina Hudson, executive director of WIN. “This is still a very young sub-cluster of the industry. Quite a lot of investment dollars are flowing to virtual, augmented and mixed reality development, and our game developers are moving in the space.”

Virtual reality is in its early days, and it has a bright future, proponents say. It’s not just gaming where virtual reality is making an impact. Entertainment, real estate, sports, medicine, industrial, architecture and many other industries are investing in virtual reality, Berry said.

Chris Donahue, senior director of alliances for AMD, broke down the extreme level of work that goes into making a virtual reality platform. Essentially, every time users move their heads, they are asking a computer what the world looks like from that angle, and that computer only has about 20 milliseconds to answer. Otherwise, Donahue said, users can get sick, and no one wants that.