Other Hololens Headset Makers

If you're not already watching Dell, Acer, HP, Lenovo and 3Glasses (who are they?) That's where be seeing a Hololens headset. (I suspect all the third party headsets will have to be tethered to a computer. We shall see.



HotHardware

PCAdvisor.uk

Microsoft has opened up its Holographic platform to third parties, it announced at Computex 2016 in June, enabling other manufacturers to build headsets just like its HoloLens and help it to expand the platform. A consumer HoloLens "may come from us, or it may come from a partner, and either way that's fantastic," said Microsoft's Terry Myerson, executive vice president of its Windows and Devices Group.

Microsoft reconfirmed this at CES in January 2017, telling HoloLens hopefuls that it is partnering with PC makers including Dell, Acer, HP, Lenovo and 3Glasses, which will release third-party headsets based on HoloLens technology over the coming months. These will be available much cheaper with prices starting at a more attractive $299, although unlike HoloLens they will need to be tethered to a PC.

“These new head mounted displays will be the first consumer offerings utilizing the Mixed Reality capabilities of Windows 10 Creators Update," said Microsoft.

ONMSFT
For now, the company is counting on third-party manufacturers to democratize its Windows Holographic ecosystem, and we recently saw a number of companies showing off a first portfolio of affordable VR headsets back at CES 2017. However, Microsoft’s HoloLens will likely remain in a league of its own as it’s still the only self-contained holographic headset in the market today, which certainly explains its premium pricing.

A couple of things from the Kiplinger Letter

Things to look forward to in 2017

Blazing-fast wireless service is on the way:5G, or fifth-generation wireless technology. It will revolutionize the mobile internet industry.

Web speeds will be 10 to 100 times as fast, enabling HD movie downloads in under five seconds, with lag times of less than a thousandth of a second and ultra-low-power sensors that last for years.

Expect full-fledged service by 2020 or so.Major trials will get under way next year, with AT&T and Verizon leading the early parade. Hundreds of billions of dollars will be spent yearly to update wireless infrastructures and services.

The U.S. is poised to lead in 5G adoption in the wake of rules from federal telecom regulators that unleashed huge swaths of untapped airwaves.

Life will be different in 2030

In 2030, a pair of lightweight virtual reality glasses will sell for as little as $200 to $400. They’ll help you function in your everyday world — seeing and hearing everything around you while receiving texts, interacting with talking 3-D images of people and more. Your gestures, eye movements and voice will direct the images you see in your VR glasses.

A real-estate agent might use such glasses to sell homes. Prospective buyers wearing augmented reality glasses will be able to visualize a building on an empty lot, for example — walking around it, seeing it with solar panels, etc. Doctors will wear them to read vital patient info while performing surgery. Heck, on the golf course, your glasses will tell you the distance to the hole, wind conditions, scores and more.

Wearers will even be able to lose themselves in an environment outside their surroundings. Experiences will include everything from climbing Mount Everest and visiting Mars to re-creating crime scenes and sitting down with an overseas relative in a virtual park.

Motomods vs. Project ARA -- Developer kits

Some insight about Motorola's MotoMods. Some good stuff about developer kits and encouraging small developers to get involved.

gadgets.ndtv.com

McDonnell is quite dismissive about Ara. "They didn’t really think about the consumer at all," says McDonnell. "Their whole idea was based around technology, what can you do, but not what the customer wants."

"They wanted to do things like change the specs but that doesn’t really change the consumer experience," he adds. "It was exciting for developers, but they got the priority wrong. I think with LG and Friends - they wanted you to switch off your phone to change parts, and it was a whole process, who is going to do that?"

****

The way to create and sell a module is straightforward - buy an MDK from Motorola, prototype your idea, and follow the self-certification procedures. Once that's done, Motorola will verify your plans, and then it sells you a license as an official Mod. Motorola can also help developers find partners for manufacturing and distribution of the Mods, and would help with marketing too, McDonnell adds.

But would small developers in India want to commit precious funds to buy an MDK to start with? "As of now we're distributing the MDK to people who register with us," says Sharma. "We will need a project outline to determine how feasible your idea is, and if it looks like it can be done, then we'll give you an MDK." And in a few months, Motorola also plans to launch a Mod Store, to help highlight all these new products - a bit like Apple showcases MFi products.

Apple to get "Time of Flight" Sensor from STM

I urge a great deal of caution when dealing with any Apple rumor. Generally they're very unreliable until very close to the release date, and even then a lot of it is wrong.

That Reuters is reporting that STM has a big deal that will substantially increase revenues in the second half of the year, is interesting from MVIS. The timing is familiar. That it may also involve lasers and "time of flight" sensors makes it even more interesting.

MobilenApps

According to Reuters, STMicroelectronics has inked a deal with a tech biggie and that can generate substantial revenues in the second half of 2017. Tech experts and analysts believe that the company is none other than the Cupertino-based tech giant Apple. The company may supply iPhone 8 parts and that includes a component inside the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Reports have confirmed that Apple has placed a new type of proximity sensor at the front side of the phone.

Another Modular Smartphone?

Not a lot of detail here, but modular is interesting. So far projection is high on the list of things to do with modules on phones. So we have another place to watch.


Gadgets360
UberGizmo
GSMArena

There aren’t a lot of details available at this point in time about the Alcatel modular smartphone but it’s claimed that users will be able to add to the handset’s functionalities by slapping on replaceable back covers.

This in fact could be the Idol 5 we're talking about here, by the way. Price-wise expect it to go for around €320 or more unlocked. All of the details should be unveiled during Alcatel's press conference on February 26.

Interesting Patent From Microsoft, Possible now with Microvision

So, Joe sent this to me on Friday morning.

This is good stuff.

It looks a lot like the video from Microvision. 

And similar in concept to what NVDIA showed at CES (Fast forward to 30:00)

Just recently hit Patently Apple

From Patently Mobile.

Way beyond voice activation, Microsoft's system will offer a highly sophisticated 3D depth camera in tune with a pico projector to allow video conferencing to occur in any room in your home or office as the imagery could be projected on a wall instead of a computer display as noted in our cover graphic. Microsoft's home automation system could be set up in a user's home or office and act as a form of video-intercom. The system could be set up in a home in various configurations such as a device like the Amazon Echo or on the wall or ceiling so that a conversation could take place while a user is moving from room to room.


*****

The projection unit 100 also comprises a rotating projection module #304 comprising at least one pico projector and optionally comprising an optical arrangement comprising mirrors and/or lenses configured to optically move light projected by the pico projector.

Race for the smart Home

Alexa more likely than Apple.... 

SouthChinaMorningPost

For the smart home, the key developer partners are the makers of household devices ranging from lighting systems to refrigerators. There are currently about 250 devices that are certified to work with Alexa, and Amazon has encouraged rapid development of third-party applications with its open-systems approach and even financial incentives for some partners.

Apple’s Homekit, by contrast, has about 100 certified devices. And the reasons behind that gap show both the risks and the potential rewards of Apple’s approach.

****

The devices have to be made in special factories that are certified by Apple. A confidential Apple document obtained by Reuters lists more than 800 of these factories, but only a few specialise in home automation products.

Developers can ask Apple to certify an unlisted factory they want to use. But the limited selection means that device makers can’t always get the best prices or work with their preferred factories.

****

Alexa, by contrast, only requires smart home companies to write software code and submit it to Amazon for review. There are no special chips. To earn the “Works with Alexa” label -which isn’t required to function with Alexa but does help promote products on Amazon’s website - startups must have their products physically tested. Amazon does allow that to happen in a third-party lab, however.

Once those certifications are in hand, Amazon says it will decide whether or not a device gets the “Works with Alexa” label within 10 days.

Samsung or iPhone8 may not be the years biggest smartphones

We do know an interest something going on with phones in China.

Qualper, this site

Express.co.uk -- More at the source.

The likes of Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi may be little known in the West (for now at least), but in a country of over a billion people, such brands have jumped at the chance to exploit a customer base numbering in the hundreds of millions.

****

Recent figures from analyst firm Strategy Analytics show that Huawei, probably the best-known Chinese brand in the West, overtook Samsung to become the world’s most profitable Android device maker in the last quarter of 2016.

Many of these Chinese phone makers will be launching new devices at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, allowing them to grab more media attention, and therefore more consumer awareness.

The power of marketing in the hyper-competitive smartphone market cannot be denied, and several Chinese firms have already tried to show off their goods in a big way.

Huawei currently has partnerships with many leading European football clubs, including Arsenal, Paris St Germain, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.

Adverts for the likes of Oppo and Vivo, whose phones retail at the fraction of the price of Apple and Samsung, are also becoming commonplace at televised sporting games, especially those which are broadcast back in China.

Vivo phones even made an appearance in last year’s biggest superhero movie, with a branded concept Vivo device ending up in the hands of Robert Downey Junior’s Iron Man in the blockbuster Avengers: Civil War - a film seen by millions worldwide.

Goldman's view of the future.

A little bit of a view of the future from Goldman Sachs

Interesting how a little company called Microvision fits into big parts of what they're about.

CAE Healthcare

CAE Makes Multimillion dollar flight simulators for aircrew training. (I used to get to play with those.)

That a company dedicated to training and simulation is taking on Hololens is, in my opinion, an excellent development for AR.

Whether or not we have a place in Hololens, great results for the space will be good for Microvision.


CAE HealthCare

CAE Healthcare announces first mixed reality ultrasound simulation solution with Microsoft HoloLens
Orlando, U.S. & Montreal, Canada – January 27, 2017 – On the eve of the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) in Orlando, Florida, the largest medical simulation conference, CAE Healthcare announced the release of CAE VimedixAR, an ultrasound training simulator integrated with the Microsoft HoloLens, the world’s first self-contained holographic computer. CAE Healthcare will be the first company to bring a commercial Microsoft HoloLens application to the medical simulation market.
VimedixAR delivers an unprecedented simulation-based training experience, allowing learners to interact and move freely within a clinical training environment that is augmented with holograms. For the first time, students will be able to examine 3D anatomy inside the body of the Vimedix manikin. As learners practice scanning an animated heart, lungs or abdomen, they will observe in real-time how the ultrasound beam cuts through anatomy to generate a ultrasound image.
Learners can elevate the VimedixAR hologram above the body to gain an understanding of human anatomy and how its circulatory, respiratory and skeletal structures are integrated. The hologram of the heart, for example, can be isolated and enlarged, rotated, and turned as it floats at eye level. If a learner is struggling to understand a concept, he or she will be able to walk around the hologram to gain a different perspective.
“We are on the cusp of a new frontier in simulation for healthcare,” said Dr. Robert Amyot, president of CAE Healthcare. “Augmented and virtual reality can accelerate learning and provide shared training experiences in a more immersive and engaging clinical learning environment. Our engineering team is just beginning to explore possibilities with the Microsoft HoloLens, and we look forward to offering it as a key training solutions technology to our industry partners.”
The CAE Healthcare team has already begun to develop training prototypes with the medical device industry that incorporate the Microsoft HoloLens and are expected to accelerate professional education for new technologies. With CAE Healthcare’s virtual views of human anatomy and the Microsoft HoloLens, physicians will be able to practice placing cardiac devices or implants with speed and precision before they perform procedures on real patients.
“At Microsoft our goal with HoloLens and mixed reality is to help customers visualize and interact with 3D content in ways that offer new possibilities for creation, collaboration and consumption of information,” said Lorraine Bardeen, General Manager, Microsoft HoloLens and Windows Experiences. “It is inspiring to see how CAE is integrating HoloLens into its healthcare simulation portfolio, and we are excited about the opportunities mixed reality presents to revolutionize the future of patient education and training through the use of holographic computing.”
The VimedixAR module with Microsoft HoloLens will be available for presale and during the IMSH conference and online. For more information, visit caehealthcare.com/hololens

About CAE Healthcare
CAE Healthcare offers cutting-edge learning tools to healthcare students and professionals, allowing them to develop practical experience through risk-free simulation training before treating real patients. CAE Healthcare's full spectrum of simulation solutions includes surgical and imaging simulation, curriculum, the LearningSpace audiovisual and center management platform and highly realistic adult, pediatric and baby patient simulators. Today, approximately 9,000 CAE Healthcare simulators and audiovisual solutions are in use worldwide by medical schools, nursing schools, hospitals, defence forces and other entities. www.cae.com/healthcare
About CAE
CAE (NYSE: CAE; TSX: CAE) is a global leader in the delivery of training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. We design and integrate the industry's most comprehensive training solutions, anchored by the knowledge and expertise of our 8,000 employees, our world-leading simulation technologies and a track record of service and technology innovation spanning seven decades. Our global presence is the broadest in the industry, with 160 sites and training locations in 35 countries, including our joint venture operations, and the world's largest installed base of flight simulators. Each year, we train more than 120,000 civil and defence crewmembers, as well as thousands of healthcare professionals. 

Hololamp Bring the Future Today

Think about it for just a second. Who's the first to offer actually this? Microvision. That's pretty cool.

People have been dreaming about seeing this for about 40 years.



VRCircle -- more at the source.

Check out the world’s first portable spatial augmented reality projector HoloLamp! Traditional augmented reality experiences require the use of glasses, tablets or phones, which can reduce your field of view.  With the HoloLamp, users can perceive virtual objects hands-free with a technology that renders graphics giving an illusion of 3D objects on any surface.

So what is it exactly?  HoloLamp is a device that enables the creation of mixed reality elements by combining real objects with HoloLamp effects, which allows users to interact with content in new ways.  The device is connected to a computer through HDMI and USB and uses multiple cameras and a pico projector.  The HoloLamp technology warps the image being displayed so that the picture users see appear three dimensional. 

GE Augmented Reality Competition.

Three to five years, everyone using a wearable device.

Very interesting Article


ITWorldCanada

Everything manufactured more recently can be made with a digital twin without much added effort, he adds. But what about that locomotive engine that you only service every 10 years? As more machines are modelled for digital twins from inception, it will make more sense to have AR tools ready to service them.

In just three to five years, Boris says he can’t imagine a person on the plant floor that doesn’t have a wearable device to help them do the job. If you think that sounds unlikely, just consider how you’d react if you were told 10 years ago that everyone on the plant floor would be using an Apple-made tablet.

“Now everyone on the plant floor has an iPad in their hands,” Boris says.

If the ROI is as good as Jenkins says for Upskill’s Skylight system, CIOs will be racing to deploy the technology. Efficiency increases from 30 to 50 per cent the first time that a worker uses the technology – before they’re even accustomed to it, Jenkins says. Companies that adopt Skylight commonly see a 30 per cent increase in quality output and 20 per cent better resource utilization.

Those are numbers worthy of a pilot project, or four.

Read more: http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/how-ge-spurred-augmented-reality-pilots-with-an-internal-wearables-challenge/390130#ixzz4Wyet0ZwW
or visit http://www.itworldcanada.com for more Canadian IT News 

Microvision Slideshow from CES

From Microvision's DisplayGround Blog

MicroVision Scanning Engines Overview | January 2017 from MicroVision

More uses of Augmented Reality

The ways this technology will be used will benefit us all enormously.

Being part of it by providing the near-eye displays is enough. I have no idea if we're in Hololens or not, but it certainly seems like a very good fit.


Engadget - More at the source



The researchers showed two potential use cases for the HoloLens. In the first, called "automated progress monitoring," inspectors can actually "bring the design information to the construction site" via Microsoft's HoloLens Sketchup Viewer, says grad student Marianna Kopsida. That way, they can visualize relevant engineering data onsite in order to check building progress and take corrective actions where needed.

In the other scenario, inspectors take high resolution photos on the building site, bring the data back to the office, and overlay it onto a 3D model of the project. "This copy is fully textured, data-rich and an exact replica that can be used for condition testing ... to find problems with the structure," says Cambridge researcher Philipp Huethwohl. That would let inspectors avoid physical inspections, keeping them out of danger and allowing bridges and other structures to remain open.

What is a Short Squeeze?

A short squeeze happens when too many people are forced to buy back stock -- and the supply is very limited. Microvision is a naturally supply limited stock (not a very large float) and further limited because there are a lot of people (like myself) who are holding a good number of shares and who will not sell.. (until a giant spike.)

When we get good news (which we KNOW is coming) -- the supply of shares for sale will decline to none, and the demand for shares to purchase will increase dramatically. Everyone wants a big screen for their smart phone, and for self-driving cars to have accurate LiDAR -- and augmented reality.

A caution about short squeezes is that they always over shoot, but in the case of Microvision with rising and vastly improving fortunes, I do not see it going back down as far. I won't even hazard a guess on how high things could go -- but as you see from the charts, things can get really out of hand.

Here are a couple of short squeeze charts for you to enjoy. (note the price scale on both charts.)

Wikipedia - Short Squeeze

A short squeeze is a rapid increase in the price of a stock that occurs when there is a lack of supply and an excess of demand for the stock. Short squeezes result when short sellers cover their positions on a stock, resulting in buying volume that drives the stock price up.


The Street

But Cramer said for those with inside knowledge of how the markets really work, these moves make perfect sense. In the case of Whirlpool, he said, the company has only 76 million shares of stock available. While that may seem like a lot, Cramer put the number into perspective by comparing it to the 4.6 billion shares that Exxon-Mobil ( XOM) has.

Cramer explained that when a company like Whirlpool continues to disappoint investors quarter after quarter, it builds up a sizable number of short sellers. In the case of Whirlpool, almost 10% of the company's available shares were sold short ahead of its most recent release. So when Whirlpool not only surprised Wall Street with great earnings but also raised guidance, it caught all of those short sellers completely off guard an d on the wrong side of the trade.

What ensues is a classic short squeeze, explained Cramer, where hundreds of short sellers all look to cover their positions at the same time, only to find there are no shares available at the current price. So the price rises. As the situation becomes more and more desperate, the share price will continue to rise, sometimes day after day, until all of the short positions have been covered. Cramer said the situation is often made worse by retail investors, who are also looking to buy shares since the company now seems to be on the right track again.

Cramer said the same pattern can be seen with Netflix and Green Mountain. There is no news propelling these stocks, he said, it's merely short sellers looking to buy huge quantities of stock, only to find no takers. They'll continue to bid up the price, dollar by dollar, tick by tick, until they can cover their mistakes.

New Buy Recommendation

Highland Mirror

Microvision (MVIS) was Initiated by Ladenburg Thalmann to “Buy” and the brokerage firm has set the Price Target at $4.50. Ladenburg Thalmann advised their Clients and Investors in a research report released on Jan 26, 2017. 

On the company’s financial health, Microvision reported $-0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the analyst consensus estimate by $ -0.01 based on the information available during the earnings call on Nov 2, 2016. Analyst had a consensus of $-0.07. The company had revenue of $4.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.23 million. The company’s revenue was up 66.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $-0.07 EPS.

Several company insiders have filed Insider transactions , on Dec 14, 2016, Brian V Turner (Director) purchased 23,364 shares at $1.07 per share price. According to the SEC, on Dec 14, 2016, David J Westgor (VP,Gen Counsel & Secretary) purchased 4,672 shares at $1.07 per share price. On Dec 14, 2016, Slade Gorton (Director) purchased 93,458 shares at $1.07 per share price, according to the Form-4 filing with the securities and exchange commission.

Microvision opened for trading at $1.18 and hit $1.26 on the upside on Monday, eventually ending the session at $1.26, with a gain of 8.62% or 0.1 points. The heightened volatility saw the trading volume jump to 227,972 shares. Company has a market cap of $86 M.

Microvision Inc. is a developer of PicoP display technology which can be used by its customers to create high-resolution miniature laser display and imaging engines. The Company’s PicoP technology utilizes its two dimensional Micro-Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS) lasers optics and electronics to create a video or still image from a small form factor device. It also provides engineering support to its customers as they prepare to manufacture display engines as well as provide support to original device manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers during the integration and optimization of PicoP display technology for specific products. It focuses to provide users of mobile consumer devices such as smartphones media players tablet personal computers and other consumer electronics products with a large screen viewing experience produced by a small embedded projector.

Interesting Report on STM

There is some familiar language in here, some interesting timing. 

The position of the quote marks is important. It is a mixture of reporting facts and reporting conjecture...

This is what STM did with Microvision at CES

Barron's Blog

Reuters

Yahoo News

Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics posted in-line 2016 results on Thursday, driven by solid phone and car part sales and improved factory utilization, while setting out a plan to boost plant capacity that could fuel revenue later in 2017.

Europe's third largest semiconductor company said it had won a deal with an unnamed customer that can generate "substantial revenues" in the second half of the year, which analysts believe are tied to parts for upcoming Apple iPhones.

The next generation iPhone 8 line is expected to be released by Apple in the back half of 2017.

Liberum analyst Janardan Menon said ST's latest results reflect demand from automakers and phones such as the Apple iPhone 7, including "time of flight" proximity sensors that also measure ranges between a phone camera and objects in its view.

"This is likely to be a new product in the iPhone 8, in addition to on-going shipments of the time-of-flight sensor," Menon advised clients. "We expect STM's strong revenue growth to convert into rising margins and further multiple expansion," he said, referring to factors justifying a higher stock price.

ST Chief Executive Carlo Bozotti declined to comment on who was behind the new customer contract. "We cannot say more," he told analysts on a conference call. "We cannot give more color." Apple demands suppliers never reveal its contracts.

Hololamp...

This is cool. Microvision is in this.

Telepresence Options -- More at the source.

HoloLamp is a portable, self-contained, projection-based augmented reality system that fits on your desk and plugs into your PC. The HoloLamp includes a pico projector that projects a simulated holographic image onto any surface, allowing you to experience AR without a bulky headset. The system features multiple cameras that scan the projection surface topography and objects within the space. HoloLamp also uses face tracking cameras to help create the hologram illusion.

HoloLamp leverages "spatial augmented reality," which allows the system to project images onto any surface. HoloLamp maps the surface below the projection area using advanced computer vision techniques and warps the projected image to compensate for different surface elevations and angles. The HoloLamp renders the projected image in such a way that it tricks your brain into perceiving a holographic image when you're really looking at a flat projected image. The system also tracks the position of your face in real time to ensure that you always see the correct perspective.

New Sony Flagship Phones

This is interesting, Sony is going to announce a couple of new phones and a new "flagship" 

I also find the presence of MediaTek chips interesting.

MWC should be interesting this year.


Droid Review -- More at the source

According to one report, Sony is currently working on two new smartphones, to be powered by MediaTek processors. Even though these were just recently spotted, many are suggesting there’s a high probability we might see them in a vivid picture at MWC 2017.

Sharp holds Key to Foxconn's Restructuring

Look at that cute little guy.

Something interesting will come of this relationship.


Asia Nikkei

At a press conference in Taipei on Sunday, Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou boasted about Sharp's improved financial results and reiterated that the purpose of the takeover is vertical integration.

Gou has asked Sharp to increase the number of new products and strengthen its brand. He hopes that accomplishing these goals, coupled with Foxconn's cost competitiveness and finances, will lead to something like South Korea's Samsung Electronics.

That is what he means by vertical integration.

With Foxconn's growth as a contract electronics assembler now reaching its limit, the key to a structural overhaul is Sharp.

One of the earliest fruits of the integration could become visible in Shenzhen. On Jan. 19, Sharp opened a research and development center for home appliances in the southern Chinese city.

Shenzhen is Foxconn's main production base, and the company plans to further strengthen functions there to help develop products for its major clients, including Apple. The new Sharp center will be an addition to Foxconn's already sprawling Shenzhen ecosystem.

The Carl Zeiss Glasses

I don't believe that Apple is going AR this year. 

But this video is interesting. First -- they showed it at CES - last year. 

Note that they say this is only about the optics, and doesn't have a projector yet.

Why they didn't show it this year is interesting, but I don't think that nervous behavior if Apple is mentioned is an indicator that it's going to be in Apple products soon.


This article seems to think it's a foregone conclusion that Apple is doing AR with Carl Zeiss. I'm dubious about that.

EnStars -- More at the source.

5G On the way

More bandwidth for streaming video will be a big deal for adoption of PicoP and Augmented Reality.


5G Chips on the way

Qualcomm and Intel are expected to launch chipset solutions for 5G equipment supporting 28GHz frequency band in the second half of 2017, while Samsung Electronics is also likely to release comparable chips during the same period, said the sources.

Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung and HiSilicon Technologies are also expected to release chips for 3.5GHz frequency band, added the sources, noting that the 28GHz and 3.5GHz are the two frequency bands to be available for 5G services.

Scoble - Apple, Metaio, Primesense

Scoble isn't my favorite prognosticator. But Some of this is pretty interesting. IF he has put this stuff together correctly, things could get very interesting for Microvision.

I'm profoundly skeptical of a "clear" smart phone coming. (One that can pretend to be clear, less dubious) A phone that labels the world as you look at the phone is possible.

Of all the Apple news out recently the leaks prior to iPhone 7's appearance of the "smart connectors" I think those will be key soon... but watching everything.

Thanks Jason.

Scoble Facebook



The phone itself has a next-generation 3D sensor from Primesense, which Apple bought. Apple has 600 engineers working in Israel on just the sensor. It’s the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. It’s the first product introduction in Apple’s new amazing headquarters. It’s a big f**king deal and will change this industry deeply. It’ll get rid of the HTC Vive lighthouse system, too.

***

Apple’s purchase of Metaio is going to prove very key. I won’t be shocked to learn that Peter Meier, CTO there, is in charge of the next iPhone strategy and has been for years.

***

Microsoft’s execs already told me they are betting 100% on mixed reality (with its Microsoft HoloLens product). The strategy at Microsoft is “Cloud + Hololens.” That’s it. The entirety of a $455 billion company is betting on mixed reality.

***

One thing is clear to me now after coming home from meeting dozens of consumer electronics leaders at GITEX in Dubai (the middle east’s biggest consumer electronics show): the next three years will see more new technologies and more new products released than we’ve seen in possibly human history. The investments being made are staggering and major companies (and leaders) will see their legacies made or destroyed in a very short time.

This guy, I find to be more believable...

Mashable - Ulanoff  -- Much more at source
Found here

Apple will do something with Augmented Reality.

That’s not rumor or innuendo. Apple CEO Tim Cook repeatedly expressed his strong interest in the technology over the more isolating virtual reality over the last 12 months. Apple acquired an AR company over a year ago. And 2017 promises to be a very big year for the iPhone. Why wouldn’t Apple bring its own brand of mixed reality to its flagship product?

That all makes sense.

***

In car

Apple’s plans to build an Apple Car may have gone up in smoke, but its interest in transportation is likely undiminished.

I’ve long assumed that Apple’s strongest vehicular interests reside in interfaces. What if the new iPhone uses its AR to change your perspective on the road, so you can see the name of the highway and your direction laid out in front of you? If Apple squeezes a laser projector inside the iPhone 8, it could project the AR information onto your windshield.

Wild? Yes. Unlikely? Sure, but probably more likely than Apple AR Glasses.

Regional Xaiomi -- MWC

Xaiomi is one of the regionals to watch.

Apparently up to something soon, we'll see what happens.



The Chinese company Xiaomi will be boasting its Xiaomi Mi 6 flagship this year. It is projected that it will have its grand reveal in the Mobile World Congress from Feb. 27 to March 2. Tech writers and fans are anticipating for its appearance to see whether it is as good as the leaked specs and features floating online.

*** 

Tech writers believe that this is the surprise product that Xiaomi VP Li Wanquiang has mentioned during the Geek Park Innovation conference in Beijing. It is worth noting that Xiaomi has made its first time appearance at CES just this month and many speculate that they will again be seen at MWC next month bringing Xiaomi Mi 6 series.

Vuzix taking a shot at Google & Microsoft

This is very much a company to watch. We know they get displays from Microvision (According to Vuzix financial documents) 

The Blade3000 does look like something that people will wear and even wear in public. (Nothing else passes that test) -- so it's something to watch. It is getting attention in the right places.


Entrepreneur

With two titans and a unicorn startup leaving their footprints in the AR field, how can the much smaller Vuzix compete? By aiming lower, says founder and CEO Paul Travers.

"We come from the perspective of practical," he told me at the company's CES booth. "We don't think you need to land the whale. It's a different approach than most companies."

Indeed, its newest device, the Blade 3000, may just be the first piece of AR hardware to be adapted by tech enthusiasts since the Google Glass. The company is aiming to introduce it to the market for under $1,000 this year, with the price dropping to under $500 in 2018. And unlike the $1,500 Google Glass, which had a design that resembled a one-eyed cyborg, the Blade 3000 looks like a pair of Oakley sunglasses.

***

Vuzix, which was founded in 1997, holds more than 41 patents and has 10 additional patents pending, according to its website. It received a $24.8 million investment from Intel in 2015. Travers had worked at Eastman Kodak but said he left after many of his projects were killed by the company. He first started a business making sound cards in a basement and then sold it.

And even though Vuzix has been around for two decades, he still doesn't consider the company successful.

"If you want to succeed at being an entrepreneur, you just have to not quit, have tenacity," Travers said. "You've got to be willing to hang through the hard stuff."

Startups to watch from CES 2017

Microvision confirmed that Hololamp has Microvision Tech inside. It appears that Hololamp they're moving ahead with a developer version.

PanAmericanWorld

HOLOLAMP

Spatial augmented reality projector bot

One of the big tech trends at CES 2017 was augmented reality -- the ability to transpose graphics, video or other computer-generated content on top of what you are actually looking at. While most AR systems depend on glasses and other headgear, the folks at Hololamp are developing a system that projects a 3D image -- well, an image that appears to be 3D -- onto a tabletop or other surface.

Alan Jay, the cofounder, explains how it works: Using a computer based on the Unity game development platform, the system first creates an image of a 3D object. "We then track your face using our device, and because we know where you are, we can take the 3D object, form a 2D projection of it onto the tabletop with the projector, and then as you move, change the projection, so it is as if you were looking at a 3D object."

The Hololamp, says Jay, has excited a lot of interest among developers. "I was talking to somebody who runs services for doctors, and he said wouldn't it be great if, when you went in to talk to your doctor, they could actually have a 3D model of your heart in front of them."

He adds that the Hololamp is about eight weeks from the point "where we'll have something we can show people to buy." The company is planning a crowdfunding campaign aimed at developers; he expects the initial price of the developer unit to be around $1,000

Hololamp

Confirmed to use Microvision's PicoP technology.

We can very much see this being really popular.

Learn music theory - Hololens

Many ways to use this tool to learn and increase human productivity and creativity. It will be a winner.

Hololens Reality News

• Improvisation: Understanding music theory to the degree that a player can improvise a melody that fits in a certain key is a tough skill to master. It is also a skill that is generally not part of normal music curriculum, but is needed when playing with others.
• Virtual Hand: Many people on this planet are visual learners, even for things like music. Being able to watch someone or, in this case, a hologram, play or chord or a phrase before trying yourself can be a great boon.
• Virtual Band: As mentioned above, having a virtual band to practice your improvisational skills give the user an open environment to learn and hone their skills—without the need to pay a group of people to help.

Sanbots.

HD Projector in this thing -- apparently they've been selling these things -- 70,000? I'm not sure I trust that number yet.

And has the Sony Signature.

According to QIHAN, more than 70,000 Sanbots are currently being used in the market, and 5000 Sanbots will be commercially available in the US for a base price of $12,000.

Engineering.com -- Sanbot

Augmented Reality -- The Dream is Real - Sonic

Add another gaming company that is involved with Hololens. Then they allowed the release of the video.

There will be tethered displays produced by other companies. It's looking like there will be a decent amount of content.

VRFocus

Sonic Twitter

Finally some innovation

So, a Gaming phone with multiple operating systems. I'd say it has the horsepower to really benefit from  PicoP.


GearBurn

A new hybrid smartphone/gaming console promises a slideout gamepad, Android and Windows 10 in one package.

The PGS or Portable Gaming System bears a resemblance to a Nokia slider smartphone or Nintendo DS, featuring two analogue sticks, face buttons, a D-pad and four shoulder buttons.

The system is divided into Lite and Hardcore variants, sharing several common features.

For one, they’re both capable of dual-booting between Android and Windows 10. And in a crazy move, there are two processors in the system, in the form of an Intel Atom X7 chip for Windows 10 and a MediaTek Helio X20/X25 for Android.

Micromax's Phones will cause disruption

Over the summer, we were told during the conference call that we would get a regional player releasing a product in the fall. That was delayed.

Diwali is the Indian gift-giving season, happens in the fall.

They did some tweaking of the currency in India in the fall (Demonetization). 

Now they're going to be disrupting at the high end and the low end. 


EconomicTimes.indiaTimes  -- more at the source.

Q) But with Chinese brands putting in top dollars and you holding back, you are losing market share which will be difficult to regain later? 

It is not about losing ground. It is all about what at what time. If we start doing the same thing, we start burning the same amount of money. We wanted to do it (launches) right after Diwali. But post Diwali, demonetization happened. Now we will be coming up with products that are high end and also products which are in the lower end segment. We will cause disruption at both spots. 

Windows 10 Mixed Reality Headsets to ship in March

This is really interesting news.

The Hololens is a self-contained device -- with the computer in it. These will be the same kind of display -- tethered to a computer.

Still targeted at developers, but at a lot more of them. Many of the advances in this technology will come from game development.

Check out highlighted strategy.... this stuff is coming. 

My guess is that Microvision doesn't make an appearance in March with these headsets, but 

Good spot to watch. --

WinBuzzer

The company will start selling headsets to developers to coincide with the Game Developers Conference. The Windows 10 Holographic Shell powered devices will be tethered and mix aspects of augmented and virtual reality.

However, these developer headsets will not be the ones built by OEMs for consumers. They are going to arrive later in the year. Microsoft partners such as Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Dell, and HP have confirmed they are creating VR headsets.

Interesting stuff from NVIDIA

At one point, you just wonder if the guy slipped just a bit.

To go straight to what we think is the good stuff, start at 34:00....

Thanks Joe!


At Source